At the Thrive annual general meeting at the Hout Bay library earlier this month, the Thrive Team looked back on what chairperson Gwyn Banning dubbed “a banner year.”
During the past year, Thrive took a hard look at its vision statement and refined its strategy.
The Thrive vision is: “To be a leading model in the development and promotion of environmentally sustainable living practices which enhance the health, social well-being and economic viability of local communities.”
“In their three-year strategy, the Thrive team will focus on creating a sustainable communities model by demonstrating it on the ground. Hard work must then be put in to document, package and share the model so that other areas can benefit from the lessons learned in the pilot area of Imizamo Yethu and eventually beyond Hout Bay,” said Thrive executive director, Helen Adendorff.
Detailed project reports were presented at the meeting by the sustainable schools programme and sustainable communities programme representatives.
Notable achievements are the Imizamo Yethu Waste Minimisation Project, the “For the good of our hood” restaurant project, the Thrive Enviro Programme for schools, as well as multiple workshops and community information sessions presented to Hout Bay schools and community groups to promote green waste management and local food production.
Significant progress also was reported by the Thrive invasive clearing team, regarding the eradication of alien species in the Baviaanskloof area during the past year, and Ms Adendorff thanked regular donors who support this project. Thrive welcomed two new management committee members, Portia Msamo and Giuseppe Carosini.
The annual general meeting was also an opportunity to bid farewell to founder Bronwen Lankers-Byrne as she embarks on a three-month trip abroad and to thank her for the outstanding contribution she has made to Hout Bay’s environmental sustainability through Thrive over the past decade.
Ms Lankers-Byrne has handed over the role of executive director to Ms Adendorff, and the role of sustainable schools manager to Thendo Dama.
