Climate Resilient Nelson Mandela Bay

In this episode the team gets together to reflect on the journey of the last 14 months, the ups, lows, and most importantly the key moments that stood out. The team also closes out with a path forward for the embedding of the strategy.

If you missed any of the past 11 episodes, please check out:

Climate Resilient Nelson Mandela Bay

In this episode, Dr Gary Koekemoer and Luvuyo Bangazi take the podcast out to a historical township of New Brighton, the Mendi Arts Centre as part of the project's outreach and stakeholder engagement program. Featuring as guests are WESSA NMB Chairperson, Kevin Taylor, Activist Mike Phantsi, Award Winning Creative, Dolla Sapeta and two members of the CRDSF team, Dr Belinda Thorn and Therese Boulle.

About Dolla:
Dolla was born in 1967, in New Brighton, Gqeberha. Sapeta employs colour, form, and composition to portray an emotional environment rather than the physical one.  He says “My subject-matter is an effort to mirror South African urban realities by depicting myself first as an accomplice and other individuals who exists in this time in this society. The work generally takes refuge in human condition, its truth is arranged from my point of view, this also gives me the opportunity to manipulate the situation and present it in an extremely decontextualized arrangement".

For more info, do visit our refreshed website 
www.climatesmartnmb.co.za or drop a message at [email protected] 

We are joined by Denise van Huysteen the Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber. 

“The auto industry is going through massive, massive changes. And it’s probably the biggest changes since the automobile was invented.”

 In this episode, we discuss the framework for NMB and the efforts being made to make our city climate resilient by 2055. We uncover the challenges and opportunities facing the automotive industry, and the impact of climate change on the economy.

 What are your thoughts on the challenges and opportunities facing NMB?

Listen here and share your thoughts with us via our social media platforms.

Remember to like, share & follow our page to learn more.

 #TakeAction #ClimateResilientNMB #ClimateSmartNMB #NelsonMandelaBay #NMB2055 #ClimateChange

Cllr Buyeye is the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Health at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. MMC Buyeye led the city during the Covid 19 pandemic as Acting Mayor and has been involved in various structures dealing with challenges facing the city.

You can read more about Cllr Buyeye here - 

In this episode, Project Leader, Dr Gary Koekemoer and Luvuyo Bangazi spend time with an amazing and inspiring award-winning social activist, Siya Ntsumpa. Siya is Founder of Giving them Wings Foundation, an NPO that focuses on sustainable living projects and environmental education for children in schools, focusing mostly on schools in Motherwell.

Siya speaks from the heart and finds gardening as a way to feed his soul. This conversation will fill you up with optimism and inspiration.

In this episode Dr Koekemoer and Luvuyo engage with the Secretariat of the Presidential Climate Commission about their mission to Nelson Mandela Bay. The visit is part of identifying opportunities towards a just transition to adaptation. A just transition framework to guide the country in achieve a low carbon - just society. It is about procedural justice, redistributive justice and restorative justice.

We look forward to hearing from you, your thoughts and suggestions for guests and topics. You can find more information about the PCC at Presidential climate commission.

In this episode we spend time with Poetic Soul, author and performer of an amazing poem dedicated to Climate Change, first seen early in 2024 during the launch of the Climate Resilient Development Strategy Framework - NMB project.

Titled - The other side of the hill by Poetic Soul, this poem will leave you inspired and enthused to take stock of the world around you.

In this episode we are joined by Dawn McCarthy to talk about how we house citizens in a climate resilient way. Dawn is a member of our Climate Resilient Development Strategy Framework team which is focused specifically on Nelson Mandela Bay. 

Having spent the past three decades at the municipality as a Town Planner and more recently driving urban development strategy and planning, she has grappled with these challenges firsthand. Join us as we chat to her about the practicalities of making human settlements climate resilient.

In this edition we talk to the non-profit organisation Zwartkops Conservancy, founded in 1968, who have been doing sterling citizen work to protect the Swartkops estuary and other natural resources within the catchment. Their efforts not only seek to rehabilitate the natural resource but also seek to improve the lives of the adjacent communities that are affected by the Swartkops River ecosystem.

Their mission is to promote public awareness and participation in caring for the greater ecosystem to the benefit of all. In order to protect the river they act in multiple capacities: as a watchdog to monitor river pollution; as cleaners that pick up tonnes of rubbish annually; as educators who bring children to the river to show them the flamingos and the river system; as advocates who engage with authorities on management plans and green engineering solutions; and as alien clearers taking out the invasive plant species. 

Our guests in this podcast to explain it all are Femka DeWet and Ntombozuko “Pat” Ntabeni. They give real meaning (and action) to the idea of citizen action and co-management. 

Let us know your thoughts and feel free to submit an issue you wish us to address with our guests in the coming episodes. Follow us online @Climate Resilient NMB (Facebook) or Web: www.climatesmartnmb.co.za 

“What does our Bay look like and what’s happening? In Episode 3 of the Climate Resilient Nelson Mandela Bay podcast we introduce the project’s draft Scoping Report. It’s a diagnostic tool that the project uses to consolidate all available primary and secondary data to paint the picture of the current complex system and climate state of the Bay and outlines key themes and pathways to solutions. This Scoping Report was developed with the participation of a wide range of stakeholders and partners, which will now go back to stakeholders for re-engagement and refinement. In this podcast Dr Belinda Clark and Dr Koekemoer tease out elements of the Scoping Report and just what it says about our Bay. More is to come from follow up episodes".