The Power of our Choices is a poem written by our Education Director, Megan Webster, that has been adapted into a play by the Jungle Theatre Company in collaboration with Guardians of the Deep. The poem explores five key issues impacting the marine environment – pollution, ghostfishing, overfishing and red list species, bycatch and seabird entanglement – and offers up solutions through the choices that we make everyday. Conservation efforts of various organisations are highlighted, such as the incredible work by BirdLife International’s Albatross Task Force and their partner, Ocean View Association for Persons with Disabilities, on reducing line-fishing-related albatross drownings with bird-scaring lines. Their work has reduced albatross deaths by 99 %.
The South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) and “sustainable seafood is about more than simply how many – and how – fish are caught, it is also about how seafood is traded. SASSI works in different ways to influence the entire industry.” The initiative does this by “promoting voluntary compliance with the law (specifically, the South African Marine Living Resources Act) through education and awareness”, “shifting consumer demand away from over-exploited marine species to more sustainable options” and “creating awareness around marine conservation issues and inspiring consumers”.
The Power of Our Choices Holiday Programme
Students from the Kleinberg Primary School Environmental Club joined us at Soetwater Nature Reserve for the Power of Our Choices Holiday Programme. This particular programme was tailored to their group as they learn how to create awareness using the power of theatre. The Power of Our Choices, a poem written by Megan Webster and adapted by Jungle Theatre Company in collaboration with Guardians of the Deep, focuses on how our choices can have either a negative or positive impact on our environment, specifically the ocean.
Students conducted a beach clean-ups, braved the icy waters of the tidal pool (and our two directors joined them) for daily swims, explored the rocky shore, participated in morning meditations, and connected with nature through close observation of the way in which various ocean elements move (such as kelp, gulls and waves), as they will be using physical theatre as their medium. We were excited to have Jungle Theatre Company there to guide our students and teach them various techniques to use in the play.
The children were also introduced to the incredible Wendy and her phenomenally talented team from Puppet Planet. To say the kids had fun is an understatement. Their creativity flowed with ease as Wendy unpacked her Mary Poppins bag of materials and tools to assist the students in creating their very own Trash Puppets. The Trash Puppet workshop has produced some wonderful characters, such as Molly and Sonic the penguins, amongst others.
To see ‘shy’ kids standing confidently at the front of our ‘stage’ and say their lines, has been incredible to watch. After waddling like penguins and going through the various scenes briefly to ensure we are ready to continue our play rehearsals during this term in order to be ready for the end of year performance.
A massive thank you to Heather and Cormac from the Jungle Theatre Company for sharing their dramatic expertise and for their tireless work this week.
A heartfelt thank you to Wendy and her assistants, Ayanda and Zanele, from Puppet Planet for their skill, expertise and incredible resources that they shared with our kids.
Thank you to Soetwater Nature Reserve for the use of your exquisite location, it really helped our kids to tap in to the importance of what we were doing these holidays.
A big thank you to those who donated and sponsored a child through to attend this programme through ARKYS Outreach NPC, we couldn’t have done this without you.
Finally, for transporting us safely every single day, from the school to the conference centre, and for general outstanding service, a thank you must go to Ryan and Ashley from Eshel’s Transport!
We look forward to sharing updates on the the progression of the play, and the ticket sales!
How to Make Good Ocean-Minded Choices Everyday
One of the key aspects of Guardians of the Deep is realising that our everyday choices hold the power to bring about positive environmental change. At the beginning of each Guardians session, we chat about the good choices that we have made during the week to share ideas and inspire others to join the shifting tide of perceptions. If you would like to share your ideas, post them on the Guardians Facebook page. I will add some of your really cool ideas to this page. Below are a few ideas to start you off on your journey to make a positive difference for the environment (click on the links for more information on the ideas)…
- Start a compost heap: This will reduce the amount of refuse that needs to be collected every week, will put food scraps to good use by returning them to the earth and provide nutritious compost for your garden during a time when leaving your home for such items is not allowed.
- Make ecobricks: Not only will you be removing these non-recyclable items from the system; you can also donate these bricks to local upskilling and building initiatives.
- Support your local farm shop: When you buy food, why not make it local? This supports a small local business that might be struggling during these COVID times, and you can reduce your carbon footprint by supporting local. Ocean View Organic Farmers is one such organisation, with loads of yummy, healthy options.
- Learn about the Dirty Dozen for when you join beach clean-ups: Not only will you now know which items are some of the biggest contributors to marine pollution, you can also start to think of ways to phase them out of your lifestyle
- Recycle: While stopping the usage of single-use products is definitely the ultimate goal, recycling already bought items is better than sending them to the dump. By reusing the materials in certain products, it will free up space in landfills and preserve natural resources. Cape Town offers a free recycling service through Wasteplan.
- Use eco-friendly household cleaners and detergents: Our laundry detergents and household cleaners end up in freshwater and marine ecosystems so look for those products that are biodegradable, made from plant-based ingredients and are phosphate- and cruelty-free. Pick n Pay (Green Household) and Checkers (Simple Truth) have awesome ranges of effective eco-friendly cleaning products that smell really good and don’t harm the environment when used.
- Brew loose tea: Teabags release billions of microplastics into you and the environment. Why not go bagless? It’s better for the environment and your compost heap.
“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”
– Archbishop Desmond Tutu
