Invasive alien species in the classroom

Hestelle Melville from the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Education unit presents the City’s invasive alien species strategy to the teachers (Picture by Hadley Lyners) Hadley Lyners, Education Outreach Officer at SAEON’s Fynbos Node, shows teachers how to design a lesson plan on invasive alien species (Picture by Hestelle Melville) Teachers hard at work (Picture by Hestelle Melville)

SAEON’s Fynbos Node presented a teachers’ training programme on invasive alien species (IAS) at the Kristo Pienaar Environmental Education Centre at Tygerberg Hills. Nine teachers from schools across Cape Town attended the event.

Hestelle Melville from the City of Cape Town’s Environmental Education unit presented the City’s IAS strategy. SAEON showed the teachers how to design a lesson plan on invasive alien species. As Dr Barbara Mashope and Ernita van Wyk of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) were unable to attend, SAEON presented their material on the early detection and evaluation of invasive alien plants.

This was followed by a lively feedback session and discussion during which the teachers raised several issues around IAS.

All the teachers received learning support material made available by Philip Ivey, National Coordinator of the Early Detection & Evaluation of Emerging Invasive Alien Plants Programme, Lorraine Williams, National Education Coordinator of the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs as well as by CAPE.

Each school received a DVD showcasing some invasive alien species as well as case studies illustrating different methods of teaching learners about these harmful plants.