Being Green

As we mark a slew of national and international clean-up days, in this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook asks WWF South Africa’s circular economy portfolio senior manager, Lorren de Kock, if we are facing a ‘waste crisis’.

In the declaration at the end of the inaugural African Climate Summit in Kenya this week, African leaders proposed new global taxes and reforms to international financial institutions to help the continent fund actions that will help it adapt to increasingly extreme weather. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook gets reaction to the gathering from Dr Nicholas Simpson of the African Climate Mobility Initiative

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Vergelegen’s senior horticulturist, Richard Arm, about the importance of Arbor Week and a wonderful opportunity to buy indigenous trees at the wine estate over the next seven days.

- In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Prof Francois Engelbrecht, a climate scientist at Wits University’s Global Change Institute about a new study which suggests that the extreme weather and weather-related events experienced in the northern hemisphere this summer will increase in frequency and severity unless the world stops burning fossil fuels.

Although it still feels like we are very much in the depths of winter, spring is not too far off. And as the flowers begin to bloom, so bees begin to emerge from their hives in search of pollen and nectar. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Mike Allsop, a senior researcher at the Agricultural Research Council’s Plant Protection Research Institute, about the importance of the honeybee.

A new initiative called Cash 4 Trash has begun installing Reverse Vending Machines at shopping centres in Gauteng, which people can use to deposit their plastic bottles, aluminium cans, and glass bottles in return for digital cash. In this week’s of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Mary-Ann Mandishona, the entrepreneur behind the recycling drive.

Most people think that wine is just fermented grape juice. But in fact the fining agents traditionally used in winemaking typically contain animal products. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Norah Hudson, international sales and marketing executive at Longridge Wine Estates, to find out more.

If you take a stroll along the increasingly trendy Harrington Street in the CBD, you will come across a 12-storey building that is making waves across the world. Almost completed, the Hemp Hotel has been named the world's tallest building to be constructed from hemp blocks and hempcrete. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Boshoff Muller, the director of Afrimat Hemp that produced the bricks for the hotel, about why this makes the building more carbon negative.

There’s increasing evidence that switching to a plant-based diet can have a significant positive impact on both our health and the environment. Glynis Crook speaks to Dr Nanine Wyma of the Physicians Association for Nutrition, South Africa, who says that transforming the world’s food system is essential to mitigate climate change.

The Clanwilliam cedar, that gave the Cedarberg its name, was once found in large groves across the region. But since 2013, this majestic and ancient tree has been listed as critically endangered. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Jacklyn Farmer, an off-reserve conservation services officer at CapeNature, about programmes to increase its numbers in the area.

The cholera outbreak at Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng has yet again put the spotlight on water in South Africa. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Anja du Plessis, Associate Professor and Research Specialist in Water Resource Management at the University of South Africa, about the state of our water resource management.

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY GERLINDE MOSER OF RE/MAX. Being Green – Your window on the environment broadcast every Friday morning at 9.30. Glynis Crook will focus on key issues affecting our lifestyles, science and research outcomes, the quest for sustainable living and a healthier planet.

The cholera outbreak at Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng has yet again put the spotlight on water in South Africa. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Anja du Plessis, Associate Professor and Research Specialist in Water Resource Management at the University of South Africa, about the state of our water resource management.

It’s World Turtle Day on 16 June. In this edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Talitha Noble, Conservation Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre, about the extraordinary sea turtles and their contribution to ocean ecosystems.

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Lauren van Nijkerk, Director of Campaigns & Communications at the environmental NGO, Wildtrust, about its new campaign focusing on marine protection, and particularly sharks and rays, as well as highlighting the substantial benefits of establishing new sanctuary areas for them

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook, speaks to the City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor and Mayco Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Eddie Andrews to get an update on the infestation by the tree-killing beetle, the polyphagous shot hole borer. He said it’s important that you do not cut down an infected tree yourself, as special care needs to be taken throughout the removal process. Instead, you should report a sighting by going to: www.capetown.gov.za/InvasiveSpecies, or by calling the Invasive Species Unit on 021 444 2357, or by emailing: invasive.species@capetown.gov.za

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook, speaks to Cape Nature’s Marketing and Promotions Manager, Loren Pavitt, about the whopping 43 per cent increase in the number of visitors to the province’s reserves in the last financial year, and what this means for its conservation efforts

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook, speaks to Dr Gabriella Leighton, co-ordinator of UCT’s Urban Caracal project, and co-author of a new study which has found that those wild cats that live on the urban edge of Cape Town have metal pollutants in their blood, a huge red flag for the environment on the peninsula.

He may be fighting a different type of offence, but Nigeria’s Spider-Man is as much a superhero as the Marvel Comics crime buster. His name is Jonathan Olanlokun, an environmental activist who dresses up in full Spider-Man kit to help clean up the streets of his hometown of Osogbo, armed with no superpower except his determination to make a difference in his community. He speaks to Glynis Crook in this week’s edition of Being Green

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook talks to Dr Tony Rebelo, a scientist at the South African National Biodiversity Institute, about the City Nature Challenge which is taking place this weekend (28 April – 1 May) in some 500 cities around the world. It aims to motivate people to find and document wildlife in their towns, regions, and neighbourhoods. The iNaturalist app is available for free on your phone’s Appstore, or you can upload photos from your digital camera to the iNaturalist website (www.inaturalist.org).