World Nature Conservation Day: Conservationist shares tips to reduce your carbon footprint
Presha Soogrim, the director of KZN Beach Clean-Up, shares how people can reduce their carbon footprint and instead help the environment.
WORLD Nature Conservation Day is observed annually on July 28 and is dedicated to understanding the importance of our natural resources, the wildlife and nature of the Earth and the balance they create for a sustainable life.
Over time, mankind has depleted the Earth’s resources, endangered wildlife and polluted the world with daily toxic practices. If we do not understand the need to protect the Earth and its resources by now, it may become too late.
This World Nature Conservation Day, we spoke to Presha Soogrim, the director of KZN Beach Clean-Up, to find out more about the organisation and to hear her advice on how people can make changes that reduce their carbon footprint and choices that are helpful to the environment.
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What is KZN Beach Clean-Up?
According to Soogrim, KZN Beach Clean-Up was founded in 2011 by a group of friends led by Ingrid Butcher and Natalie Gorven, previously known as Durban Beach Clean-Up. “I joined the team in 2013, and we rebranded as KZN Beach Clean-Up to expand our reach to beyond Durban. We are the longest-running volunteer clean-up initiative in KZN,” said Soogrim.
The eco-warrior says that the initial aim was to hold a once-off beach clean-up, however, the interest grew beyond a small group of friends. “We are now a large community of passionate citizens dedicated to keeping our beaches and oceans clean.”
Soogrim says that the organisation aims to mobilise communities around the issue of plastic pollution through clean-ups, education and advocacy. “Our core activities are our monthly clean-ups which take place on various beaches in the province. In addition to our clean-ups, we provide talks and educational presentations when requested, participate in advocacy for plastic control and management, as well as consulting and advising organisations on how to reduce their plastic footprint.”
The organisation’s director says that KwaZulu-Natal is plagued with a range of environmental issues both in the marine and terrestrial spaces. “Marine and coastal issues, of course, include plastic pollution but also include various other sources of pollution that are less noticeable, such as effluent and chemical. Our marine environment is also threatened by overharvesting of resources, such as fish and other seafood.”
“We sometimes forget how deeply connected our well-being is to the natural environment – without a healthy environment, we do not have clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, healthy or reliable food sources or a clean home to live in. Unfortunately, I do not believe that the majority of people in KwaZulu-Natal are aware of the threats to our beautiful environment, and awareness is the first step to creating change, and once people are aware of the issues facing our environment, we can start taking action to create a cleaner, safer environment for us all,” said Soogrim.
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How to reduce your carbon footprint
Her advice to those who want to make a change and do their part to reduce their carbon footprint is to be more environmentally conscious. “A good starting point is swapping single-use items for reusables such as:
- Reusable shopping bags
- Reusable water bottles
- Reusable coffee cups
- Reusable straws (or simply no straw if you do not need one)
“Living an environmentally conscious life does not require perfection; we will all slip up at some point. It is also important to remember that we have powerful voices, and we should use them to create the world we want. We should ask our retailers and restaurants to reduce the amount of single-use plastic they use to package our products; these collective actions often have greater impacts,” said Soogrim.
If you would like to get involved in the initiatives and work that KZN Beach Clean-Up does around Durban, you can follow the organisation’s social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. ”You can find us at KZN Beach Clean-Up. We post all events and updates on our clean-up events. I strongly suggest everyone join at least one of our clean-ups – the issue of plastic pollution can be overwhelming, but by coming together as a community, we can achieve far more than we can as individuals. Also, what can be better than spending just two hours on a Saturday morning on the beach?” concluded Soogrim.
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