RU Green is hosting a bus tour of Grahamstown's Green Hotspots on Saturday 11 May. They will be leaving at 11am from the Bantu Stephen Biko Building on Rhodes campus and taking a look at gardening projects, recycling hotspots, water tank projects and more.
RU Green is hosting a bus tour of Grahamstown's Green Hotspots on Saturday 11 May. They will be leaving at 11am from the Bantu Stephen Biko Building on Rhodes campus and taking a look at gardening projects, recycling hotspots, water tank projects and more.
In the wake of the panic surrounding Grahamstown's water (or the lack thereof), it is encouraging to know that we are not quite helpless.
Roman Tandlich reminds us that in a town with about 10 academics per square metre, it is surely possible to find solutions to poor water services.
Developing DIY water testing Roman Tandlich The Environmental Health and Biotechnology Research Group in the Faculty of Pharmacy at Rhodes University has been involved in drinking-water-quality research for the past five years.
A modified hydrogen-sulphide test kit has been developed for the detection of very low levels of faecal contamination in drinking water.
This kit provides the opportunity to perform regular water-quality testing in areas where standard laboratory facilities are not available.
It also forms the basis of a current project on establishing a community-based rainwater quality monitoring programme in the Makana Municipality.
The aim is to train community members in regular use of the kit and prevention of microbial contamination of rainwater.
The project is funded by the Australian High Commission in South Africa and runs in collaboration with Galela Amanzi and the Kowie Catchment Campaign.
RU Green challenges you to 30 Days of Energy Saving
RU Green has sent out an almighty challenge: save energy for 30 days.
On 22 April, to mark the both Earth Day and the beginning of Environmental Week, RU Green's Events Task Team descended on Rhodes campus, distributing stickers emblazoned with the slogan, "Flick the switch on carbon emissions!"
The campaign has been spreading quickly through campus, with chosen representatives helping the task team infiltrate university residences.
All over campus, people are "flicking the switch".
And who knows? After 30 days it just might just become a habit.
To find out more about this campaign, contact Events Task Team leader Ed Hazell on ehazell@gmail.com.
Killing aliens – and not just in computer games
This Freedom Day, RU Green's task team Get Your Hands Dirty embarked on a project to free Makana of water-squandering alien trees.
They worked for a couple of hours at Hobbiton, the outdoor education centre just outside Grahamstown, and managed to hack down a pile of Port Jackson willows taller than themselves.
Get Your Hands Dirty will be organising alien tree removal trips once a month, with the next one being planned for the weekend of the 25th of May.
It'll be right before the Rhodes exam period, so will be an excellent opportunity for students to work off some stress.
To find out more about this campaign, contact Get Your Hands Dirty task team leader Ed Hazell on ehazell@gmail.com.
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, 082 575 9781; Philip Machanick: p.machanick@ru.ac.za, 046 603 8635 / Strato Copteros: strato@iafrica.com, 082 785 6403 / Ruth Krüger, g10k2679@campus.ru.ac.za, 076 295 8045 0604267266
