Environment
Nestled within one of South Africa's last indigenous forests, our school is committed to making a positive impact on conservation efforts and minimizing our environmental footprint. We have proudly partnered with the Cape Parrot Project and Plant a Seed to advance these goals. Additionally, we have taken proactive measures within our community to support this movement, demonstrating our dedication to preserving our natural heritage for future generations.
Environmental Committee
As a club, we take decisive action! We are actively removing invasive species from our school grounds and replanting indigenous species where needed. Each year, we hold a Tree Planting Day, where each grade plants a specified number of trees to help restore the natural vegetation on our campus. We are in the process of compiling a comprehensive Stanford Lake College Tree List, detailing the indigenous trees on our campus and we intend using this list to create tree tags to tag all the Indigenous tree species on our campus. We have compiled a Stanford Lake College Bird List, documenting all the bird species observed here. This knowledge helps us understand what belongs in our ecosystem and what doesn't, guiding our conservation efforts effectively.
Cape Parrot Project
The Environmental Committee has partnered with the conservation group, the Wild Bird Trusts Cape Parrot Project, to help protect South Africa’s only endemic parrot, the Cape Parrot. Daryl van der Merwe, representing the Cape Parrot Project, visits our school to educate us about both indigenous and invasive species on our grounds, enhancing our understanding of our local environment. In return, we raise funds to support the Cape Parrot Project's efforts to protect this endangered species. Additionally, we work to raise awareness and educate others about the Cape Parrot and its conservation.
Recycling
As a school, we realized that a significant amount of our waste ends up in landfills, causing major damage to our ecosystem. We are committed to recycling as much as we can, with a special focus on electronics and batteries, which require special handling beyond daily plastics and paper.
We have partnered with Plant a Seed to reduce our waste footprint further. Plant a Seed works nationwide to mitigate environmental damage, and through this program, we educate our pupils on how to recycle and the benefits of doing so. We have set up 15 stations across our campus with bins for plastic, paper and cardboard, and tins. We are proud to be Plant a Seed's flagship school, recycling the most among all partner schools. Additionally, we are the first school in Limpopo to partner with them, leading the way in our region's recycling efforts.
Furthermore, we collect and separate bread tags and bottle tops, which we send out once we have enough to buy a wheelchair that gets donated to less fortunate communities.