The WESSA Share-Net project has won a prestigious award at the 2011 Eco-Logic Awards ceremony held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Saturday 19 November.

The Eco-Logic Awards were presented in ten different categories by the publishers of The Enviropaedia in association with SABC3's CarbonFree campaign, and aim to celebrate individuals and organisations whose actions, lives and products reflect the qualities of Eco-Logic.  This is the concept of defining logical alternatives to the harmful mindsets that have created so much damage to the Earth, and of identifying the thinking, feelings and values that best harmonise with Nature to produce more efficient and effective results.

WESSA Share-Net and the “Rocking the Daisies” music festival jointly received the ACSA-sponsored Climate Change Award, as the panel of judges was unable to decide on a single clear winner out of the five excellent finalists in this category.

WESSA Share-Net is an innovative South African-based, informal networking project that supports environmental education through the development and provision of a wealth of resource materials, and the project was awarded for its forward-thinking sustainable practices at their office in the Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve, near Howick in KZN.  

In the quest for living and working more sustainably, the majority of WESSA Share-Net’s  education resources are printed using non-toxic ink, which is derived from soya rather than petroleum. The project also uses four solar panels to run their printers and book collator machines, while parabolic solar cookers are used to prepare meals and staff use hot water bottles, blankets and appropriate dressing in the winter months to eliminate the need for air-conditioners and heaters. Furthermore, they have started fitting their offices with skylights to make use of natural light.

WESSA is proud to have shared the podium at the Eco-Logic Awards with “Rocking the Daisies”, which is the Western Cape’s premier music and lifestyle festival and which has embraced eco-friendly event hosting to become the first carbon-neutral festival in the country.

The awards formed part of the 2011 Green Expo held at the convention centre from 18 to 20 November, and were presented by David Parry-Davies, editor of The Enviropaedia, and Michelle Garforth-Venter, eco-warrior and co-presenter of SABC3’s Greenline show.