While most seven-year-olds spend their afternoons playing with toys, Logan Miguel from Kibler Park is spending hers teaching others how to protect the planet.

The Grade One learner at Revival City College has officially launched her community initiative, Waste-to-Wonder Workshops, a creative environmental project that shows children and families how everyday waste can be transformed into useful items.

Logan is currently a candidate for the International Miss South Africa (IMSA) Miss Green title, a platform she hopes will amplify her message about sustainability and environmental care.

Apply your mind

Driven by a deep love for South Africa’s wildlife and oceans, Logan began noticing how much plastic waste ended up in bins and landfills. Rather than ignoring the problem, she decided to take action.

“Being green isn’t just a colour, it’s a superpower,” said Logan. “I want to show everyone that we don’t need to buy new things to have fun. We just need our imaginations to help save the Earth.”

Her project centres around two creative initiatives designed to turn everyday household waste into something useful.

The first, T-Shirt Transformations, teaches participants how to convert old, discarded T-shirts into durable, reusable grocery bags, an alternative to plastic bags that often end up in oceans and harm marine life, including sea turtles.

The second initiative, The Wonder Planters, encourages families to repurpose empty plastic bottles into self-watering herb gardens.

These small planters can be easily used in homes with limited space and provide a practical way for families to grow herbs, vegetables, and fruit.

Small rewards and huge wonders

Logan is also carefully documenting her environmental journey through a Project Diary, where she tracks how many plastic bottles are saved from landfill and how many young people join her eco-friendly mission.

Her efforts are already making a meaningful impact in Johannesburg South. Since launching the project, Logan and her mother, Tiffany, have visited several schools in the area, teaching children how to create their own Wonder Planters.

Beyond environmental awareness, the initiative is also helping address food security within communities.

“Many families don’t realise how easy it can be to grow their own food, even in a small space,” said Tiffany. “Logan wanted her project to help the planet, but also to help people. Seeing children proudly take home their own planters and start growing herbs or vegetables is incredibly rewarding.”

Every little bit helps

For Tiffany, watching her daughter step into the pageant world is a full-circle moment. She herself participated in pageants while growing up, but shared that Logan’s journey is about far more than crowns and titles.

“I’m incredibly proud of her,” Tiffany said. “Pageants today give young girls a platform to speak about things that matter. Logan is using hers to inspire kindness towards the environment and to show other children that their voices matter.”

Community support for the young eco-warrior has grown steadily. Teachers, parents and the community have embraced the Waste-to-Wonder Workshops, praising Logan’s creativity and determination.

At each school visit, children eagerly gather around to learn how a simple plastic bottle can become a thriving mini garden, or how an old shirt can be turned into a reusable shopping bag.

For Logan, every new workshop is another chance to inspire future environmental champions.

“I want lots of kids to join my Eco-Warrior team,” she said. “If we all do a little bit, we can make South Africa cleaner and greener.”

Through her participation in the International Miss South Africa programme, Logan hopes to bring the Miss Green title home to Kibler Park. More importantly, she hopes to continue spreading her message that no one is ever too small to make a big difference.