Suburban
Ivan Zhakata Suburban Reporter
ST George’s College Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth students on Wednesday visited Monavale Vlei for an educational tour on the protection and preservation of wetlands in Harare.
The students were hosted by the Conservation Society of Monavale (COSMO) and the Harare Wetlands Trust (HWT) who enlightened the students on why wetlands were important in the provision of safe and clean water in the city.
The students were taken around the Monavale wetland which is currently flooded with water from the recent rains.
They were educated on what wetlands were, their functions and role in water provisioning and importance, as well as the biodiversity they supported.
The inquisitive nature of the young ones saw them asking very pertinent questions on how communities, local authorities and Government were tackling wetland issues.
As they were being taken around they were able to observe the spongy nature of wetlands, the biodiversity they held amongst other things.
In an interview, Mr Jimmy Muropa who is the Monavale Vlei scout said he was impressed by the zeal shown by the students in trying to understand the functions of the wetlands.
“It was with pleasure having St George’s College students visiting Monavale Vlei to learn about wetlands. They got to appreciate, understand and learn more on these precious and unique ecosystems and the free services they (wetlands) provide,” he said.
Mr Muropa said they will be conducting more educational tours for students from different schools so that they can have an appreciation of the functions of wetlands.
The Monavale Ramsar Site is an urban seasonally flooded short grassland wetland ecosystem situated between the hilly suburbs of Monavale and Meyrick Park.
These vleis or wetlands are the primary water source for the city and feed water into the streams and rivers which flow down to the city’s supply dams 32km downstream to the south west, with that water being pumped back up to the city for its needs.
Monavale Vlei is an outstanding example of the once extensive headwater wetland or vlei ecosystems of Zimbabwe supporting a diverse range of plants and animals, many of which are unique and of international importance.
The overall Monavale Ramsar Site is 594 hectares in extent with the protected Monavale Vlei nestled at its centre and is the headwater of the Marimba River which flows directly into Lake Chivero, one of Harare’s water sources.
