ECO ACCESS Introduction

Eco-Access was launched by blind environmentalist, Rob Filmer, and his wife, Julie, in 1994.

Eco-Access’s objective has been to use access to the natural environment as a medium to empower both disabled and non-disabled people, specifically children, by allowing them to participate in an interactive learning process.

They are already working in five schools for disabled children in the Gauteng area. Besides being disabled, a proportion of the learners are orphaned and receive subsidized grants for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children as a result of parents who have died from HIV/AIDS. 

The Filmer's objectives for their Green schools include developing effective “outdoor classrooms” to benefit learners who are disabled; helping educators, learners with disabilities and participants to develop, maintain and benefit from accessible food gardens, introducing recycling programmes and beautifying schools with tree planting and gardens .

Methods include:

·      Developing sustainable school environments with energy saving, water saving and other related issues and diverting any money saved into disabled children’s education.

·      Getting learners to actively participate in Green Clubs.

·      Helping the relevant community taking ownership of the process.

·      Helping schools that have participated in the programme for more than two years to have world standard, accessible, productive gardens in time for 2010 Soccer World Cup visitors to visit.

·    Helping educators to learn skills to effectively teach about environmentally related issues.

UK Registered Charity No. 1108655