00:01We are not just going to sit behind closed doors in hotels or in conferences and so forth.
00:07We are going to go outside. And we are going to impact everyone.
00:13Elaine Chiroto and Ana Mapisiri are thinking big.
00:17They are out and about in one of a wetland, which is located in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare.
00:28The protected area is a vital part of Harare's water cycle.
00:33But pollution and development are still very real threats.
00:38Wetlands Monavu is one of the most important wetlands in Zimbabwe or places in Zimbabwe.
00:43Because we are talking about saving lives here. We are talking about protecting the species that are here.
00:49Because in this world, not only humans inhabit it, we have other species that really need a place to live.
01:03Hanna Mapisiri has joined a group of local residents for a clean up in the Monavu wetland.
01:09She is involved with climate control Zimbabwe, one of the country's main environmental networks for young people.
01:15For Hanna, what counts is that people have fun taking collective action.
01:21At a social level, it's very important because the young and the old get time to actually sit down and
01:25engage and network.
01:27And also have different aspects and opinions and perspectives when it comes to environmental issues.
01:32The result of today's work, 12 backfalls of trash have been removed from this fragile ecosystem.
01:39Clean up done. It's time to celebrate.
01:43Welcome to the quietest party in town.
01:46Rather than listening to music via speakers, people tune in via wireless headphones.
01:52It's called Silent Disco.
01:55Hanna also enjoys dancing without disturbing nearby wildlife or people.
02:00The event is part of a bigger initiative to protect Monavu wetland.
02:05We can even hear the insects chirping, the birds chirping as the sun goes down.
02:09But there's a party happening inside these headphones.
02:13And, you know, that's just the joy of being able to have fun, but in a way that really respects
02:20the environment,
02:21respects the residents of people who are close by.
02:25And, you know, we can really come together and have a good time.
02:28And one of our rules as we are creating climate control was that we are going to make it a
02:33fun thing.
02:34We are going to make it cool. We are going to make it twiggy.
02:36We want people to really encompass it inside them.
02:39We want people to really take it and embrace it.
02:41Just ten kilometres to the east lie Mukuvise woodlands.
02:45The trees here rely on water from the wetlands.
02:48But these people have come to wonder at something equally important.
02:53A mushroom.
02:55Fungi are not plants. They belong to their own distinct biological kingdom.
03:01Unlike plants that make energy via photosynthesis,
03:04fungi feed on organic matter like dead leaves and wood.
03:08They also provide trees with nutrients via vast underground networks.
03:14The small organisms play a very pivotal role in terms of the balance of the ecosystem within the wetlands.
03:21So, I also feel like it's also one of the beautification and one of the wonders of nature.
03:27Yeah.
03:27And also the passing of the nutrients from the trees to the flowers and other smaller plants.
03:32So, yeah. For example, the wild mushrooms as well.
03:37The fungi here even work hand in hand with termites.
03:53Those termites will grow their own particular mushroom.
03:55And then, in the right time of the year, that fungus has a chance to come to the surface.
04:01So, it's spreading its spores. Other animals eat termite fungi.
04:06So, it's providing food for other creatures.
04:08In nature, everything is interconnected.
04:12And that's the principle that Elaine Chiroto is following at this event in Harare.
04:18At the Love for Nature festival, she has brought together a network of people who want to protect the world
04:24around them.
04:25About 100 people have come. Not huge, but a good start.
04:30The mixture of art, debate, and music is going down well.
04:41If you take a look at most youths, they connect with drawings, paintings, music, and poems.
04:48So, this helps in the sense that if you are teaching them about climate change, it will not seem like
04:54a boring exercise.
04:55It will be really engaging as it is something they are used to on a daily basis.
05:05Environmental awareness is growing in Zimbabwe according to Elaine.
05:09But changing people's traditional habits is more difficult.
05:13How we lived, how we interacted with the environment.
05:16How many people are using gas? To be honest, people are using firewood.
05:20And some people, even if they have electricity, they don't want to use electricity because they feel like it's expensive.
05:25So, they use firewood, they use charcoal.
05:28Then, for a moment, people let the music carry them away and connect them.
05:33With fun events like this, Elaine Chiroto aims to get more people involved in environmental protection.
05:43After completing the filming process for the bulletin, I was dying for a simple bottle of water.
05:48But Elaine and her colleagues at Climate Control Zimbabwe instead gave me a whole library of environmental literature.
05:56What was I supposed to do with such?
05:58Upon reflection, I realized that the lesson that they were putting across was that environmental education goes on way beyond
06:07the games, way beyond the music, way beyond the fun.
06:13The problem is that everything could beé€ ugar, so Importavie is related to one problem.
06:14In this particular event I realized that what does that thing have become a fairly rich person for supplements,ή
06:14You
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