‘Active citizenry’ makes world a better place

Active citizens are members of society who take charge of their future and are the agents of what they want to have happen in their communities — and when it comes to the Garden Route, there are lots of brilliant examples of these kind of people doing amazing work.

The Knysna Animal Welfare Society (KAWS) has not been given funding from the Knysna municipality for two years and is running on the smell of an oil rag — and the largesse of a bunch of women who constantly raise funds to keep the organisation afloat. 

These women are angels let alone active citizens.

SANParks honorary rangers on the Garden Route — and in the rest of SA — play a pivotal role in maintaining and upgrading SA National Parks.

Their mission statement of “people making a difference” rings true for active citizens: “Why we volunteer: It’s not for money, not for fame, not for any personal gain, it’s just for the love of nature, to make a difference where we can, it’s just to give up of thyself.

“That is something you can’t buy with wealth, it’s not for medals worn with pride, it’s just for the feeling deep inside.

“It’s the reward deep in our heart, the feeling we have been a part of helping others far and near, that is why we volunteer.”

Here on the Garden Route, the rangers work tirelessly and just one example of this is the seahorse tank at SANParks offices on Thesen Island which cost R80,000 — money raised by rangers.

But they also get their hands really dirty — a recent cleanup of tonnes of rubbish at Dam-se-Bos in Knysna is another example of the heroics they get up to.

There is also a Keep Plett Clean Campaign which was started by a woman called Alison Bryant some years ago — which has grown to be a formidable movement with more than 30 volunteers who don gloves and pick up litter in the central business district.

It’s a nasty job, but they do it with pride.

And then we have a growing movement in Knysna which started after the Covid-19-lockdown by two local women, Paula Wishart and Gail Sofianos, when Knysna was at its most tatty, tired and quite frankly sad.

A bunch of women decided not to moan, but rather to get stuck into a project to beautify the town.

They call themselves Revive Knysna, they call themselves environment fixers, and the work they started in 2021 continues to flourish and grow — with the phrase ‘active citizenry’ becoming the buzzword as more volunteers join in and as the movement spreads to other parts of the Greater Knysna area like Brenton and Sedgefield.

You can’t live in Knysna and not see daily what has already been achieved by Revive Knysna, as they have been gradually transforming some of the town’s prominent tourist areas and public spaces.

Their special signature has not gone unnoticed as their footprint spreads from public verges to gardens, heritage buildings and the general demeanour of the town.

“Beautifying Knysna one community project at a time” is their motto in the quest to achieving the sustained rejuvenation of Knysna.  

They now drive, co-ordinate and manage the many projects which have evolved since they started with a support of a core team of nine volunteers filling gaps from administration, to accounts, digital marketing, social media, fundraising right down to digging flower beds and carting plants or paint.

As a result of ongoing funding and buy-in from Knysna businesses and residents, Revive Knysna has managed to now employ full-time gardening people who create new gardens in and around the town while also maintaining them.

One of the first projects was the area at the junction of Waterfront Drive and Long Street leading to Thesen Harbour Town.

Armed with soil, rocks and plants they took on gardens on both side of the road — the result being that residents, owners of holiday homes and businesses were thrilled and responded favourably with donations of plants, labour and funds.

Since then, they have taken on other prominent gardens in the CBD, a bus shelter and gentrifying tired, but treasured historical buildings like the Knysna Railway Station and the Queen’s Wharehouse built in 1888 — both of which have not been restored to their former grandeur.

Tourists arriving in buses at the Railway Station on Waterfront Drive now get a first impression of the town that is cheerful and neat, thanks to Revive Knysna.

Very important, Paula and Gail point out, is that in a town that relies on tourism, Knysna needs to put its best foot forward.

And not only that, but clean green spaces lead to better economic health and even less criminal activity.

“If we wait for others, it will be too late.

“If we act as individuals, it might be too little.

“If we act as a community, it might be enough,” is their mantra.

“SA municipalities simply do not have the budgets or resources to offer more than just the basic services and Knysna is no different,” Paula explained.

Landscaping and other aesthetic improvements could not be considered when municipal budgets were limited, which is where all citizens could step in and make a difference, she said.

If every business and homeowner just made their own verge beautiful, imagine the overall impact.

I used to think that it was the duty of a municipality to mow and tidy verges, but it’s seldom one sees their team these days and even then, the end result is far from pleasing.

So, perhaps it’s time to stop asking what I get for paying municipal rates and muck-in making my own pavement pretty —  at very least!