The Environmental Education and Awareness Unit (EE & A Unit) is the educational wing of Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) responsible for the development, organisation, coordination and implementation of mass environmental education, awareness, greening and capacity building programmes and projects with and for communities within the City of Johannesburg. The main purpose of the unit is to educate and engage mainly with communities and schools from diverse backgrounds on the need to protect, conserve and restore the city’s natural resources for sustainable development. The EE & A unit annually reaches over 80,000 beneficiaries through its various programmes, projects and educational campaigns that are coordinated and conducted in schools and communities.

The work of the EE & A unit largely rests on the following three objectives:

• Enhance environmental literacy towards informed environmental responses
• Strengthen people and open space interactions
• Integrated approach towards the development and implementation of environmental education and awareness programmes and projects

Based on these objectives, The EE & A Unit has four programmes that act as a conduit to deliver environmental education, awareness and capacity building programmes. The programmes are:

1. School Programmes
   • Youth Programmes
   • Green Competition
2. Environmental Awareness Raising Initiative
   • ​​​​​​​Celebration of environmental themed days
   • Holiday programmes
   • After school programmes
   • Exhibitions
   • Mobile science education outreach programmes
   • Assembly Talks
3. Capacity Building Initiative
4. Greening Projects

The unit has four environmental education centres that cater various regions in the city. Namely:

1. Dorothy Nyembe EE Centre
2. Johannesburg Botanical Gardens EE and Science Centre
3. Rietfontein EE Centre
4. The Wilds Education Centre