A major threat to conservation in the Walker Bay region is high unemployment and lack of access for local communities to natural resources. Locally unemployment exceeds 50% of the working population and skills levels are low. As a result, Grootbos initiated the Green Futures Horticulture and Life Skills College, a unique project that provides annual, practical-based training programs for unemployed people in the fields of fynbos landscaping, horticulture and ecotourism. The project is designed to develop nature-based sustainable livelihoods for people from the local community, and so engender a conservation ethic in surrounding areas. The purpose of the college is to create a source of qualified, previously disadvantaged gardeners, landscapers, nurserymen and ecotourism guides. Not individuals who simply tidy gardens, but highly trained individuals who can go on to develop a career in a fynbos based industry.
The Green Futures College was officially opened by the South African Minister of Education, Prof. Kader Asmal, on the 09th August 2003. Since then, 48, carefully selected graduates, have completed the horticulture and life skills course and all of them have found employment.
Entry requirements are very strict. Applicants have to reside in the local villages of Stanford or Gansbaai, have a minimum of grade 9 schooling, have a sound knowledge of English and they must be unemployed. The horticultural component of the course includes plant identification, an appreciation of the natural fynbos vegetation, how and why it should be preserved, propagation skills in their own nursery, garden design, as well as garden establishment and maintenance using water wise techniques.
All theory is backed up by a vast range of practical work in gardens in Gansbaai, Hermanus and Cape Town. Furthermore, every year three of the best students are given the opportunity to visit and work at the Eden Project in Cornwall, U.K., where they are excellent ambassadors for Grootbos and South Africa. The remainder of the students are provided with the opportunity to spend three weeks working at either Kirstenbosch or Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens.
The life skills component of the course includes a first aid course, numeracy skills, literacy skills, health issues, an AIDS awareness programme, interpersonal skills, money management, basic computer skills, basic business skills as well as completing a drivers license in our training vehicle that was kindly sponsored by ABSA.
In addition to the education curriculum the College provides transport, breakfast and lunch, uniform, equipment and a basic wage for all students. Once the course is completed, each student is awarded a nationally accredited certificate, allowing them to continue their studies and assisting them in job application and placement.
Linked to the college is an indigenous plant nursery and fynbos landscaping business that generates income for the Green Futures Project. By the students working together with the professional Green Futures landscaping team in Fynbos landscaping projects, they build up experience in this field as well as raising funds for the students of the following year, encouraging team building, pride in their abilities, a sense of responsibility and business understanding.
The success of the Green Futures College has been incredible. There have been no drop-outs since the inception of the school and all of past students have gained work in horticultural, conservation or eco-tourism businesses. For many students the course provided a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to develop a career and positive outlook on their future.
Green Futures has grown from a modest beginning into one of the most successful and significant social upliftment programs of its kind. The Grootbos Foundation is working with its partners in developing a strategy to roll out Green Futures Colleges to other sites in the Western Cape.
