Learners from Phoenix High School, Manenberg, have transformed seven bus shelters along Lansdowne Road and Manenberg Avenue, from drab, grey concrete slabs into brightly coloured murals, with the help of Manenberg artist Steven van Niekerk and the Bauwagen Goes South Project.

The bus shelters are painted with pictures inspired by the Edith Stephens Wetland Park (ESWP), which is adjacent to the Manenberg Community.

The bus shelters don’t only brighten up the waiting time for local commuters, but cheer up passers-by, too – pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

As Phoenix High School principal, Mr MS Abrahams, told the Grade 9 learners who painted the murals: ‘You have made such a difference in all of our lives. These bus shelters are one of the things that brighten up my morning as I travel to our school – and our wish is that you take these skills you’re learned on this project and make your own lives as colourful!’

The project also promotes environmental awareness and community participation in nature conservation, by highlighting the importance of the Edith Stephens Wetland Park to neighbouring communities in Manenberg, says Joint Xingashe, from the City’s Sustainable Livelihood Programme and LA21 Partnership.

Before the learners, who numbered 55, painted the shelters, they attended environmental education and art classes, facilitated by the Edith Stephens Wetland Park (ESWP) staff and Manenberg artist, Steven van Niekerk (a former learner at Phoenix), Uta Göbel-Groß (Mural-Global Artist) and Norbert Kuntz (from Aachen-based NGO Stadtoasen). The learners were helped in expressing what they had learned about nature in their artwork.

The Bauwagen Goes South Project between the City of Cape Town and the City of Aachen, Germany, is one of the LA21 Aachen-Cape Town Partnership projects, which aims to promote sustainable development and the principles of Agenda 21 by facilitating partnerships and projects that improve environmental, social and economic conditions.

Agenda 21 covers the issues referred to in UNCED by the UN General Assembly adopted by the Plenary in Rio de Janeiro, on June 14, 1992 during the Earth Summit. It represents the current international consensus on actions necessary to move the world towards the goal of truly sustainable development.

For further information on the Cape Town-Aachen LA21 Partnership, visit www.aachen-kapstadt.de