Author: Marillia Veldkornet
Garden Route and Klein Karoo Regional Tourism office is currently exhibiting at the World Travel Market Africa
Garden Route and Klein Karoo Regional Tourism Office is currently exhibiting at the World Travel Market Africa show in Cape Town. The Regional Tourism Office is exhibiting on stands P24 and Q23, together with the Local Tourism Offices: Plett Tourism, George Tourism, Oudtshoorn Tourism, Hessequa Tourism and Calitzdorp Tourism.
The following products are also exhibiting on the stands, namely: De Rusta Estates, Redberry Farm, Oubaai Hotel Golf and Spa, Destination Garden Route, Gourikwa Reserve, the Knysna River Club, Hog Hollow Trails and the Ocean Sailing Charters.
Forum to commemorate the Knysna fires of 7 June 2017
“The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), incorporating the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF), is looking at the establishment of an annual commemoration event for the 2017 Knysna fires. The forum is currently planning to host a seminar on Friday June 7 to review the environmental preparedness of the Southern Cape regarding risks associated with fire and drought,” says Nina Viljoen, Manager: Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation at the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) and a spokesperson for the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF).
“Much has happened in terms of regional disaster prevention and management since the widespread destruction caused by the 2017 Knysna and Plettenberg Bay fires, not to mention the 2018 devastation of some 100 000 hectares along the Outeniqua Mountains, Still Bay and Vermaaklikheid, claiming still more lives and causing untold damage to the regional economy,” says Viljoen.
At a recent workshop hosted at the Nelson Mandela University’s (NMU) Saasveld Campus, options were discussed to generate funds sufficient to address and reduce risks associated with invasive alien biomass in the Southern Cape landscape. In dealing with the aftermath of the respective fire disasters, the Executive Mayor of the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM), Councillor Memory Booysen, was quoted as suggesting a tax on landowners to generate funds for invasive alien plant biomass reduction on the landscape. This was merely a discussion point and what was meant by his point-of-view was that we should be open for a debate on how we, as a collective, can become more prepared for future disasters.
Booysen pointed out that there was general agreement that much more must be done by both landowners and authorities to reduce risks if we were to safeguard the region from a recurrence of the 2017 and 2018 fires.
Fire-risk reduction is but one of several environmental matters hitting the GREF spotlight
The proposed 7 June Fire Commemoration seminar will look at the overarching research and strategy development that has taken place over the past two years regarding environmental risk reduction in the region, and the physical measures that have been implemented. The seminar will also provide a roadmap of what is planned for the region in the coming months.
Further announcements on the seminar will be made in due course and information will be published on the GREF website: https://www.scli.org.za/GREF/ closer to the event.
** The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional forum for collaboration in conservation, environmental adaptation and community interaction. The forum aims to coordinate regional conservation efforts, serve as a catalyst to drive climate adaption practices in the Southern Cape and strive to establish a better-coordinated approach to environmental management.
Community members from Thembalethu educated about communicable diseases
Environmental Health Practitioners (EHPs) from the Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM’s) Community Services Department recently held a communicable disease awareness session at Kuyasa Clinic in Thembalethu, George. Educational talks were delivered by Ms Jessica Erasmus, Mr Gcobani Tshozi and Ms Wandile Magwaza from the Wilderness region – one of the eight (8) areas served by the GRDM. A total of approximately 150 adults, who were present at clinic, including staff members, were educated during the session.
The topics discussed, include:
- Viral meningitis
- Measles
- Hepatitis
- Cholera
The district distributed pamphlets to everyone and discussed each topic in length in English and Xhosa. Cholera was especially emphasized because of the recent outbreak in Mozambique. It is important to keep abreast with what is happening in and around South Africa because people migrate all over the continent which can cause the further spread of communicable diseases.
Hand Hygiene
The main focus area of the day was good hand hygiene practises. It stays one of the central points of preventing the spreading of germs. Proper hand-wash steps were explained and demonstrated.
One of the most important personal hygiene habits that the community needs to be reminded of and educated about, is how to properly wash their hands.
During the session, it was explained how germs are transferred from one item to another, merely by touching it. A person who touches his/her food with hands which had been in contact with contaminated areas can lead to a range of illnesses. Proper hand-washing with soap and water is a simple. It is the easiest method used to get rid of disease-causing bacteria on surfaces. Hand-washing is not only important after eating, playing or any other activities, but especially before such activities too.
The district firmly believes that prevention is better than cure and by instilling a culture of good hand hygiene, the health of communities will improve.
Photographs:
001 Community members at Kuyasa Clinic educated about communicable diseases.
002 Community members at the Kuyasa Clinic in Thembalethu who were educated about communicable diseases. Ms Jessica Erasmus, Garden Route DM EHP is featured in the middle.