The Environmental Capacity Building, Sustainable Livelihoods and Communications Branch aims to promote environmentally sustainable behaviour and lifestyle changes and thereby improve the state of the environment in Cape Town. Working with a range of City line functions and external partners, and ensuring integration, the branch undertakes environmental education, capacity building, training, environmental communications, environment-based sustainable livelihoods, cleaner production, event greening, eco-procurement and community outreach programmes.

The City's Environmental Education and Training Strategy provides a framework to guide its various environmental education and training initiatives. The goals of the strategy are to encourage the Cape Town public to be environmentally aware and ensure that staff members are competent in environmental matters pertaining to their responsibilities.

Environmental education initiatives include:

• The successful Youth Environmental School (YES) Programme, a comprehensive year-long programme which incorporates major commemorative days and weeks on the annual calendar
• Co-ordination of an Environmental Careers Centre at the SABC Education Careers Faire aimed at secondary school learners
• Support for the WESSA/WWF Eco-Schools Programme

Sustainable livelihoods and Local Agenda 21 initiatives/projects include:

• The Cape Town-Aachen LA21 Partnership, which aims to promote projects and sustainable development in a practical way, with a particular focus on poverty eradication
• The Women Orchid Legacy Project provides skills and employment for women from disadvantaged areas to farm orchid plants and also create beadwork, embroidery and needlework with an orchid theme

Communication and marketing functions include:

• Production of various publications and resource materials
• Publication of a bi-annual newsletter called Enviroworks
• Liaison with the media
• Organisation of events and launches
• Exhibitions and displays
• Website development and maintenance

For further information, contact:

Tel:  +27 (0)21 487 2284
Fax: +27 (0)21 487 2578
E-mail: enviro@capetown.gov.za

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