Drama, Youth, and Sustainability in the Magaliesberg Biosphere
“Nature Takes Care of Us” is a three-year Education for Sustainable Development project in the Magaliesberg Biosphere, empowering learners through drama, along a sustainable pathway to connect culture, community, and caring for the earth. The partnership between the Magaliesberg Biosphere, Drama for Change, and Murray & Dickson Construction is nurturing young ambassadors to action a sustainable future.
A purposeful partnership
When the Magaliesberg Biosphere, Drama for Change, and Murray & Dickson Construction joined forces, the goal was simple but meaningful: to empower young people to see themselves as custodians of their environment. Supported by M&D’s Social and Economic Development Programme, this three-year education-for-sustainability project is being rolled out for schools in Majakaneng, Bapong, and Modderspruit – home to over 60 000 people living in the shadow of the ancient Magaliesberg Mountains.
Here, where the mountains are visible from every home, nature is not an abstraction — it’s a neighbour, a provider and an anchor.
Learning Through Drama
The passionate Majakaneng Drama Pioneers are a collective of local youth mentored by Drama for Change, who creatively steer learners from both primary and high schools to explore environmental themes through storytelling, movement, and performance.
In early 2025, the primary schools’ leg of the project took centre stage with “Pinkie’s Perfect Plan” an engaging pantomime about the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, performed for nearly 5,000 learners across ten schools.
Opportunity to Build Environmental Awareness
The play was a catchy introduction to the 3Rs for learners many of whom were learning about litter and recycling for the first time ( who doesn’t remember Zip it in the Zeeby?) The learners laughed and enjoyed time away from the classroom — but the message was clear: sustainability begins with everyday choices, and you can make a difference. This simple, relatable message has laid a strong foundation that will be expanded in the next phase of the project – creative explorations of reimagining waste and waste as a resource, to help learners and youth see recycling and reuse as an opportunity for innovation and enterprise.
This is especially important in communities where many unemployed youth depend on informal recycling to earn a meagre income, yet the environment and communities remain heavily impacted by unmanaged waste.
The Road to the Festival
By June, the Drama Pioneers shifted theor focus to the high school programme, where learners from St. Theresa Secondary, Michael Modisakeng Secondary, Johanne Mokolobetsi Secondary, and Mogale Technical School embarked on a creative journey.
Over three months, they attended workshops led by the Pioneers, exploring everything from body language and voice projection to teamwork, empathy, and leadership. They also learned about the rich biodiversity and pristine nature of the Magaliesberg, together with the hard hitting real issues that the community faces — polluted rivers, smoky, dusty air, deforestation — and transformed them into stories for the stage.
As one facilitator put it, They didn’t just act out problems — they performed their hope.”
Heritage Day: The “Nature Takes Care of Us” Drama Festival
After a gruelling rehearsal schedule, the culmination came on Heritage Day, with the Nature Takes Care of Us Drama Festival — a title that is reflective and turns a familiar saying on its head.
We often hear that ‘we must take care of nature’, but this festival reminded everyone that caring for the Earth begins with understanding how deeply nature already takes care of us, even when we fail to return the favour. The event was a vibrant community celebration, drawing enthusiastic participation from learners, their parents, teachers, community elders, the local police, tribal authority and local leaders, including the Majakaneng conservation rangers, who are the stewards of the mountain, and representatives from Drama for Change, the Magaliesberg Biosphere and Murray & Dickson.
Performances filled the hall with laughter, emotion, and insight — and demonstrated the learners’ remarkable growth over the previous months. As one learner said afterward, We didn’t just learn about nature; we found our voice in it.
Performances were delivered mainly in Setswana, with touches of English. Interestingly, there is no direct Setswana word for “environment”; the nearest term is Tlhago— “nature” — a word that holds deep ancestral and spiritual meaning.
Stage Highlights
Each school brought its unique message to life:
Mogale Technical School – “Voice of the Earth”
A moving plea from nature itself, calling on humanity to listen and protect before it’s too late.
Winner: Best Environmental Message and Overall Festival Champion
Michael Modisakeng Secondary – “Magalies Biosphere Preservation”
A creative well curated piece showing so much promise, the play explored the impact of pollution and unsustainable practices, urging communities to protect the biosphere for future generations.
Winner: Best Ensemble
Johanne Mokolobetsi Secondary – “Saving Water”
A heartfelt story about a boy whose favourite river becomes polluted, sparking an awareness campaign.
Winner: Cutting Edge Performance Prize
St. Theresa Secondary – “Knowledge is Power”
A poignant reminder that ignorance leads to suffering, while awareness is the key that leads to change.
Winner: Spirit of the Festival Award
Festival Reflections
The festival’s guest of honour, the Executive Chairperson of Murray & Dickson Construction, Dr Zoliswa Tshetshe, found value in the edu-tainment (education and entertainment), reflecting on how her and her company’s core values mirrored the messages in the performances.
Inspired closing remarks from community elder, Mr Churchill Madumo, reflected that on Heritage Day, we are reminded that our culture teaches us to preserve the environment, our customs guide us to protect it, and our traditions call on us to pass it on in good condition to future generations.
In this way, our heritage, culture, and environment are deeply interconnected.
The new year
The impact of the programme shows the growth in confidence and creativity of the learners, and also their growing awareness of their power to make a difference. From understanding pollution and conservation and expressing complex social realities, through art the project is nurturing a generation of youth ambassadors for the biosphere.
As the 2026 cycle approaches, the team is already planning a hands-on year where schools will turn the lessons from the stage into creative, real-world action.
Watch this space — the story of Nature Takes Care of Us is blossoming
