Growing up with a love and respect for mountains and wild spaces are not givens, but the opportunity to nurture these connections should be afforded to everyone. 

This has been the thinking and philosophy of the Mountain Club of South Africa’s (MCSA) Community Programme that aims to nurture the next generation of nature lovers by exposing young people to hiking and climbing mountains.

The MCSA has sections across the country and in parts of Southern Africa. Among them is the Cape Town section, where the MCSA was founded in 1891. Since 2002, the various sections of MCSA have had a clear focus to take children from stressed and pressured communities on hikes, climbing excursions and overnight hikes. The programme works with schools, youth groups and children’s homes and is run by vetted volunteers, mostly members from the MCSA community. 

To date over 1000 young people – ranging in age from four to 30 years - have been beneficiaries of the programme. For many, the relationships that are built through the initiative and the opportunity to become custodians of nature have become lifelong gifts. 

What was the problem?

For many people from disadvantaged backgrounds, recreation and enjoyment of nature can be out of their grasp or not easily accessible. Barriers to participation can come down to the lack of a few extra rands to pay for transport, appropriate basic gear or entrance fees. The legacy of apartheid-era space planning has also meant that beautiful wild spaces are often the furthest away from those who have the least. 

As a result, many children from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t grow up with access to mountains, oceans, beaches, forests and wild spaces and are being excluded from enjoying these as part of their natural heritage.

How are they solving it?

By building a community programme focused on inclusion, widening access and creating more exposure and opportunities for children, the MCSA’s programmes have been enduring and impactful. 

They have deliberately defined themselves not as a community outreach initiative but rather as fellow nature lovers sharing their love for the natural environment and passing this on to the next generation.

Hanlie Gouws, who heads up the community initiative for the MCSA Cape Town section, says: “The first line of our mission statement is a line about taking people out hiking for the enjoyment of hiking. We want people to enjoy the outdoors no matter where they come from. We definitely focus on people who would not otherwise have access to mountains but the aim is to create a community of mountain users, where we meet each other as equals, and we leave all of the world behind.”

Gouws says volunteers are also committed to the programme in the long run and the young people who come on hikes stay with them for years – become part of the bigger family of hikers.

She adds: “I tell the story of one young person who did come from a very deprived background. She found her love in hiking and hiked with the club regularly for years. One day on a hike, when she was about 14-years-old,  she suddenly stopped as Table Mountain came into view and said to me ‘You know what? We're really privileged because we hike. For her to take that happiness and joy home with her and to see her life differently is why we do what we do.”

What makes it work?

Formalising the programme – By putting in place safeguards like a volunteering guideline that could include police clearance and codes of conduct, the MCSA community initiative protects children, volunteers and the club. 

Building relationships, not a programme – The emphasis is on long-term relationship building with each child or young person who comes on a hike. It’s a way to nurture someone’s love and respect for nature and for them to contribute in their way to building a community they become part of.  

Working with local networks – The initiative works with schools, community groups and faith-based groups to reach the children who would benefit most from being part of the community hiking initiative. 

Starting small and listening to needs – The community project has been about listening to and responding to local needs. It started with a hiker from the Cape Flats asking the MCSA to guide overnight hikes for children from her community. They started with small groups and have learnt and adapted along the way. 

Letting the enjoyment of nature be the teacher  – While the club incorporates its other projects like wilderness survival skills, alien plant clearing and conservation on the community hikes, education is not the primary aim. The  focus is firmly on creating community, mutual understanding and respect and letting recreation in nature be how volunteers and the children learn together. As Gouws points out: “Mountaineering is a great leveller; you need to work together and be together, even if you are walking on your own – you are part of a community.” 

Acknowledgements

Author: Fixlocal Reporter

Additional articles/sources: https://mcsa.org.za/

Photograph: Mountain Club of South Africa