We were all asked to share a piece of our day and our mind, this is my recap of a wonderful day well spent in the best place with the best company.

Today’s adventure has become an everlasting memory, a memory of beautiful women joining together for a beautiful cause; A true meeting of the minds, a group as diverse as our biodiversity and our ecosystem!

We had women from all over the country get involved in the first stage of Miss Earth SA 2016, I was fortunate enough to attend the first day,  joined by 12 other women who had been hand picked by a panel, we were accompanied by a blogger/writer, a biologist, a photographer, a marketer, performer and many more all with multiple talents and skills which we definitely put together in creating today’s wonderful experience! (It’s not what happens to you it’s what you make of it!)

This was a green team of inspiring future lady leaders gathered in one of the Cape’s most beautiful natural heritage sites – Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the colours were a feast to eyes, fragrance garden was a treat to the senses and of course there stands our majestic natural wonder, looming at the top watching over our journey, our beautiful Table Mountain longing to be climbed!

Now to delve into the day:

First a meet and greet as we tried to find each other and some energy but luckily we had beautiful mist and crisp air keeping us all awake and feeling fresh!

What took place for a few hours after that was much learning, activities, bonding and of course the Selfies – an overload of photos and information all crammed into just about 3 hours!

A highlight of course meeting Ella Bella and Catherine Constantineds – embarrassingly I admit I didn’t know who they were but I’ll never forget them, Ella for her warmth and Catherine for her pure passion and enthusiasm when she eloquently advised us to open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts in order to truly appreciate this journey and find our own passion within.

Then there was Zaitoon Rabaney who gave us the Grand tour around the gardens and we met Madiba’s golden blommetjie (Strelitzia), as she called it, she explained how important the land is, how rare the species are and how much we need to protect it! Everyone laughed and joked with her as she told us the stories of the worms and goggas living under leaves in the soil and then we cried with her as she told us how she came to be partnered with Miss Earth SA and how she was nominated for a business award! (If that’s not an inspirational women I don’t know what or who is!)

We walked the boomslang bridge – or Canopy Walkway (more correctly), walking above the trees, feeling on cloud 9 even though the bridge was swinging, the birds were singing and we were out of breath as we tried to capture the moment without dropping our phones!

Moyo then hosted a tea party where we all got a little more cosy near a fireplace (a luxury many don’t have in this brazen winter), we were generously served tea, scones and muffins and got to know one another a bit better.

Today I learnt that laughter cures the nerves, beauty DOES come with brains, Frogs are bioindicators of a healthy ecosystem, tourism affects the maintenance of our natural parks, it is our responsibility to look after our nature and to be aware of our carbon footprint AND to INFLUENCE other people to make informed wise decisions.

Between the walks, the photographs, the chats, the treats, the talks, the laughs and the interviews we all grew a little bit more as human beings which is what life is all about – GROWTH, which is why I love the symbol behind planting a seed.

I learnt what is important going forward
– interaction, positivity and passion is enough to drive any intiative and is enough to encourage change!
Power lies within us all the same way the nectar lies within a Strelitzia flower as it awaits to be cross-pollinated from a little bird – but don’t wait for that little birdy to come and draw it out of you, become self-sustaining in order to help our country become more sustainable now and forever more!

What started as a day of confusion and competition ended off with a fusion of excitement and ideas coming to fruition!

The most unexpected bonds were made with leaders of society, kirstenbosch little helpers who should never be over looked and of course my fellow contestants! Well-done ladies, we survived, we survived the test, we survived the walk/hike, we survived the challenges and we will continue to survive and thrive tomorrow at the workshop! With that being said let it be known that we need to also be aware that out nature also needs to survive and we are in charge! I feel inspired to make a different because we CAN make a difference!

I also feel inspired as a women to see all these UNIQUE women around me who are such a success it has lead me to want to create and share my own success story with you all!

P.S thank you to the judges Gary Reed (Tsogo Sun), Cathy and Anchun (guest, green ambassador) for judging us non-judgementally and thank you to the Botanical Society of South Africa, Kirstenbosch Branch for imparting your knowledge and wisdom on us, and Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden for your beauty (inspiring us to be beautiful inside and out) providing us with a safe, clean space and to Moyo (providing refreshments with a smile) and lastly but not least to Miss Earth South Africa– thanks for the inspiration and passion you gave me to write this message and my story!

Thank you all for your time in reading this, I hope we can make some magic together!

– people, prosperity, planet –

By Ms Gold (aka Ms Green)
‪#‎MissEarth2016‬ ‪#‎CapeTown‬ ‪#‎SouthAfrica‬