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Conservationists working with orang-outangs tell us they believe that they may be the most intelligent primate after humans.The protective instinct of the females towards their young is especially inspiring to see. These wonderful forest dwellers are also intimately in tune with their natural habitat and acutely aware of any possible threats to their families.
Sadly we, as a society, seem to have lost this primal instinct. We seem oblivious to the world we're creating and the poisons we're rapidly polluting our only home with.
It's profoundly ironic that Chameleons Montessori is so named because you won't find any chameleons on Nitida wine farm, of that I'm certain. Here's a brief article that explains why, it's obvious really. They simply can't survive in that environment.
P.s.
It seems I'm not the only one to notice an apparent decline in the chameleon population. A few local stories here provide food for thought.
Amazingly, someone has actually done a brief survey to see if chameleons are common in vineyards. Apparently they are pretty scarce on the farm that was surveyed. I reckon chameleons know what's good for them. The study can be read here.
The Cape Dwarf Chameleon is now a CITES protected endangered species.
When they're finally proven wrong... When it does come out that they've permanently harmed their own children, what then? Will they try justify their plight by attempting: "but we didn't know"?
ReplyDeleteYou didn't look. In fact, you actively turned away.
Doing nothing is every bit as bad as doing the actual harm yourself. Orangutans might echo our intellect but this is not true of their memory...they might forget that they willingly harmed their children...even though of course they would die first. Humans on the other hand cannot forget and maintain sanity...
After waiting patiently for proof to be delivered from the environmental health people and not over reacting I am now being told that
ReplyDeleteI have to place my child in another school because of lack of numbers and resignations of staff.
Yes the matter was not handled properly at the outset by the school but nor was it by yourselves. A veil of secrecy and rumour descended and kids started to disappear one after another. I was dealing with other health issues at the time and had to follow the events from a distance.
What has happened, has happened, and you would all be better off focusing your talents on other green causes that are more urgent. At no time have you tried to contact me and ask my opinion of what is right and wrong, but you seem to be speaking on behalf of all parents? Bullshit. Now that you have had your say and pulled your kids out of the school, give it a rest. If only you could all focus your passion on something bigger than a school in a vineyard that we were all aware was in a real working environment. No I don't want to harm my child with chemicals , but the Galileo Group and the school to a lesser extent, have caused him more mental harm than some vine spray. You should have got All the parents involved and come up with a solution for All of us instead of getting into a personal vendetta against Chameleons Montessori. Maybe if the school was brighter they would have looked up the definitions of liable and slander, then acted more decisively on the plan of action to move the school/ investigate the chemicals and stop the hype. Have you looked at the crèche on Bloemendal for the local farmworkers kids with the same vigour? I think not.
To quote your mission statement "every parent has the fundamental right to hear all there is to consider when making decisions that may impact on their children's health and lives"
Thanks a lot for keeping me in the loop. Yes my son is moving to Durbanville Primary next year,will the Galileo Group do plant and soil tests for me first? I think not.
Andrew,
ReplyDeletefirstly, thank you for not hiding behind anonymity.
You seem to imply that the teachers leaving
(the real reason you have to place your son in another school) is due to our actions. The truth is the teachers are leaving because they are concerned about their health.
The fact that the issue is even something you are aware of now is due almost entirely to the efforts of the people you seem to think have made the situation worse somehow.
I sympathise that you had your own health issues to cope with but you should know that a number of those children who have left are still dealing with significant health problems also.
I don't know what other "green issues" you would suggest are more urgent than alerting parents to the possible risks their children may be facing due to these chemicals. Frankly, I'm still somewhat shocked anyone is even debating the matter.
As for trying to contact you, well, you'll have to ask the school why our "dissenting" views were not made more widely available and why it is that despite whatever substantive evidence or research we've offered we are still dismissed as some sort of "lunatic fringe".
I apologise unreservedly if our actions have caused your child undue mental anguish. What you, nor anyone else can say right now, however, is that he hasn't been effected by the sprays. That's the most important point we're making. The long term effects (5 to 10 years by some scientific estimates) are far more insidious and we really know so very little right that assuming there's nothing to worry about is not reasonable nor ethical. Prof: London made all this very clear but the school fails to grasp this vital point.
You are absolutely correct when you say we should have worked together to find a workable solution. The very first meeting convened to asses any new information came about precisely because I forced the issue.
If you care to read my account of what transpired you may form a different opinion of what's been going on.
http://galileogroup.blogspot.com/2010/05/we-tender-our-notice-and-are-persuaded.html
It was at that point we were told unequivocally that moving the school was simply not an option.
We have never claimed to be speaking for anyone but ourselves (so keep the bullshit for now) we are merely intent on making sure that those who do want to learn more about the broader picture regarding pesticides etc can. Short of standing at the school gate with a sandwich board I don't know what you think we should have done to get the info to you.
We have been very careful about sticking to the facts and only reporting on events we've experienced. The school accuses us of slander yet when we've asked, on any number of occasions, to be shown where there errors are that need correcting nothing is forthcoming. Perhaps you can point some out as clearly you also feel we're in error somewhere.
You seem to think we have a responsibility to keep you informed....that's the schools responsibility, don't you think? They don't listen to us and actively try to denigrate everything we say. We started this blog in frustration because what we felt was important to hear was being denied.
Speaking personally, I understand your frustration and anger, however, you should know that those of us involved with the Galileo group were completely committed to the school, in fact the entire fund raising committee, bar one (who is a member of the financial steering com.), has left in disgust at the schools refusal to take the matter seriously and to take all the evidence into account.
I wouldn't have thought Durbanville Primary is in any significant danger from pesticide spray drift but I'd have thought that was your responsibility anyway, why do you think it's ours?
Ford Hallam