THE Hillcrest Conservancy in partnership with Steppingstones4Nature has established a vibrant and active eco club for children between the ages of five and 12 years.

The club is led by Dawn Booth, an experienced enviro-education facilitator, supported by a number of Hillcrest Conservancy volunteers.

The children and their parents meet monthly, on a Saturday morning, and receive additional monthly newsletters full of interesting facts and activities aimed at encouraging self-driven learning.

“We look forward to our monthly meetings and our monthly newsletter provides lots for us to ponder on and get busy with,” said a parent, Bronwyn Holden.

Last Saturday, Springside Nature Reserve was the scene of joyful activity as the conservancy’s eco-detectives learnt about fire flies and other nocturnal creatures.

This session was specifically held in the evening because of the theme.

Show and Tell is always interesting and this month was no exception as the children talked about the wonderful creatures they had discovered and learnt about during recent weeks.

There was great excitement as one of the children brought in several snakes to show.

The giant moth pupa, wasp nest and tiny frog were equally impressive.

All the creatures were released back into nature.

The children are gaining confidence and their presentations are becoming increasingly impressive.

“We really enjoy learning about the environment. Eco-club is so much fun,” said two of the children Ayakha and Tamara Latha.

Nicholas Liebenberg, conservation officer for eThekwini Municipality, took the children and their parents on a night hike.

The children got to observe Venus and Jupiter in the clear night sky as bats put on an aerial display.

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After enjoying a bring-and share picnic, everyone settled down to crafting fire flies out of recycled material, followed by playing games.

The main theme of this year’s eco-club has been Grasslands.

The children are learning more about the critically endangered KZN Sandstone Sourveld grasslands in the area.

KZN Sandstone Grasslands were once the dominant ecosystem in the Upper Highway area.

These grasslands are ancient, incredibly bio-diverse areas which are endemic to KZN.

Sadly, many of these grasslands have been destroyed to make way for development, and those which remain are often neglected, overwhelmed with invasive plants and replaced by secondary forestation.

A conservative estimate puts less than 0.2% as being adequately protected.

Riley and Grace Holden have been inspired to establish a patch of grassland on their own property, getting their mum and dad involved at the same time.

“I love gardening and I wanted to plant a grassland in our own garden where hopefully a shrew will come to live. I am excited to see the Leonotisleonurus flower,” said Riley.

Earlier in the year, several children participated in the InterCity Biodiversity Challenge, monitoring the biodiversity in the area, and Wyatt and Skylar have taken on caring for the Forest View Primary School’s Steppingstone4Nature grassland regeneration project.

“The activities at Eco-club are very hands-on, which is exactly what engages children. They are not simply learning about conservation, they are actively participating in it. This practical approach helps them develop a genuine appreciation for nature and understand the important role they can play in protecting it,” said an enthusiastic parent, Danielle Towsen.

The conservancy’s Luci Coelho said: “By getting very young children back into nature and actively involved in caring for the environment we are hopefully equipping the next generation of environmentally aware adults.

“The overriding aim of the Hillcrest Conservancy-Steppingstones4Nature eco-club is to inspire children to respect and love nature in a fun nonthreatening way. If you are interested in your child joining the club, please contact Dawn on 073 341 8211.”

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