2012… What's in store?
Locals can get stuck into some exciting enviro activities early in the year.
Rhodes University Environmental Week (12-17 March) will kick off in the first term, which dovetails nicely with a couple of other big happenings.
2012… What's in store?
Locals can get stuck into some exciting enviro activities early in the year.
Rhodes University Environmental Week (12-17 March) will kick off in the first term, which dovetails nicely with a couple of other big happenings.
The theme for Scifest Africa (14-20 March) this year is ‘Science Rocks!’ – and surely so will Scifest.
The RU Green Fund Run (Sunday 18 March) is set to draw an even bigger crowd this year as Rhodes seeks to raise funds for initiatives that promote sustainability.
Get more info at www.ru.ac.za/environment/events, www.scifest.org.za and www.ru.ac.za/environment/committee/greenfund/funrun.
Raining kittens and puppies
It happens every year. That cute lil’ kitten or pup grows up and loses its cuddly appeal. Mr and Mrs P.E.T Hurt told the kids so… and now it's time to leave on holiday. Some owners practically say, "Bye-bye cat or dog. Sorry, no more grub. Hope you don’t die where I can see you."
Desperate ferals – cats and dogs gone wild – wander the streets in search of scraps. And Mother Nature doesn’t stop just because they’re starving. So after a bit of bump and grind in a dark alleyway – hey presto! – there are now even more kittens and puppies. The SPCA is overflowing! Did any of them ask to be born? Not great to be punished for it too.
The Grahamstown Feral Cat Project (GFCP) has stepped up to provide a humane solution. Trap adult cats, neuter them, and release them back where you found them. Here and there a feral kitten gets caught and the lucky ones end up in a loving ‘forever home’.
What’s the point? Simple: the sterilised feral cat occupies its territory, and no more breeding takes place. It is unlikely to regain trust in humans, but continues to perform a useful function in controlling problematic rodents. University research has show that although this TNR (Trap Neuter Release) method is slow, it is more successful in reducing feral population numbers than euthanasia. I would prefer that, if I were a cat.
But all of this costs money: vet services and medicines do not grow on trees so please donate to help keep their good work going.
More info can be found at www.ru.ac.za/environment/action/animalwise/animalwelfare and www.gfcp.info
Donkey lawnmowers
Lawn mowing is a noisy, time-consuming and expensive business. You pay for fuel, pay for carting away garden waste (unless you have a compost heap), and you have to keep your mower serviceable.
But one Grahamstown man, Melody Sithembiso Namba offers a peaceful and affordable solution: three donkeys! He brings them to your house at the agreed time (usually 5pm), and collects them the next day. All it costs you is a bucket of water for the donkeys, and R40 per 24 hours of grazing. An added bonus: your lawn is fertilised with donkey manure!
One person who uses this service regularly, Virginia David-Engelbrecht said that this works perfectly for her 300[symbol for metres squared]garden. She did however have to fence off her veggie garden, but the rest of the area is ‘donkey-friendly’.
For more info email v.david-engelbrecht@ru.ac.za<?ital> or phone Mr Namba on 072 655 2329.
Killer Kowie?
Sewage leaks seem to be part of ‘business as usual’ in Makana. All over town raw, untreated effluent finds its way into the Grahamstown streams and ditches. The municipality is understandably overwhelmed, but so are we.
It is a health and safety hazard for our community, as well as for those all the way downstream as far as Port Alfred. And it damages the ecosystems that we rely on. A UN report entitled 'Sick Water' states that polluted drinking water claims more lives than all forms of violence, including war.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that it is the poor who “suffer first and most from pollution, water shortages and the lack of adequate sanitation”. It is time that our municipality cleaned up its act – in more ways than one!
More info at: www.kowiecatchmentcampaign.org.za/Sewerage.html and www.ndtv.com/news/world/polluted-water-kills-more-people-than-war-un-18283.php
Contacts for Makana Enviro-News:
Nikki Köhly: n.kohly@ru.ac.za, 046 603 7205 / Jenny Gon: j-gon@intekom.co.za, 046 622 5822 / Nick Hamer: n.hamer@ru.ac.za, 084 722 3458 / Nick James: nickjames@intekom.co.za, 046 622 5757 / Lawrence Sisitka: heilaw@imaginet.co.za, 046 622 8595 / Strato Copteros strato@iafrica.com, 082 785 6403.
