Eastern Cape's leading media house backs environmental causes

Algoa FM presenters Roch-Lè Bloem (left) and Kaycee Rossouw at a school for tree planting.

A decade of drought has seen numerous towns from the Garden Route to the Wild Coast and inland through the Karoo run dry. Nelson Mandela Bay, the economic hub of the Eastern Cape, has only a few months of water supply left in its dams.

“As a responsible and fully committed corporate citizen of the Eastern Cape and Garden Route, we have partnered with the Nelson Mandela Metro to drive home the seriousness of the situation,” says Algoa FM managing director Alfie Jay.

The station features water expert Dr Giselle Kaiser and other metro water experts speaking about the situation in prime time, as well as frequent mentions by the on-air presenters.

The presenters also encourage people to use less water.

There are regular updates about the levels of the dams serving the metro.

The station is also supporting an “Operation Clean Spot” campaign by the Sustainable Seas Trust. Funded by the UK Government’s Ocean Country Partnership Programme, the project aims to clean up 90% of the mismanaged waste which currently litters the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.

Janine Osborne, CEO designate of the Sustainable Seas Trust, told Algoa FM that businesses and residents across the metro had embraced the programme.

Nelson Mandela Bay is being used as “proof of concept” for a zero waste campaign before the programme is rolled out to the rest of Africa, she said.

“Our rich natural heritage is under threat, which is why Algoa FM puts such emphasis on community conservation and campaigns like Operation Clean Spot. They are supported on air and through our social media and online channels,” says programme manager Baydu Adams.

Algoa FM broadcasts from one of the first purpose-designed “green” buildings in Nelson Mandela Bay. The headquarters and main studios overlook the eastern tip of the wooded Settlers Valley Park, which is an urban green lung.

Algoa FM’s social contribution includes regular updates on the progress of Covid-19, as well as an informational campaign about vaccinations.
The media house has also partnered with Community Conservation Fund Africa (CCFA) and other leading businesses in the region to plant fruit, spekboom and shade trees in fenced school grounds.

As part of its 35 years of broadcasting celebrations, Algoa FM launched the CCFA “Greening the Community, Adopt-A-Tree” initiative by sponsoring 35 trees.

Since then, a number of other corporates based in the metro and Algoa FM footprint have come on board in support.

“The environment is one of the pillars of the Algoa FM socio-economic development (SED) policy, so it was a natural fit to support the CCFA tree-planting project,” says Algoa FM marketing manager Lesley Geyer.

“The projects are examples of how companies can work together to uplift our local communities,” she says.