An exciting Water Work Party was held for learners and teachers on 16 March 2005 at Hlengisa Primary School in Nyanga.  This innovative event was organised by the Schools Environmental Teachers Association (SETA), formerly known as the SEED Teachers Association (STA).

This Water Work Party was SETA’s first event of the year.  The Party, which was a roaring success, aimed to raise awareness of relevant water saving strategies for schools while increasing horizontal transfer to other schools. The afternoon saw the implementation of a trellis system above a food garden and a swale system that harvests grey water. (The trellis system provides gardens with shade in summer and with leaves that add mulch to the soil.)

Schools presented prayers and songs and the day culminated in the painting of a mural on a wall that faces the garden. SETA invited the Guguletu Ecoschools node in the belief that teachers will find the strong peer-based support valuable. Participating teachers have testified to the day being valuable in terms of realising that cooperation and not competition is the way to get our projects operating optimally.

SETA recently changed its name from the SEED Teachers Association. The name change was decided on because although SEED has birthed SETA, the rapidly growing teachers’ movement should not be limited to SEED and should work with a range of environmental NGOs.

SEED is an autonomous sub-project of Abalimi Bezkehaya.  SEED is an education project that works to transform learning environments in disadvantaged schools through Permaculture, and to integrate Environmental Education into all learning areas in the Revised National Curriculum Statements.  SEED achieves its aims through the facilitation of a broad-based teacher and school driven movement, as well as through practical implementation, teacher professional development, and the development of relevant teaching materials.

The establishment of the SETA demonstrates the success of SEED’s interventions amongst teachers and school communities.