A group of 11- and 12-year-old boys from Bryanston are using their passion for robotics to raise awareness about invasive plant species and encourage their community to protect indigenous biodiversity.
Johannesburg, South Africa (05 November 2026) – What started as a shared love for robotics has grown into something much bigger for a group of young boys from Bryanston Parallel Medium School.
The team, made up of Grade 5 and 6 learners, has taken on an environmental challenge as part of this year’s FIRST LEGO League competition, creating a website to help homeowners identify invasive plant species and learn how to replace them with indigenous alternatives.
The project focuses on biodiversity, with particular attention given to invasive plants threatening green spaces in Johannesburg.
After conducting a survey in the Fourways and Bryanston communities, the boys discovered that while many residents wanted to do something about invasive species in their gardens, they were often unsure how to identify or safely remove them.
Their response was to develop an educational website featuring six invasive species commonly found in the Johannesburg area. With guidance from experts, they researched how to identify these plants, safely remove them and find suitable indigenous replacements.
Team coach Juanita van der Merwe says the boys wanted to make it easier for people to play their part in protecting the environment.
One of the biggest challenges, she explained, was that invasive plants can continue spreading from private gardens into nearby natural spaces, even when conservation efforts are underway.
“You can take the invasive out of the green area, but if people still grow it in their gardens, through the wind, through birds eating the seeds and pooping, those seeds still get spread.”
The team’s work has already attracted attention from the Hans Crescent Sanctuary in Bryanston, where efforts have been underway to rehabilitate the Egoli granite grasslands for the past 13 years. The initiative has opened another opportunity for the boys to help raise awareness about the importance of protecting these natural spaces.
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Juanita, who admits that she has no robotics experience herself, became involved through her son’s passion for the subject.
This year’s FIRST LEGO League competition challenges teams across four areas: a robot game, robot design, an innovation project and core values. Beyond building and programming robots to complete specific missions, participants must demonstrate teamwork, creativity and their ability to tackle real-world problems.
For Juanita, some of the most rewarding moments happen away from the competition floor.
“My favourite moments are when they’ve been busy coding a mission and then for the first time they show it to others and it works. That joy, that shout of, ‘Yes, this worked, we’ve done it!’”
As the boys prepare to take their work to the competition, their ambitions extend beyond trophies and recognition. Teams that perform well can progress to national and potentially international competitions.
But Juanita believes the experience is already teaching them something far more valuable.
“It’s inspiring to see that 11- and 12-year-olds are really concerned about the conservation of our green spaces.”
The community can support the team’s initiative by visiting their website, learning more about invasive plant species and sharing the information with others.
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