The City of Cape Town, in collaboration with ICLEI Africa, has launched a fun and interactive online course to assist with managing your home’s resources in an environmentally responsible and cost-effective way.

This free two hour mini-course is aimed at those who want to start learning how to use resources in their homes more efficiently to save money and become more environmentally conscious.

Entitled Smart Home: a beginner’s guide to making your home more sustainable, this self-taught course covers the basics of electricity, water, waste and biodiversity, as well as systems to monitor how these resources are used in your home and how to better protect and conserve them. There are practical tips to suit every budget, many of which can be implemented almost immediately.

‘The Smart Living Handbook is one of the City’s tools to guide Capetonians in becoming more resilient and live more sustainably. Every time you switch on a light, drive your car, run a bath or put out your rubbish, you are making a decision that effects the environment. Households have a significant cumulative impact and we need to manage our resources by using them efficiently and fairly. Many of us know that we should be doing this, but are often unsure about what to do and how to do it. I believe the handbook and this course will provide residents with the practical information they need to start taking action,’ said the City’s Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews.

At the end of the course, you will be able to download an easy-to-use audit sheet to assess your home’s sustainability and track your progress over time. You will also receive a course certificate.

The course was developed by ICLEI Africa, based on the City’s Smart Living Handbook series, and is hosted on the Learn with ICLEI Africa platform. This platform was launched last year to provide a variety of learning experiences related to sustainability and resilience in African cities. It is aimed at urban leaders and officials, researchers, development organisations and anyone with an interest in sustainable development and making smarter choices. Joining is free and ensures lifetime access to a growing list of tools, free online courses and learning experiences.

‘We are delighted that our journey with the City of Cape Town continues to grow and strengthen. This has been an ongoing partnership for over two decades. We are excited to continue working with the City on a range of initiatives from deep-dive technical work, to youth development, to capacity building, contributing not only to making Cape Town a thriving, sustainable city, but taking this example of collaboration and partnership into the rest of Africa,’ said Ms Kobie Brand, Regional Director of ICLEI Africa.

ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, is a global network and active in more than 125 countries, working with more than 2 500 local and regional governments committed to sustainable urban development. The City is one of ICLEI’s most long-standing members, with the ICLEI Africa Secretariat being located in Cape Town since 2007. ICLEI Africa and the City’s mutually beneficial relationship has inspired pioneering work on the continent.

Source: City Of Cape Town