African Wildlife and Environment Issue 68

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Africa at our feet! At Bush Pigs, you can walk or jog around the whole of Africa in just one hour! Laid out in the scenic beauty of the southern Waterberg, the large-scale walking map of Africa is just one among many exciting adventures at Bush Pigs. A tribute to the people, our natural environment and life support systems it provides. Bush Pigs is a symbol of hope, sustainability and learning for and about Africa. Learning geography, on foot, by walking from country to country on a scale map that covers two kilometres is just one innovative way of having fun and learning geography! Learning to eat healthy food Learning about Africa means more than just geography and landscapes. Today we are told that more people die from eating too much of the wrong food than from hunger or from lack of food! Isn’t that

a remarkable fact? The food we eat also has a big impact on the well-being of the environment because it requires water, fertilisers and pest control measures to grow, and it then needs packaging and transport to get to us. At Bush Pigs the Environmental Restaurant, or ER as it is better known, is an opportunity for young learners to find out more about the real price of food and what is good to eat, to keep our bodies healthy. After careful instructions learners are given a small budget and taken to the shops at nearby Modimolle. Once at the food shops they select the food that they are going to cook and eat that evening, in their very own environmental restaurant. Food that has little packaging, is locally grown and doesn’t travel far, as well as food that is in season is encouraged. Back at the centre the teams of learners cook the food and serve their very own meal. At Bush Pigs, we call this

Bush Pigs: An African experience IN THE WATERBERG

The Bush Pigs environmental education centre is situated north of Pretoria close to the town of Modimolle. In 2017 Bush Pigs celebrated its 30-year birthday! This article outlines some of the exciting learnings and adventures that children, teachers and adults have had at Bush Pigs! Bush Pigs is also a sustainability commons, with low-carbon technologies sponsored by USAID. You can have a lot of fun at Bush Pigs, and learn to live more sustainably. Isn’t that wonderful?

Sifundo Sibiya and Jim Taylor

Learning about nature and snakes

Our environmental meal

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