By Skye Mallac

When it comes to community upliftment through the lens of equipping people with the knowledge on how to provide for themselves, Soil For Life sits high on the list of organisations who are making a resounding impact.

Spearheaded by Pat Featherstone, who – through her tireless efforts at the helm of the organisation – has garnered a reputation as one of the most pivotal faces of a movement which seeks to uplift low-income communities in our country. Work which led to her taking home the The Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2019 Eco-Logic Awards.

Soil For Life was founded in 2002, for the purpose of bringing sustainable, hands-on food gardening back into daily life. The Cape Flats form the centerpoint of their efforts and to this day over 35 000 people have benefited directly from the educational training, active implementation, and ripple effects of this organisation. Besides making resources available to build community gardens, they also equip the people around them with simple and achievable ways they can live a healthier life.

It is almost 20 years on since Pat Featherstone founded Soil For Life, and yet their work has never been more important than it is now – in a world swiftly changing, food security is paramount and the first step towards it is through work of this kind.

When she’s not running Soil For Life’s demonstration garden and compost depot in Constantia, or training and encouraging residents of the Cape Flats to take this step, Featherstone leads from the front with her fiery spirit and zest for life.

In 2008 she penned and published Grow to Live, a guide to growing your own food, packed with educational illustrations by her daughter Leah Hawker. She has also contributed regularly to Gardener Magazine, Biophile, and Garden & Home, all in the goal to spread the awareness of the benefit of clean living and sustainable, healthy food security.

Featherstone is a matriarch in this field and has brought together the lives of like-minded people in this ongoing effort to shift the general mindset of our communities towards the regenerative nature of food gardens for the well-being and food security of vulnerable communities.

The Eco-Logic Awards

The Awards provide a platform for leaders in this field, which is often so vastly overlooked for their grassroots contributions, to be celebrated for the impacts they have contributed to the world at large. In 2019, Featherstone was presented with The Lifetime Achievement Award which both celebrated her work so far, and accelerated Soil For Life’s impact fundamentally.

The 2021 Eco-Logic Awards will be hosted online this September and this is once again an opportunity to showcase work which is actively contributing to the sustainable development and health-conscious upliftment of our country as a whole.

It’s a Glamorously Green event, a wholesome and holistic celebration of humans making an active change in the world we live in, as they identify individuals, organisations and communities that positively contribute towards a sustainable world.

Nominate an eco-champion, whether it’s yourself or a project worth celebrating, for this year’s Eco-Logic Awards here.

The nominate categories are:

1. The Nature Conservation Award

Awarded to an organisation for successfully protecting, rehabilitating or mitigating damage to the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems and/or Earth’s natural resources.

2. The Climate Change Award

Awarded to an organisation that has achieved a substantial reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions or is providing a product, service or technology that significantly reduces GHG emissions.

3. The Eco-Innovation Award

For an innovative Design, Construction, Technology, Methodology, Product, or Service that serves the needs of humans whilst also being supportive of and beneficial for the Earth’s biodiversity and eco-systems.

4. The Recycling and Circular Economy Award

For a policy, programme, project, product, service or technology that significantly reduces waste volumes and/or facilitates a circular economy through re-use, recycling or upcycling.

5. The Water Conservation Award

For a product, service or technology that preserves or restores water quality or achieves significant savings of water resources.

6. The Eco-Fashion and Lifestyle Award

For furnishings, appliances, clothing, accessories, and materials that whilst serving the needs of human beings are also supportive of and beneficial for the Earth’s biodiversity and eco-systems.

7. The Eco-Health and Wellness Award

For health, wellness and beauty products that whilst serving the needs of human beings are also supportive of and beneficial for the Earth’s biodiversity and eco-systems.

8. The Eco-Community Award

For a community ór school that has acted collectively and effectively to protect, preserve, or restore the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems, or natural resources.

9. The Eco-Hospitality and Tourism Award

For a hospitality or tourism-related organisation that whilst serving the needs of human beings is also supportive of and beneficial for the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems, or natural resources.

10. The Eco-Angel Award

For an individual, whose caring and nurturing actions have saved, conserved, or restored the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems, or natural resources.

11. The Eco-Warrior Award

For an individual, whose defensive or combative actions have defended, protected or prevented harm to the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems, or natural resources.

12. The Eco-Leadership Award

For an individual, whose defensive or combative actions have defended, protected or prevented harm to the Earth’s biodiversity, eco-systems, or natural resources.