Purvance Shikwambana prepares to collect samples of microplastics from a river in Kruger National Park. (Photo: Supplied) Kabous Le Roux – 30 July 2026 Greenpeace says South Africa’s plastic bag levy has failed to curb pollution and is calling for a total ban on single-use carrier bags, arguing the country needs reusable alternatives. Greenpeace Africa…
Shift Embassy in Rotterdam is “a public park that blends art with ecology”
A bold new building in the Netherlands promises to showcase solutions to global problems – and encourage positive action As briefs go, it’s an ambitious one: design a building that will accelerate the societal changes required to create a more sustainable future… READ MORE
Finland’s radical answer to renewable energy’s biggest headache: The world’s largest sand battery
The industrial-scale sand battery in Finland’s Pornainen can cover almost one month of the town’s heating demands in the summer and as much as one week in the winter. By Sam Meredith A small town in southern Finland has turned to the world’s largest commercial sand battery to fix what many see as the most…
Invitation to Urban Harvest
My office is based at Mary Kihn School in Low St Observatory, where Urban Harvest has been based for around 10 years. It’s the depot from which we design, build and manage organic food gardens around Cape Town and beyond. We’re currently exploring how it might work to receive and process garden waste from interested…
How To Revive Struggling Succulents Without Overwatering Them
Credit: Getty Images String of pearls, aloe vera plant, jade plant, and echeveria are all succulents. Their leaves aren’t like other plants. Instead, they have thick, fleshy leaves, stems, and roots that retain water to survive arid environments. If those leaves and stems are shriveled and wrinkled instead of plump and firm, there’s not enough…
Most people see Madagascar Periwinkle as a beautiful flowering plant.
But hidden inside this tropical flower is one of the greatest medicinal discoveries in modern cancer treatment. Madagascar Periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) produces powerful alkaloids that transformed how scientists approach leukemia and other cancers. Here are 5 surprising medicinal facts about Madagascar Periwinkle. 🌸 1. A Flower Created Two of the World’s Most Important Cancer Medicines…
Gardening at Obs Junior School
We had a company CSI event today at Obs Junior School to help them strengthen the success of their food garden. It was originally established by Urban Harvest about 12 years ago and they have managed to keep it going ever since (although a bit smaller than the original). It was so good to meet…
STAND AGAINST XENOPHOBIA
A Call from the Observatory Civic Association to other Civic and Ratepayer groups and concerned citizens across Cape Town. As we see marches and mobilisation to kick foreigners out of South Africa, we call on EVERYONE to take a stand against xenophobia, scapegoating and hate speech… READ MORE There is also a statement from Lawyers…
SIYAFANA SONKE! Defend migrants from hate
We refuse to let our neighbors become scapegoats for a crisis they didn’t create—because Siyafana Sonke, we are all the same. Solidarity in a Time of Crisis The Siyafana Sonke Action Campaign is a national campaign launched in June 2026 to confront the rising tide of xenophobia, Afrophobia, and organized hate in South Africa… READ…
Looming carnage: On the dangerous anti-migrant mobilisation in South Africa
By Neil Coleman The chaos that threatens to explode from this mobilisation will devastate not only migrants but all poor people and workers. Only reactionary political forces will benefit from promoting it. The mobilisation of the populist right internationally draws on and misdirects people’s real grievances against the wrong targets (vulnerable groups instead of the…