Members of the Kwendalo team had good fun engaging with the recent Eden Festival of Action in early October 2022, hosted by Greenpop and Wild Spirit Lodge in Plettenberg Bay. The festival is an environmental-action gathering that combines practical ecosystem restoration work like planting trees with a full lineup of workshops, talks, and activities from sustainability experts. The event aims to create an empowered regenerative community equipping attendees to become custodians of the natural world – moving from commitment to action.

Kwendalo Institute‘s visiting Associate, Dr. Matthew Zylstra, delivered two workshops for the festival:

• NatureFix: Supercharge your Wellbeing which introduced the youth in attendance to the many benefits of connecting with nature in a mindful and sensory-aware way including simple, but effective, practices for turning one’s greenspace into a wellness place
• Be.Wilder. which was a playful workshop for rediscovering our neglected wilder selves and reawakening the natural joy, curiosity and sense-abilities that help us feel more alive.

“I’m really grateful for the positive feedback received on both workshops and also the way that the participants really opened themselves up to the experience. It was a lot of fun alongside some deeper conversations around our mental health and for youth navigating these tough times,” said Matthew.  

Kwendalo Gardens staff Gift Lwazi and Linda Mtshali participated in a workshop called “Integrated Sustainable Farm Management” which was highly beneficial to advancing their efforts at Kwendalo. When it came to the practical session, Gift and Linda were also able to share their knowledge with other participants. “It was nice to be aware of the skills that we already have ourselves and were able to offer others – when it came to the practical session we could assist other participants in how to plant in the proper way.”, said Kwendalo’s farm manager, Gift.  

If you’re interested in learning more about using green and blue spaces as a wellness tool, please visit our Nature Referrals page.