Vergelegen wine estate in Somerset West is the proud winner of the Eco-Hospitality and Tourism category in the 2022 Eco-Logic Awards, taking home a beautiful blue glass trophy. The win was announced on Thursday 22 September, at a sustainability-themed event at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town.
Online environmental information source The Enviropaedia established the Eco-Logic Awards in 2011. The organisers allocate award points based on seven Eco-Logical virtues, and the size and scale of their environmental impact. The seven virtues are vision and purpose; inclusivity and interconnection; a reconnecting and regenerative relationship with nature; intellectual and emotional intelligence; ubuntu; eco-ethical consumerism; and sustainability.
“By using these Eco-Logical V.I.R.T.U.E.S we can begin to heal the planet and in the process heal ourselves,” wrote David Parry-Davies, Publishing Editor of The Enviropaedia, in the awards publication. “By changing our thinking to become more ‘ecological’, we will change our behaviours – which in turn will create different and better outcomes and environmental conditions.”
Wayne Coetzer, Managing Director of Vergelegen, said: “We are delighted to accept this award, which reinforces the commitment of the entire Vergelegen team to environmental care and sustainability.”
At the heart of Vergelegen’s multiple biodiversity initiatives and projects is a visionary, long-term alien vegetation clearing project, said Coetzer. This was initiated in 1995 and is considered the largest privately funded alien vegetation clearing project in South Africa. Pine, hakea, gum and acacia species’ densities initially ranged from 80 000-100 000 stems per hectare on difficult-to-access terrain. By end-2018, 2200 hectares had been cleared.
To protect this land for future generations, Vergelegen declared 1900 hectares a private nature reserve, with the same status as the Kruger National Park. This reserve is at the core of Vergelegen’s many environmental projects.
Vergelegen visitors can learn more on a guided environmental excursion through the Vergelegen arboretum and biodiversity nature reserve, with possible sightings of free-range Nguni cattle, bontebok, eland and quagga. The cost is R350 pp and the tour departs at 10h00 from the tasting room at Vergelegen. The duration is approximately 1.5 hours for a maximum of nine people in a game drive vehicle.
