Two bird conservation organisations, BirdLife South Africa and Sanccob, are taking the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment to court over what they see as a flawed plan to protect the endangered African Penguin. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook asks Sanccob’s head of conservation, Nicky Stander, what motivated the…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Nileta Knoetzen, co-founder of Malmesbury-based company, Growing Paper, which not only hand-manufactures paper from paper waste, but also infuses it with seeds so you can “plant” it after use.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to World Travel Market Africa sales manager, Penny Fraser, and marketing manager, Olivia Gradridge, about how seriously the tourism industry is taking the negative impact it makes on the environment.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Heather Wares of the Two Oceans Aquarium about the incredible work done by its foundation in the field of ocean research and conservation and the beach clean-up it is holding at Surfers’ Corner, Muizenburg, on Saturday morning. Time: 9h-12h. Bring along gloves and a bucket to collect the…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Honest Chocolate co-owner, Anthony Gird, about their efforts to make their products sustainable and environmentally friendly and how climate change is impacting cocoa bean production. To find out more about their chocolate and workshops, visit their website: honestchocolate.co.za…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Greenpop’s Zoe Gauld-Angelucci about the organisation’s incredible urban greening and forest restoration projects and the Reforest Fest is it holding in the Overberg on the Easter weekend.By Glynis Crook

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Victor Sterling, co-owner of Delheim Wine Estate, about the importance of soil quality and the farm’s practice of planting cover crops between the vine rows.By Glynis Crook

Reminder to not waste water as dam levels drop below two-thirds About a week ago, the Western Cape Department of Water and Sanitation reminded residents of the need to be cautious about the amount of water they use. This as dam levels in the region collectively stood at 65.8 per cent. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to climate scienti…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Shani Judes, director of the Wavescape Surf and Ocean Festival which takes place from 1-14 March. It features a host of events focusing on ocean conservation, including a beach clean-up, documentaries, and a charity auction of surfboards painted by South African artists. Find out more on…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Christiaan Gildenhuys, a postgraduate student in Stellenbosch University’s Department of Botany and Zoology, who has co-written a paper about the 400-year-old history of oaks in the Cape, and why they are now becoming a problem.By Glynis Crook

A major United Nations report on the world’s migratory species, published earlier this week, has found that nearly half of them are in decline and are increasingly in danger of being wiped out. Of the over 1,189 species assessed, researchers found that more than one in five of the already threatened species now face extinction. In this week’s editi…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Dr Wentzel Coetzer, a conservationist and member of the Greater Kabeljous Partnership, that has launched a campaign to preserve two key sites in the area of Jeffrey’s Bay that are home to several endangered animal and plant species.By Glynis Crook

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Nora Thiel, co-owner of Delheim Wine Estate, about conservation efforts at the farm. It is not only a WWF-South Africa Conservation Champion but was also recently named the 2024 Conservation Pioneer for the Cape Winelands region, in the Great Wine Capitals’ “Best of Wine Tourism” awards.…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Hugh Tyrrell, director of Green Edge and a specialist waste management and recycling consultant, about problems with waste collection in townships that seem to have come to a head this week with reports that the mayor tabled a motion to place the executive director of urban waste management on suspen…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Gaathier Mahed, a senior lecturer in geosciences at Nelson Mandela University, about an ancient system of drawing water from aquifers called a qanat. Not only is this ingenious method of water supply recognised by UNESCO as an outstanding example of traditional technology, but it is also an environme…

Scientists at Europe's Copernicus Climate Change Service on Tuesday confirmed that the world is dangerously close to a global warming limit as 2023 goes down as the hottest on record by a substantial margin. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Willem Landman, a professor in Meteorology at the University of Pretoria, about the report.…

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY GERLINDE MOSER OF RE/MAX. Being Green – Your window on the environment broadcast every Friday morning at 9.30. Glynis Crook will focus on key issues affecting our lifestyles, science and research outcomes, the quest for sustainable living and a healthier planet.By Glynis Crook

We’ve been hearing a lot this month about climate change and the impact the rise in global temperatures is having on so many aspects of our lives. One of these is the likelihood that the size, frequency, and severity of wildfires will increase in the years to come. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook, speaks to Working on Fire managing director,…

Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, but it does tend to be excessive in terms of all the delicious meals we eat. And we shouldn’t forget that the world’s food system is a huge contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. So, how can we keep the environment in mind when preparing all those special celebratory meals. To give us some ideas, …

There was a standing ovation on Wednesday morning when a landmark deal was agreed on at the end of the United Nations climate summit in Dubai. While it doesn't specifically mention the "phasing-out" of fossil fuels, it does call for parties to contribute to efforts to "transition away" from the use of fossil fuels in energy systems in a way that wi…

Some 120 governments have now signed a pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy capacity by 2030, essential to delivering the scale of emissions reductions needed globally to combat climate change. South Africa is not one of them, despite our abundant renewable energy sources. International NPO, The Climate Group, has released a report outlini…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Olivia Rumble of Climate Legal about what African countries are hoping for from this year’sBy Glynis Crook

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Willem van der Westhuizen, one of the founders of the community-led project, ZeroToLandfill, which collects recycling and organic waste in the Little Mowbray-Rosebank area of the city.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Stellenbosch University marine biologist, Dr Sara Andreotti, who together with a group of scientists and environmentalists has developed an eco-friendly shark barrier which is being used for the first time on a private island in the Bahamas.…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook visits the Arnold Street dog park where she meets with retired music teacher, Liz Sole, and artist Kallie Doran, two of a group of Observatory residents who have got together to revive the space for the pleasure of both humans and their furry friends.…

Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in existence, but it is also one of the worst climate change offenders, contributing at least 8% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. But, for the moment, we can’t live without it. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to UCT Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering, Mark Alexander, about …

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to moss artist, Gert van Tonder, who has created a spectacular garden at Tokara wine estate, about the role this seemingly unimportant plant plays in protecting the environment. The garden is open to the public for 4 days during the annual Stellenbosch Garden Town week.…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Dr David Roberts, a clinical veterinarian for the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (Sanccob) about the critical endangered African Penguin and the fight for their survival. Penguin adoptions assist with fundraising. It cost R600 to adopt and name a pengui…

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Samantha Ralston-Paton of BirdLife South Africa about the dangers that wind turbines pose to birds and a new potential solution that is being tested in the Western Cape.By Glynis Crook

Cape Town mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, is back on Being Green with Glynis Crook, this week talking about some of the other renewable energy projects and plans for the city.By Glynis Crook

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis about the City of Cape Town’s green energy plan.By Glynis Crook

Following the dramatic sea surges experienced across the Western and Eastern Cape last weekend. Glynis Crook speaks to Professor Marcello Vichi, head of UCT’s Department of Oceanography, to find out how much climate change is to blame.By Glynis Crook

As we mark a slew of national and international clean-up days, in this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook asks WWF South Africa’s circular economy portfolio senior manager, Lorren de Kock, if we are facing a ‘waste crisis’.By Glynis Crook

In the declaration at the end of the inaugural African Climate Summit in Kenya this week, African leaders proposed new global taxes and reforms to international financial institutions to help the continent fund actions that will help it adapt to increasingly extreme weather. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook gets reaction to the gathering from…

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Vergelegen’s senior horticulturist, Richard Arm, about the importance of Arbor Week and a wonderful opportunity to buy indigenous trees at the wine estate over the next seven days.By Glynis Crook

What does it look like inside an award-winning experimentation team? As Stewart Ehoff reflects on that, you hear familiar aspects: people, vision, team spirit, rituals and ceremonies. But he also talks about challenges, the battle to convince others, experimentation being "a lonely place" and imposter syndrome. Stewart is the Head of Experimentatio…

- In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Prof Francois Engelbrecht, a climate scientist at Wits University’s Global Change Institute about a new study which suggests that the extreme weather and weather-related events experienced in the northern hemisphere this summer will increase in frequency and severity unless the world stops burning f…

Although it still feels like we are very much in the depths of winter, spring is not too far off. And as the flowers begin to bloom, so bees begin to emerge from their hives in search of pollen and nectar. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Mike Allsop, a senior researcher at the Agricultural Research Council’s Plant Protection Resear…

A new initiative called Cash 4 Trash has begun installing Reverse Vending Machines at shopping centres in Gauteng, which people can use to deposit their plastic bottles, aluminium cans, and glass bottles in return for digital cash. In this week’s of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Mary-Ann Mandishona, the entrepreneur behind the recycling drive…

Most people think that wine is just fermented grape juice. But in fact the fining agents traditionally used in winemaking typically contain animal products. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Norah Hudson, international sales and marketing executive at Longridge Wine Estates, to find out more.…

If you take a stroll along the increasingly trendy Harrington Street in the CBD, you will come across a 12-storey building that is making waves across the world. Almost completed, the Hemp Hotel has been named the world's tallest building to be constructed from hemp blocks and hempcrete. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to…

There’s increasing evidence that switching to a plant-based diet can have a significant positive impact on both our health and the environment. Glynis Crook speaks to Dr Nanine Wyma of the Physicians Association for Nutrition, South Africa, who says that transforming the world’s food system is essential to mitigate climate change.…

The Clanwilliam cedar, that gave the Cedarberg its name, was once found in large groves across the region. But since 2013, this majestic and ancient tree has been listed as critically endangered. In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook speaks to Jacklyn Farmer, an off-reserve conservation services officer at CapeNature, about programmes to increase …

The cholera outbreak at Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng has yet again put the spotlight on water in South Africa. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Anja du Plessis, Associate Professor and Research Specialist in Water Resource Management at the University of South Africa, about the state of our water resource management…

UN Treaty to protect marine life United Nations member states last week adopted the first-ever treaty to protect marine life in the ocean outside of national boundaries. The so-called “High Seas Treaty” was approved after more than 15 years of discussions. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Dr Bernadette Snow, Deputy Dire…

The cholera outbreak at Hammanskraal in northern Gauteng has yet again put the spotlight on water in South Africa. In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Anja du Plessis, Associate Professor and Research Specialist in Water Resource Management at the University of South Africa, about the state of our water resource management…

It’s World Turtle Day on 16 June. In this edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook speaks to Talitha Noble, Conservation Manager at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation’s Turtle Conservation Centre, about the extraordinary sea turtles and their contribution to ocean ecosystems.By Glynis Crook

In Being Green this week, Glynis Crook talks to Lauren van Nijkerk, Director of Campaigns & Communications at the environmental NGO, Wildtrust, about its new campaign focusing on marine protection, and particularly sharks and rays, as well as highlighting the substantial benefits of establishing new sanctuary areas for them…

Joel Klettke is a conversion copywriter and the founder of Case Study Buddy. He recently wrote on LinkedIn that it was a "wonky" year in business, asking for help from his network. We talk about what triggered that post, the reality on the ground, the response from his network - and the value of a social network. Other highlights: The CRO industry …

In this week’s edition of Being Green, Glynis Crook, speaks to the City of Cape Town’s Deputy Mayor and Mayco Member for Spatial Planning and Environment Eddie Andrews to get an update on the infestation by the tree-killing beetle, the polyphagous shot hole borer. He said it’s important that you do not cut down an infected tree yourself, as special…