Did you know that the Delta Environmental Centre (DEC) is located in Johannesburg's first sewage works building? We interviewed Di Beeton to find out more about about this interesting place.

The Director of the Delta Environmental Centre - Di Beeton

GG: How long has the Delta Environmental Centre been in existence and how long have you been working there?

The Delta Environmental Centre (DEC) was founded as a Section 21 Company in 1975. I have been working at DEC since 1988.

GG: The building that the Centre is housed in has a very interesting history - could you tell us a bit about it?

Johannesburg's first sewage works building - now the home of the Delta Environmental Centre

DEC is housed in one of Johannesburg's first sewage works, called “The Delta Site”, that was built in 1934. It is an example of Art Deco architecture and was built to operate in an ecological – friendly manner (quite revolutionary for those times!). The Delta works functioned until the late 1960's when it was closed down by the City of Johannesburg. A new, more modern facility had been built in the Diepsloot area (north of Fourways). This facility was called the “Northern Farm”. The Delta building was abandoned by the Council and fell into disrepair. In the early 1970's the founder of DEC, Norman Bloom, was negotiating with the Johannesburg City Council to name a bird sanctuary in honour of his mother – Florence Bloom. The Councillors of the day suggested “Delta”. Norman asked about the fate of the Delta building and when he was told it had been condemned and was about to be demolished, he had other ideas! He had always dreamt of creating a museum in Johannesburg that would display and explain South Africa's biodiversity in different habitats. Norman entered into discussions with the Council and after a very close vote, it was agreed that if he formed a Section 21 Company and leased the building from the Council for a nominal rent for 30 years, he could fund – raise and set about transforming the building. And, the rest as they say “is history”!

GG: What does the Delta Environmental Centre aim to achieve?

Our vision: The DEC is a private, independent Section 21 Company (non-profit organisation) that aims, through innovative education and training programmes and consultation, to enable people to improve the quality of their environment by promoting the management and sustainable use of all resources, in line with the South African Constitution.

GG: What aspect of working at the Centre do you enjoy most?

Dealing with a wide range of environmental topics and issues that encompass the biophysical social,economic and political dimensions of the environment.

GG: What do the staff members enjoy doing most?

The staff members enjoy facilitating school group programmes and teacher development sessions.

Kids enjoying a lesson

GG: What is the most popular attraction at the Centre?

The Museum and Activity Rooms because they are quite simple and low-tech yet unique.

The colourful waterwise display room

GG: What is the most common misconception about the environment that you encounter or what is the most commonly asked question?

The most common misconception about the environment is that it has a narrow interpretation i.e. plants/animals/ecology while in fact it additionally encompasses political, economic, biophysical and social aspects.

GG: How many visitors / programme participants come to the Centre annually?

Around 20 000.

GG: During our visit we noticed that the Delta team members are very passionate about what they do. Tell us about one of your team members and how they came to work at the Centre.

Ms Ntsiki Qhaba joined DEC as a part-time Education officer when she was retrenched by “Keep South Africa Beautiful”, about ten years ago. Her creative ability, coupled with dynamic performing skills and multi – lingual talent has added value to the Delta team. She is a loyal, passionate member of staff and is able to interact with young children as well as relate to adult groups. She has faced many personal crises in her life but her positive attitude has prevailed. For the last two years she has been employed on a contract basis as an Environmental Education Facilitator.

GG: You offer a wonderful range of topics about the environment - who can come to the centre and what can they learn about??

Find out more about what we have to offer in our Going Green Directory listing.

GG: Do you cater for disabled visitors?

Yes. The Water Wise Garden (developed by Rand Water) and the SASOL Sensory Trail are accessible to wheel–chair users and the information boards have also been printed in Braille for the sight–impaired. The Gold Fields Education Centre is also fully accessible; including toilet facilities.

Delta's waterwise garden

GG: There is a recycling depot at the Centre where members of the public can drop off their recyclables - which types of waste can people bring and what happens to the waste once it's placed in the containers?

DEC has collection containers for glass, paper and cardboard, plastics and cans. The recycling area was developed in partnership with The National Recycling Forum, so the different recycling companies collect the waste they require on a regular basis.

Public recycling bins at the centre

GG: What is your dream for the future of the Centre?

DEC has recently been accredited as a training provider by the Education,Training and Development Practices Sector Education Training Authority (ETDP–SETA) as well as having a National Diploma in Environmental Education accredited. It is my dream that the accreditation elevates DEC's status within the education and training sector and that it continues to break new ground in an innovative, but scientific manner. South Africa is a signatory to the U.N. Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) and I hope that DEC is able to make a significant contribution to South Africa's efforts in this regard.

If you'd like to visit the Delta Environmental Centre contact Di at DEC.