Non-profit Take Back Our Mountains (TBOM) organised a litter pick-up on the slope of Signal Hill between Voetboog Road and Military Road last Saturday.
Taahir Osman, a TBOM founder, said he was approached by residents after a clean-up on Lion’s Head.
The organisation teamed up with volunteers and Sentinel Primary School in Hout Bay and had a total of 45 people collecting rubbish from the mountain.
“The absence of waste bins along the roads compounded the problem, leading to a substantial amount of litter accumulation. Despite the challenges, the collective efforts resulted in the collection of 103 black bags of litter, highlighting the scale of the issue. TBOM expressed gratitude for the support received, particularly acknowledging the donation of refuse and sponsorship from Delite bakery,” Mr Osman said.
“The organization emphasised the importance of preserving the natural heritage of the mountains and the broader environment and underlining the need to educate younger generations about environmental conservation,” he said.
Nazeema Thebus, a Bo-Kaap resident, describes it as an exercise in contributing to the solution of environmental stewardship.
“The volunteers showed up in great spirits, kids with the parents and friends coming out early morning to pitch in and contribute to a proactive activity for our community. The trepidation soon faded to excited energy as we fanned out, filling bag after bag, cleaning up our mountain. It was a fulfilling and rewarding experience seeing the mountain cleaned up. I will most definitely do it again and will encourage more people to come out to positively contribute to a healthy and clean environment,” said Ms Thebus.
Shehaam Davids, a Grade 7 English teacher at Sentinel Primary, says the pupils often join TBOM on hikes and cleaning projects.
“Our kids have learned that through hiking and the cleaning projects that they must be responsible and take care of our environment, doing this makes them feel part of something valuable and they learn about nature and how to respect the environment,” said Ms Davids.
