The City of Cape Town kicks off its summer season readiness with the launch of the Blue Flag Season and Beach Festival in Muizenberg.

Every morning, I wake up to the sunrise over the sea and go for an early morning walk in Burman Bush. Upon entering this nature reserve, the sweet scent of the many plants tickle your nostrils and your ears pick up the many different bird calls.

On Earth Day one of Cape Town’s greenest hotels gathered together staff, guests and friends to clear alien vegetation in the Silvermine Valley in the Table Mountain National Park during their 45th Adopt-a-Spot initiative.

If you’re not passionate about the earth, don’t bother to do the 5 hour trip from Cape Town to Forest Edge along the Knysna forest. Although it is a multi-award-winning resort with very well equipped and serviced cottages, this is ultimately a Nature Lovers’ Retreat.

Sacred Earth Retreat, owned by Elizabeth Bardin once again offers a thrilling journey to Peru and Bolivia from 8-22 June 2012.

The first Winelands Bicycle Map is finally available!

As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide us with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods - merchandise that has been produced at the expense of South African labour. This year will be different. This year South Africans will give the gift of genuine concern for other South Africans.

I was walking in the mall with my son who noticed all the Christmas trees when I realized that I do not know why we have Christmas trees.

For many in the corporate sector, sustainability is perceived as a soft issue, far removed from the real business of maximising shareholder value. All too often it's seen as being about 'giving back' to society through a social investment programme, encouraging marketing departments to embrace the 'green agenda', and signing up to charters and initiatives that supposedly signify some form of higher moral compass.

Toward the end of the century, scientific revelations awoke the world to the harsh realities of fossil fuel exhaustion, ozone depletion and global warming. It became increasingly clear that very few activities associated with new technologies are sustainable without the conservation of resources or the pursuit of more ecologically friendly and carbon-neutral alternatives.

'Africa's tourism industry would be grossly negligent if it did not take measures to protect its environment,' says Joyce DiMascio, Principal of Joyce DiMascio Consulting and one of Australia's most experienced tourism marketers. 'The world wants to come to Africa because of its natural wonders. But the industry must 'future proof' itself by putting responsible tourism at that heart of its industry development agenda,' she adds.
Until 2010, Joyce was the Head of Business Events Australia at Tourism Australia and led the successful rebranding of Australia as a place where environment and community really matter.

Last week we celebrated Good Friday and Earth Day wrapped into one. Perhaps we could combine it as Good Earth Day in the future. Naturally my Christian roots honoured the day when we remember and revere the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his descent into the darkness of death in the ultimate sacrifice. Was it not also at that moment that the sun dimmed and the earth was shrouded in a cloak of darkness?

The year of our memorable 2010 South African Soccer World Cup is spinning to a close. We're already halfway through December! Every morning you're bombarded with Christmas jingles on the radio and reminders that it's time to shop shop 'til you drop. You can' get away from it, every supermarket has a Christmas special advertisement on television and in the newspaper there's a whole supplement about 'must-haves' you should get your friends and family. I can't imagine what the inside of the shopping malls look like right now.

On Saturday 27 November, after many months of research, manual labor and foraging we finally had the official opening of our new green ablutions.

They were built on a property of the Siyephu family, who run village based accommodation at Mbolompo, deep on the rural Wild Coast, less than 2 hour hike from the famous Hole in the Wall. The community business was started two years ago and has had over 500 bed nights so far. The Mbolompo Homestay offers visitors to the area a genuine Xhosa homestay experience, just 1km from the beach. It also caters for small groups who wish to stay longer and volunteer, getting their hands dirty on community and environmental projects.

Thumbs up to the Vineyard Hotel and Spa in Newlands for winning the `Investor in People` category of the annual Imvelo Awards for responsible tourism. The hotel is also a runner-up in the 'Best Single Resource Management' category, specifically for its waste management programme.

Mark Witney, Chief Operating Officer of Singita Game Reserves will be addressing the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference in Australia, which is taking place between 25 and 28 October (2010). Delegates from major tourism bodies across the world will attend this annual convention, themed 'Experience is Everything!', exploring experiential tourism, green tourism, ecotourism and tourism in protected areas, and the role biodiversity plays in this. Drawing on the expertise of global leaders regarding sustainability, ecotourism marketing and product development among others, the Global Eco Tourism Conference 2010 offers a unique platform for industry stakeholders to share crucial new research, and delineate new initiatives that will drive the future of ecotourism into the next decade.

Congratulations to Hotelstuff/Greenstuff for taking top honours at this year`s Decorex Joburg exhibition. As curators and creators of The Plascon Living Green House the online directory service created what many hailed as an `enlightening journey of environmental responsibility meets trendsetting style`. As the ultimate accolade at this year`s show, the win for the Hotelstuff/Greenstuff team further proves that green products no longer have to take the backseat when it comes to the style stakes.

When I go on holiday, I want to stay in certified green establishments. I have tried, believe me, but have I failed? The last time I was sent an invitation to visit and promote a new so-called green tourism site, I browsed through the list of beautiful places in search of the answer to my obvious question: What makes them green?

NaturCert announced the appointment of ETC-Africa as their South African partner. NaturCert operates through the international network of NaturCert representative offices and subsidiaries. Each network member is a separate and independent legal entity and operates locally in countries around the world. NaturCert's local partners provide NaturCert programs locally and perform marketing and communication activities in local business language.