Children and teenagers are facing their fears and learning about the environment at Nature Club, an initiative started by the non-profit organisation (NPO) Cape Peninsula Civil Conservation (CPCC).
The Nature Club’s members, children from Da Gama Park, participate in activities such as hiking, snake and bee education as well as litter clean-ups.
Lynda Silk, chair of CPCC, says the club started with only 10 members last year and has since grown to 93.
“There’s a lot of nature, so I thought of how nature has always been such a tremendous resource for me in my life and how it can also be a resource for the children.
“Children in other areas have extra mural activities and piano lessons but because Da Gama Park is a bit remote and a lot of the children are reliant on public transport, there isn’t much that happens.
“There were a few informal events before the regular nature club events started in May last year. It is just amazing how it has grown from a group of 10 children to 93.”
The children are aged from three to 17 and are often divided into age-appropriate group activities.
“It was really amazing to watch and see their fears start to change. For example, when you look at snakes.
“In the beginning when you see a snake, you throw something at it, usually you don’t kill it. It normally just gets very badly injured and maybe it will go off somewhere and die a slow death.
“The outcome was cruelty but that was not the intent; the underlying issue was fear. What I noticed was that fears were getting in the way.
“Their fears are real because they do live in a wild space and most of the children, even the very young ones, have encountered snakes and their fears are justifiable.”
Nature Club teaches children not to fear or harm animals but to instead protect the environment.
“There was a transfer of fear into compassionate curiosity. They now understand that not all snakes are dangerous and that most of them aren’t and to know which is which.
“They know how to appropriately step away and be kinder. So they love snakes and keep asking when they can see more snakes.”
Silk further explains that some children are terrified of snakes and baboons and should not just be told to “stop being afraid”.
“You need to respect people’s fears. You don’t know where it comes from. Sometimes fears come from other traumatic incidents in their lives.”
She adds that children look forward to the weekly activities and are excited to learn more.
“We did litter pick-ups and when the children found a snake during a litter clean-up after we had done snake education you could see the transformation.
“It was fortunate the education occurred before the little clean-up so that they were equipped. So much of the Peninsula is wild and they knew how to respond.”
Silk says when children find what inspires them, they can grow to their full potential.
“When children have not been connected to what truly inspires them, they don’t expand into the fullness of who they are and they don’t expand into the vastness of this beautiful world.
“And when they don’t fully inhabit the world, you can’t really get them on board to protect it. So with the children in Da Gama Park, the nature club wasn’t just about Da Gama Park. There was less on offer for children.”
