Liesel Wessels
Women in the Environment and Sustainability
Nominee's Province:
Free State
Project Name/Description:
Future Bloemfontein
Self-proclaimed ‘eco warrior’ Liesel Wessels hails from Bloemfontein. A fine artist by profession, Wessels aims to make a positive impact in her society through art.
Wessels founded Future Bloemfontein in 2020 mainly because she was tired of the city’s dirty streets. “Our first campaign was to change the way trash is handled in our city. This is not yet successful, but I know this is a marathon and not a sprint,” she says.
Future Bloemfontein aims to get citizens involved in caring for their city.
“I am passionate about the environment and society in general. However, the key points that I care most about are recycling and taking better care of trash and waste, as well as improving the look and feel of all public spaces as this improves tourism and the overall mood of our citizens,” says Wessels.
One of the women in the environmental activism space she looks up to is Greta Thunberg. “Despite her young age, she has done more than most adults. There are many other women – artists and eco warriors – that keep me inspired, but as a rule I don’t look at gender, race or any other element as my main assessment when it comes to talent or inspiration in general.”
The drive behind her passion is mainly that she believes that God called us all to be a light in this world and that grass is greener where you give it water.
