Chairman's Report
Year Ended 31 MARCH 2000

The main challenge facing our world as we move into the twenty-first century lies in developing an economic system that will save and sustain the earth rather than destroy it. There is no concern these days more important than the environment. Ordinary citizens are increasingly, albeit slowly, involving themselves in recycling, organic food production and consumption, the rescue of endangered species, environmental education, consumerism, ecotourism and the building of sustainable communities. There is also evidence that governments and top-level corporate executives the world over are gradually heeding the environmental challenge and searching for less damaging policies. The realisation is dawning that the selfish, profit-at-any-cost business practices adopted for so many years as the only logical means of survival, especially for larger corporations, have caused many of the societal and environmental problems confronting the modern world. The simple truth for thinking people is that we cannot sit back passively and allow the future just to happen to us. We must help to shape it on a planned and, above all, a holistically sustainable basis.

On the eve of its twenty-fifth anniversary, Delta Environmental Centre has an increasingly relevant role to play in efforts to meet these challenges. The past year has seen a further broadening of the scope of the Centre's activities, programmes and partnerships, aimed primarily at benefitting learners and teachers at both the school and tertiary levels.

Separate sections of this report give details of the important work undertaken and our flourishing partnership with organisation such as Rand Water, DANCED and EnviroTeach. An additional source of ready reference is our website: www.deltaenviro.org.za

As a non-profit organisation, our achievements would not have been possible without the sustained support of generous donors, sponsors and strategic partners and, not least, a committed, dedicated and unfailingly enthusiastic full-time and part-time staff under the wise and extremely competent leadership of Executive Officer, Di Beeton. Over the years Delta's staff has developed an impressive wealth of experience and expertise in the environmental education field, to the extent that their advice and guidance is frequently sought by a wide variety of kindred environmental organisations as well as corporate and government bodies. Delta's relatively new consultancy service is becoming more widely known and utilised. On behalf of the Board of Directors, renewed sincere appreciation for the exceptional, on-going commitment of all members of the very special Delta staff team.

We remain well aware of the heavy demands being made on a decreasing number of corporate social investment funds in a protracted stringent economic climate and the consequent dual need to control and manage our finances effectively as well as to be self-sustaining where possible. Delta continues to be largely reliant on on-going sponsor and donor support and we remain very appreciative of the financial assistance of several committed corporate concerns. Our focus remains on being well managed and at the forefront of environmental education in a world that is perforce becoming more environmentally aware for its survival. If we achieve those objectives we are confident that we can continue to justify donor support. We renew our pledge to acknowledge our donors and sponsors as widely as possible and to communicate regularly with them. Delta's status as an "approved educational fund" in terms of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act is an added incentive for donors.

Plans are well in hand for the celebration of a significant milestone for Delta Environmental Centre in 2000 - the 25th anniversary of our founding by our esteemed Honorary Life President, Norman Bloom. A book commemorating the Centre's exciting pioneering years is also to be published.

In conclusion, my renewed sincere thanks to all Delta's Honorary Board and Advisory Panel members. Their continued counsel and guidance in diverse fields of expertise, including local government, is invaluable.

Don Macey
Honorary Chairman

Executive Officer's Annual Report
April 1999 to March 2000

It is a pleasure for me to report on yet another successful year at Delta Environmental Centre (DEC). DEC's vibrant partnerships with Rand Water and I H S (the publishers of EnviroTeach) continue to illustrate that the pioneering work done in this regard will stand all parties in good stead in the future. Networks thus created have opened up many opportunities for the DEC staff that have contributed positively to their professional development.

Staffing

Henry Wanyama left DEC as the Extension Officer on 31 December 1999 to join the staff of the Joint Enrichment Project. This position was not filled as more staff are now fulfilling an "extension" role as part of their day-to-day responsibilities.

Ulisha Goburdhan's mornings-only Administrative Assistant's position was upgraded to the full-day Receptionist's position as of 1/1/00. Irene Brugman retired from full-time employment as DEC's Receptionist, after 8 years of loyal service to DEC on 31/12/99. Irene continues to be part of the Delta Team by doing the "lunch-time" shift at reception.

Vivian Molose was studying full-time at Rhodes University for her M Ed in Environmental Education from April 1999 to January 2000. Her position as Project Co-ordinator was vacant during her absence.

Presha Ramsarup was on maternity leave for the first 3 months of 2000 and returned to full-time employment on 1/4/00.

Grant Pearson, Avril van Niekerk, Angelique Nagar, Welcome Mguduwa, Judith Momakgotle, Ntokoza Sekgobela and Pauline Zwane of the Rand Water WaterWise Education Team, whilst not being employed by Delta, form an integral and creative part of Delta's "staff".

Buildings and Delta Park

5 information panels in the Museum (Kalahari, Fynbos, Grassland, Wetland and Mangroves) were upgraded, with great effect, and are certainly well-used by staff and participants alike. The MAZDA Wildlife Fund must be acknowledged for their contribution to this project.

The Spider Exhibit has also been improved considerably and is much more attractive and informative. The improvements are not complete and continue to receive attention. The Spider Club and the Tony and Lisette Lewis Foundation's contribution to this project are acknowledged. A special word of thanks to Wenda Redfern and Geoff Lockwood for driving this process in less-than-perfect conditions.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority sponsored an exhibit in the Museum on the Lesotho Highlands Water Project which was officially opened by Prof Kader Asmal, the then Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry. This exhibit serves to remind "Gautengers" ( especially ) of their reliance on water from outside their borders. DEC was chosen as a site for this exhibit because of the large number of visitors to the Centre annually.

Upgrading and decoration of Rand Water's Room in the Discovery Centre commenced in the first quarter of 2000 in preparation for Delta's 25th Anniversary celebrations in April. The room is most attractive and serves our educational needs (as well as those of the WaterWise Education Team) perfectly.

We were the fortunate recipients of a trailer from the Sandton Rotary Club that is in frequent use, especially for our school visits that include the puppet show. It has given us the opportunity to have a "Centre-on-wheels" affording us greater flexibility in our programmes.

The Rand Water WaterWise Sensory Garden was officially opened by Mr Vincent Bath, Chief Executive of Rand Water , on 15 February 2000. This garden is an extremely useful educational tool, as well as being an attractive addition to the SASOL Sensory Trail. SASOL Ltd. continue to support the maintenance of the Trail and appropriate staff training. Ms Gail Andrews and her team from Rand Water's Horticultural Department must be thanked most sincerely for their efforts and hard work in developing this garden.

The Resource Centre is constantly being developed and enhanced as we endeavour to keep abreast with developments in the field of environmental education and the diverse environmental issues confronting society in the 21st Century. Contributions from JTM Industries ( previously ICI Ltd. ) and the M S Parker Trust help to keep the Resource Centre functioning efficiently, co-ordinated by Wenda Redfern.

The Delta Park/Braamfonteinspruit User Group has been very active this year in promoting awareness about the area. Several walks in Delta Park and along the Spruit have been organised. The local press have been very supportive and have publicised these events with great effect. The User Group is working closely with the Braamfonteinspruit Trust and the Linden Police. Their monthly meetings are held at DEC. Horse patrols along the Spruit are a common event, especially over weekends.

Training/Qualifications of staff

Andrew Mathabathe successfully completed his Further Diploma in Environmental Education at RAU;
Adeline Sejane successfully completed the Rhodes University/Gold Fields Participatory Course in Environmental Education;
Vivian Molose successfully completed her M Ed. In Environmental Education at Rhodes University;
Estee Barends attended a 5-day training workshop in Durban ( sponsored by DANCED ) on the Logical Framework Analysis approach to preparing funding project proposals from 20 to 25/2/00, as well as a Legislation 2000 Seminar relating to Income Tax on 24/3/00;
Sandy Gracie attended a 2-day Introduction to Web Development Course on 8 and 9/3/00 presented by SANGONET, the Southern African Non-governmental Organisation Network, and sponsored by the IUCN;

8 Part-time staff have been trained by Gail Andrews of Rand Water in the principles of WaterWise Gardening and have had some opportunities to train staff at some Garden Centres in Gauteng, to make presentations to Garden Club members and to be "on duty" at various gardening exhibitions. Shirley Edwards is now co-ordinating the development of educational materials, for use with school groups, on WaterWise Gardening. These programmes will be incorporated into our existing courses once the material has been tested.;

8 Part-time staff have been trained to present a puppet show "The Treasure" to Pre-school and Junior Primary school groups which has certainly been a capacity building and professional development exercise for all concerned !;
and

Staff meetings, that often include a staff training component, are held regularly which help to keep everyone well-informed of the latest developments and trends in environmental education and to increase our general knowledge.(See para.10 of the Education report for an account of Delta's involvement in the work of the Standards Generating Body for Environmental Educators ).

General Environmental Education Initiatives

Adeline Sejane was involved in BirdLife South Africa's Environmental Education project that involved the development of a Resource Book for Teachers on Sustainable Living. A 5-day residential workshop was held at the UBUNTU Centre, outside Pretoria, during which a team of teachers and District Office officials from the N5 (Krugersdorp) District produced Learning Programmes. These Learning Programmes have subsequently been rigorously edited and improved and the book will be printed towards the end of 2000. I am a member of the Project Management Committee for BirdLife South Africa.

The Annual Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA)'s Conference was held in September 1999 in Grahamstown. The theme was "Growing Together". Adeline Sejane, Presha Ramsarup, Vivian Molose and I ( together with Avril van Niekerk and Angelique Morgan of Rand Water ) were able to attend. As usual, the pace was hectic and one had to make difficult choices based on the very full programme, but the networking opportunities and sharing of ideas is always fruitful. EEASA has excellent representation from all the SADC countries and this has enriched the dialogue and learning.

Dr Razeena Wagiet was appointed by the Minister of Education, Prof Kader Asmal, as his Ennvironmental Education Advisor. Her appointment has ensured that the role of environmental education is firmly entrenched in all curriculum development projects. She is managing the wide-ranging National Environmental Education Project (NEEP) in which Delta is already playing a significant part.

Several Environmental Education consultancy contracts have been satisfactorily completed in this reporting period.
* Klatzko and Waldron commissioned Delta to produce Learning Programmes for 12 educational posters that were included as a supplement in two editions of "The Teacher" newspaper.
* Rand Water commissioned Xenia Kyriacou to complete the "Waste Water" Resource Kit for teachers.
* The Gauteng Dept. of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land, contracted Delta to evaluate their Environmental Awareness Project that involved the establishment of Eco-Clubs in Orange Farm, Sebokeng, Meadowlands and Alexandra. Delta is an approved "Service Provider" to this Department. The research was successfully conducted by Cathy Dzerefos, Dennis Mokotedi, Edwin Moila, George Mpapele and Ntsiki Qhaba.
* Rina van der Watt has produced editorial for several editions of the EnviroTeach magazine as well as facilitating numerous workshops during which material from the magazine is used extensively and exclusively. This experience will pay handsome dividends for Delta in the future. The editions have been sponsored by the Dept. of Water Affairs & Forestry ( x 2 ), UNESCO and UNICEF. Rina receives valuable support from the EnviroTeach Editorial Advisory Team in the development of the material for these publications. Mike Bateman, Mike Hughes and Maria Chapman also provide invaluable support at I.H.S (SA).
* Rina van der Watt was contracted by Rand Water to re-train the actors in the play "For the Love of Water" as well as developing and enhancing the play. Rina was also commissioned to write a 4 -part story for Rand Water (that is linked to the play) and was featured in 4 editions of EnviroTeach.

Finances

The Audited Financial Statements have been prepared by KPMG and reflect that Delta's finances are managed tightly, especially the monthly cash flow. Most of Delta's regular sponsors are going through re-structuring/re-alignment processes, are being "unbundled" or are simply being closed down. This is making fund-raising in the traditional sense, increasingly difficult and an absorber of an inordinately large portion of my time. Large funding agencies are being established but the accessing of funds becomes more complex with these agencies requiring vast amounts of information and statistics. This data is available but invariably not in the format or sequence as requested. However, whilst being a daunting task, we will continue to persevere and access the funds we need to remain at the forefront of Environmental Education in the region.

Delta is also now contributing to the Skills Development Fund.

Hire of Facilities and Tuck Shop

DEC continues to be a well-used conference/seminar or meeting venue aimed at users who need a tranquil, secure and well-equipped facility. Sandy Gracie managers this activity and attempts to accommodate as many of the users' needs as possible, which is not always an easy task.

Enos Maredi manages the Tuck Shop very successfully and is always patient and polite with his "customers".

Marketing and Publicity

DEC's quarterly newsletter DELTALK is a vital tool for marketing. Consol Ltd's continued support for this publication is greatly appreciated.

Every available opportunity is used to distribute DEC's "School Letter" so that as many teachers as possible are made aware of our educational programmes for learners. DEC's partnership with Rand Water also contributes enormously to publicising our programmes.

Free editorial is being constantly sought - the Caxton Press is particularly good in this regard, as well as EarthYear magazine. The CAN-I Community Radio Station's Environmental programme, hosted by Val Kleyn, was also a good source for publicity.

DEC had a stand at BirdLife South Africa's 1999 Festival of Birds held at the Johannesburg Zoo and at the Market Place at the EEASA Conference. DEC staff also presented a workshop at Trees for Africa's EduPlant Competition Finals.

The British Consul-General, Mr. Nick McInnes selected DEC as the venue for the Launch of their publication "Growing Together". The British Minister of Trade, Mr. Dick Caborn was the official guest and the event was supported by both BPSA and Shell SA.

Creative options for publicising DEC's work is always appreciated. DEC's website needs regular up-dating and is proving to be a very "modern" means of sharing our vision.

Attendance Figures

I have reflected the statistics in a new format in this report because of the diversity of Delta's Education and Training Programmes.

In conclusion, I would like to express my personal gratitude to everyone connected to DEC for their loyal support during the past year. Mr. Don Macey, Chairman of the Board of Directors, is always available and we all value his advice and empathetic approach to all situations.

The 21st Century promises to be one of great challenges but I feel we are ready to face them.

Di Beeton
Executive Officer

EDUCATION AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES

A). TEACHER TRAINING

Teacher training over the past year (1999 - 2000) has been very challenging and exciting. Challenging in a sense that whilst we were faced with the enormous task of helping teachers to integrate Environment across all learning areas, we had to put some of our training programmes on hold and re-look at our approach due to the recent review of Curriculum 2005 (C2005) as tasked by Minister Kader Asmal. Exciting in the sense that although it appears that ENVIRONMENT as Phase Organiser is no longer applicable, the recommendations that it should still be INFUSED into all learning areas is good news.

Types of Workshops at DEC
The new structure of workshops as introduced last year seemed to work very well because it allows us to have continued involvement with the same group of teachers. This makes it easier to measure teachers' professional development as well as improve our programmes. Some comments on each of the workshop types follows.

1. Cluster Workshops
- We have worked with 3 clusters this year being C1 (Lenasia, Soweto - see para. 10 ), C2 (mainly Soweto and Kliptown) and the Northern Province (Potgietersrust District)
- Unfortunately the programme for 2 other clusters N5 and S1 that was scheduled to start during the 3rd term this year has been put on hold due to the latest developments within C2005. Hence the drop in Teachers Workshops figures as compared to 1998-1999. The cluster workshop as already mentioned above has yielded very good results this year. One of the clusters S2 were keen to exhibit their work so we joined the DANCED EXPO at Vereeniging City Hall. The work exhibited was very encouraging and many of the teachers who were not involved were invited to attend. This gave teachers an opportunity to share ideas and learn from each other. As a result of these EXPO's, teachers involved in our Cluster Workshops have also asked to have their own mini-EXPO's. Although we don't have a budget for this we are reluctant to discourage the idea so teachers will exhibit their materials at their Certification Ceremony as an alternative.

2. General Teachers Workshop
- Through these workshops teachers who have not been selected for Cluster workshops e.g. N7, N5 etc. still get an opportunity to receive training. The workshops deal mainly with Environmental Days e.g. Water Week, World Environmental Week, Arbor Week, etc. The Water Week workshops formed part of the Dept. of Water Affairs & Forestry's 2020 VISION for Scools Project. In addition to these, any other theme as requested by the group is addressed e.g Population Dynamics, WaterWise Gardening, Melville Koppies etc.

3. SEPP Workshops
- The School Environmental Policy and Management Plan (SEP+MP) Pack has gained popularity in many schools. We get requests to run workshops for schools on how to develop Environmental Policies for their schools. A good spin-off from these workshops was that the Impala Platinum Refineries used the SEP&MP pack framework as guidelines for the Springs Schools Environmental Policy Competition as part of their social responsibility efforts. The exciting bit is that we were invited to the prize giving day and it was pleasing to see that most of the schools who received training on the policy pack from DEC were amongst the best in the competition. Impala Platinum Refineries wants to extend this competition to their Rustenburg mines and has indicated they would be happy to work with us on this project.

4. Youth Groups
- We have not been able to work with any youth groups in this financial year except for 1. We have had requests from groups for assistance but due to budgetary constraints we could not help.

5. Northern Province Workshop
- This year we targeted the Bankenberg District ( surrounding Potgietersrust ) and have already had 3 workshops. The workshops are conducted for 2 days and the 3rd day is used for school visits. The last workshop will be conducted during October and will be followed by a certification ceremony in November. (See para. 10 for further details)

6. Eco Access / Delta EE Workshops
- The BP sponsored Eco-Access / Delta workshops are aimed at working with schools for the disabled. We had the 1st weekend of 25th - 27th February in Suikerbosrand. School visits are being scheduled for 3rd week of August. The next week-end away workshop will be on the 13th-14th October. Thereafter we will have a seminar / EXPO on the 2nd November at DEC.

7. Kruger National Park Trip
- The Honorary Rangers (JHB Region) continue to sponsor a trip to the Kruger Park for us as an incentive for teachers who show enthusiasm and interest in EE. 12 teachers will participate in the trip starting from the 29th September to the 1st October 2000. We appreciate the work done by the Honorary Rangers over many years in support of the Teacher Training Programme.

8. RAU Practicals
- We continue to offer the practical component of the RAU EE Diploma to 1st and 2nd year students. This year we worked with 25 1st year and 32 2nd year students.

9. ENVIROTEACH RELATED WORKSHOPS
- Rina van der Watt has been facilitating workshops for educators (college lecturers and teachers) based on the EnviroTeach Magazine. Through these workshops, Rina is gaining insight as to how educators make use of an external resource. This experience and contact with educators is then "ploughed back" into subsequent editions of EnviroTeach so that a wider readership can benefit. Very useful partnerships have been developed with Colleges of Education, especially in the N.W and N. Province. As it becomes more and more critical, and urgent, to "train-the-trainer", these contacts are extremely valuable for positioning DEC's work in the future.

10. EDUCATION PROJECTS
Ms Vivian Molose (Project Co-ordinator)

I start this report by thanking Di and the Board for understanding and supporting my need to take 1999 off towards completion of my studies. I would also like to thank the rest of the staff members especially Adeline and Henry who had to cope with my absence for a year. It is good to be back!

Coming back towards mid January meant that I had to fit in to the existing plans for 2000. As a result I was assigned to run workshops for teachers from C1 District (lower end of Soweto and Lenasia) and Bakenberg District in the Northern Province.

The themes arranged for these workshops were understanding the concept environment, environmental education as one of the solutions to the environmental crisis, learning programme development, the SEP & MP as one of the ways of organising action taking in schools and resource materials development

The themes for the above-mentioned workshops were spread across the schools terms.

C1 District
I ran workshops for C1 district with Truus Hedding and Wenda Redfern. We held plenary planning workshops prior to each workshop session with a view of discussing and sharing a working plan for a particular workshop. These plenary sessions proved to be useful though not easy due to different orientations to workshop running.

The Gauteng Dept. of Education (GDE) will not give permission for teachers to attend workshops during school hours. The implication of this was that we had to complete a theme within two hours. This I think resulted in shallow understanding of the themes and this became evident during some of the presentations made by teachers on 15/08/2000. School visits is a strategy that the D.E.C. team responsible for teachers' workshops set to compensate for the limited time of the workshop sessions. Although this strategy was repeatedly offered to the teachers, very few schools took this opportunity. I therefore conclude that not much impact was made on some of the teachers from the C1 district. The schools that availed themselves of this opportunity have made encouraging progress.

On 15/08/2000 C1 District teachers received their certificates of achievement at a ceremony held here at Delta Environmental Centre. Based on the background given in earlier paragraphs it is our feeling as members of the teachers' workshops team that the presentation of a certificate should not be based on participation alone.

Our thanks goes out to Mr. Agsie Pillay and his team at the Lenasia District Office of the GDE for their support and the sorting out of logistics for the workshops.

Bakenberg District
Workshops for the Bakenberg District in Northern Province will be completed in October 2000. The teachers in this province have shown great enthusiasm towards the workshops despite logistical problems created by floods experienced earlier this year in the province.

The workshops in the Northern province were run by Dennis Mokotedi, Xenia Kyriacou and myself. The support we received from the Bakenberg District office especially Mrs. Botlholo and Mrs. Tsweleng and Mr. Peter Tsheola from the provincial Department of Agriculture, Land and Environment is greatly appreciated.

A number of school visits have already been conducted due to enthusiastic invitations from the teachers. The visits have highlighted the complexity of environmental issues especially around water and sanitation. The reality of this complex issue has proved to be frustrating to the teachers, Dennis and myself as our attempts at solving these problems got intertwined in bigger political and economic issues.

We are looking forward to the certificate ceremony as this will bear evidence to the teachers' hard work despite the desperate conditions under which they work. Sponsors are encouraged to continue to make a difference in the lives of these 'forgotten people' in our country.

Policy on infectious diseases
With the HIV/AIDS rising to pandemic proportions and its effects on the workplace, Delta Environmental Centre saw it fit to develop a policy on this disease and other infectious diseases

As a result I was asked to establish a working committee which was made up of Wenda Redfern, Dennis Mokotedi, Cynthia Bobotyane and Eunice Sibiya. The approach of the committee was to do research on the diseases and then draft a policy which was to be circulated to the entire staff for comments.
Although it became a lengthier process than I initially anticipated, the draft policy was put together and it will be tabled before the Board for further scrutiny and possible adoption.

On behalf of the working committee I would like to thank all the staff members who gave their input on this draft policy and Di for her foresight in raising the need for such a policy. I would also like to congratulate the working team for working together to produce a fairly 'decent' draft for the staff and Board members.

Standards Generating Body (SGB)
The educational change that swept the country after 1994 led to a need to rethink and rewrite qualifications in this country. As a result different fields were required to register their 'interim' qualifications with the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) but to also rethink and align such qualifications with the new National Qualifications Framework (NQF).

As a result of the above the EE community forwarded nominations towards the establishment of a Standards Generating Body (SGB). The SGB was to also include people from the training and development field. The nominees (myself included) started work in February 2000.

The SGB is at a stage of drafting unit standards and qualifications which will be gazetted and published for public comment. The progress that I am reporting on (i.e. drafting of unit standards and qualifications) conceals the many difficulties experienced by the SGB. These include amongst others proper guidelines from National Standard Body (NSB05- Education & Training Development) and SAQA, 'legalization' of the SGB and funding for standard writing.

My involvement in the process of standards writing will benefit Delta as this process will in future inform how we develop our teachers' workshops and courses.

Partnerships with other organizations
Over the years Delta has formed relationships with other organizations such as the Environmental Education Curriculum Initiative (EECI), Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism and Rhodes University. These relationships are continuing to grow and are yielding further networking opportunities.

For example, the EECI contracted me to do a review of teachers' courses in environmental education so as to inform curriculum frameworks that could be adopted nationally for teacher education programmes in EE

Such involvement does not only benefit the Centre financially but puts us in better position to run better teachers' courses and workshops in the future.

To this end I would like thank our partner the EECI, particularly people like Mr. Solly Mosidi and Mrs. Tshidi Magonare.

In conclusion I would like to thank everybody for welcoming me back and I am looking forward to an eventful year with you all!

11. DANCED - TEACHER TRAINING IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

Mrs. Presha Ramsarup : Project Co-ordinator

The first two cycles of the project have been successfully completed and January 2000 saw the successful extension of the project into four new districts in Gauteng.

The project has been able to meet the developmental objectives of the first and second phases, inter alia:

- gain support and commitment from the Gauteng Department of Education (G.D.E.) Officials;
- establish contact with other critical stakeholders;
- conduct four training workshops in the districts selected;
- conduct two training sessions with G.D.E. officials;
- develop materials to be used during workshops;
- conduct school visits to support schools; and
- conduct curriculum Expos at end of cycle so schools could share the work that they have done with other schools in their district.

Thus far the project has interacted with the following :
- 12 districts
- 240 schools
- 720 foundation phase teachers

The district breakdown is as follows:

Each of the districts in the first two cycles have attended four workshops. All workshops tried to focus on developing teachers understanding on different EE methods. Thus each workshop tried to focus on a method and how it could be used in Learning Programme development. Teachers were then encouraged to develop activities relevant to their learners and their school context using these different methods.

The four districts that participated in the 2nd project cycle held their Environmental Curriculum Expos recently. Each project school selected a theme and exhibited all curricular material related to the theme, learning programmes, worksheets, childrens work and any teaching resource that they may have used. The main focus of the exhibits were the activity development and methodologies used. In general, the teachers work was of a high standard and the Expo initiative was praised by the attending teachers and district officials. The Expo was viewed by one district official as "curriculum in action" and another as "outcomes based education coming to life" for teachers.

It was a good example of co-operative learning where teachers learned from each other and shared ideas. It was also a good capacity building exercise for teachers, as many were originally not confident about their work.

The expo was an eye opening experience for schools from Bronkhorstspruit/ Moloto road since their schools are so isolated, they are far removed from all other GDE activities and they have little opportunity to interact with other schools. It was also very encouraging to see schools in the Vaal Triangle who were previously almost unexposed to environmental activity produce such excellent work.

The production of a 20 - minute training video on School Environmental Policy (SEP) development was completed at the end of 1999. As envisaged the video has received good reviews and we have fielded enquiries for copies from Durban , Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. It has been extensively used in the training of district officials and schools at Delta. It will be a valuable resource for Delta that will greatly enhance workshops on School Environmental Policy development since it focuses on the real experiences of three project schools - Sunnyside Primary ; Marematlou Primary and Lotus Gardens Primary . The video makes it easier for schools to identify with the process of policy development and it shows a clear example of how schools can link environmental activity to curriculum.

The four districts selected in conjunction with G.D.E. Head Office for cycle 3 are as follows:
- N6 - Kempton Park / Thembisa/ Ivory Park
- C3 - Central / Soweto
- N5 - Krugersdorp/Kagiso/Magaliesberg
- S4 - Alberton/ Katlehong

These districts have just begun their workshop programme.

The Danced Project has worked with schools in various areas in Gauteng and has helped considerably in spreading Delta's EE message to "new" areas.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all members of staff who have assisted us over the last year, especially during the long hours and chaotic times during the Expos.

12. Conclusion

Besides a few disappointing responses, most teachers are overwhelmingly positive towards EE and view it as being important in the future.

It is through the efforts of all the Delta staff, together with the support they get from The Board of Directors that we have recently celebrated our 25th Anniversary and are still in the fore-front of EE in our country.

Murray & Roberts Ltd., Shell SA, Consol Ltd., Alpha Ltd., WWF-SA, SA Breweries - Beer Division (Chamdor), the Tony and Lisette Lewis Foundation, De Beers Fund Educational Trust, Anglo American Educational Fund, UNESCO, The Green Trust/Nedbank, Standard Bank Foundation and the Aluminium Federation of Southern Africa are also acknowledged as sponsors of workshops for teachers. All participating teachers receive an UBUNTU-BOTHO Resource File kindly sponsored by Nestle.

In spite of all the challenges we are faced with DEC is still steadfastly working towards the achievement of its VISION.

Adeline Sejane
Education Manager

B) School groups and holiday programmes
Shirley Edwards, Chief Education Officer

During the year April, 1998 to March 1999 157 schools visited the Centre, a number of which visited us on more than one occasion.

During the year April 1999 to March 2000, 151 schools visited the Centre. This made a total of approximately 27000 little and large feet across our threshold. Although the number of schools that has visited us does not seem to indicate growth, we have a wonderful partnership with Rand Water. Through their Water Wise Education and Training programmes, Delta's part-time staff was used to facilitate programmes at 80 different schools during this period. During the previous year, we helped to facilitate programmes at 42 different schools. As you can see, our education officers are reaching many more learners than those who come to Delta Environmental Centre.

An exciting new development is the Water Wise Gardening training that some of our part-time staff are involved in. Once again with valuable training and support from Rand Water, our education officers were involved in the training of staff at selected nurseries and are now developing and testing programmes aimed at school children. We aim to produce a teachers' resource pack by the end of the year with the specific focus on using a garden in the school as a valuable teaching resource.

The programmes offered at Melville Koppies Nature Reserve continue to be a popular addition to the work that we do. Last year I reported that Clacherty and Associates were developing a new programme for the Grade 4 level. This programme continued to be developed and has been successfully tested by our education staff.

Our once-popular holiday programmes continue to give us a seesaw ride. Just when we were about to cancel them, we had a request from IBM. Due to the so-called Y2K bug, their staff members were refused leave over the Christmas and New Year period and we ran holiday programmes for the staff's children through the holiday period, which IBM paid for.

However, another 'group' of holiday programmes that were more like our traditional programmes, and were really a last-ditch effort, were not as well attended. It seems as though we may finally have to give in to the shopping malls and the electronic gadgetry that keep children busy these days. However, we will continue to search for an exciting and creative alternative.

Sponsors

The generosity of sponsors continues to be of assistance to many hundreds of learners who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend programmes at the Centre. Our sincere thanks to all who sponsor the visits of school children. - De Beers Fund Educational Trust, The Green Trust/Nedbank. Hollard Insurance, Meritor Trust Fund 2000, Pick 'n Pay Retailers, S.A. Breweries, Samancor Ltd., Standard Bank Foundation, the Clicks Organisation, Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd. and WWF-SA.

Part Time Staff

There have been some changes in the part-time staff complement over the past year, but the number remains between 17&20. In addition to facilitating school group programmes at the Centre, part-time staff members continue to assist Adeline and the DANCED team with teacher workshops and follow-up visits to schools.

As I mentioned earlier, their participation in the Rand Water WWET programmes is ongoing. One of the reasons for the increase in the number of programmes that the part-time staff is assisting with is that they have written a delightful puppet show for foundation phase learners. In addition to writing the script, they made the very professional looking puppets under the watchful eye of Margaret Auerbach. Those of you who have seen the puppet show will know how captivating it is. Well done to the puppeteers and thanks to Rand Water for your ongoing financial and moral support.

As always, the part-timers have survived through thick and sometimes very thin. Very sincere thanks to each and every one of you.

Full Time Staff

Last year I said that I was really grateful for the team of people that I have to work with here at Delta. That still holds true and I would like to thank them all for their support and sharing of ideas.

General

As environmental education and our education system in general changes and develops, I trust that Delta Environmental Centre will continue to remain at the forefront. Thank you to our Board of Directors for their visionary leadership and thank you to each one of our supporters.

The past year has seen further activity of this fledgling service offered by DEC, with the team of Cathy Dzerefos, Ivan Ginsberg, Sandy Gracie, Xenia Kyriacou and Geoff Lockwood tackling a number of projects.
The most significant of these was an ecological assessment of a proposed Platinum mining site near Brits that was carried out by I.G and G.L. Our report was highly praised for its thoroughness and, significantly, comment was made of our very reasonable rates for the work carried out. Our services have been recommended to other project leaders at SRK, major consultants to the mining industry.

The team also developed a promotional/educational map and information brochure for the Game Farm, Mohale's Gate, owned by Standard Bank. Unfortunately a number of other agendas were included during production and much of the material researched and developed by DEC was altered or left out. This resulted in much of its usefulness for the educational programmes that are run on the reserve being lost.
(I.G. and G.L.)

The team was also involved in discussions with Standard Bank towards developing an environmental policy for the banking industry in southern Africa and prepared comment on a draft document prepared by the bank (C.D.)

The Kensington Golf Course Bird Survey was completed and G.L. presented the findings to a sitting of the Gauteng tribunal and successfully answered questions and challenges about the content of the report.

Other projects involved chairing a workshop to guide the organisation "Friends of Albert's Farm" in establishing a master plan for the long-term development and management of the area (G.L)

DEC has also been asked to enter a joint tender for the educational and Visitor Centre elements of the World Heritage Site at the Sterkfontein Caves and other paleo-anthropological sites in Gauteng. We eagerly await feedback on this.

It is clear that there is considerable scope for expanding this aspect of Delta's services but our biggest hurdle remains the balancing the demands on the time of the team members against their other commitments to DEC.
Finding projects that are within the scope of the team - both from a time and a qualification point of view is probably the trickiest part of the growth of this section.
We have already lost two of the original team members who have gone into full-time employment in the environmental consultancy field but on the positive side this has resulted in referals and in DEC's team becoming more widely known.

In July, Cathy Dzerofos left Johannesburg for Haenertsburg in the Northern Province and the team will miss her valuable skills and input. We all wish her well with her new career.

SPONSORSHIPS RECEIVED
1 APRIL 1999 TO 31 MARCH 2000

Alpha Ltd.
Aluminium Federation of Southern Africa
Anglo American
BP Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Consol Limited
De Beers Fund Educational Trust
First National Asset Management & Trust Company (Pty) Ltd.
Green Trust
Hollard Insurance
ICI South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
M.S. Parker Trust
Meritor Trust Fund 2000
Murray & Roberts Limited
Nestlé (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd.
Pick 'n Pay Retailers (Pty) Ltd.
Rand Water
S.A. Breweries
SA National Parks - Honorary Rangers (JHB)
Samancor Limited
Sasol Limited
Shell South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
Standard Bank Foundation
The Clicks Organisation (Pty) Ltd.
The Tongaat-Hulett Group Ltd.
Tony & Lisette Foundation
Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority
UNESCO
WWF - South Africa

DONATIONS : IN KIND

Blesston Printing
Ceres Fruit Juices
EarthYear Magazine
EnviroTeach Magazine
First Paper House
Jacana Education
King Pie
Nashua North
Nestle
Sandton Rotary Club