A sponsored “hack” to remove invasive alien plants was undertaken recently by the Interact (“junior” Rotary) clubs of Nombulelo and Mary Waters High Schools, Don Hendry reports.
A sponsored “hack” to remove invasive alien plants was undertaken recently by the Interact (“junior” Rotary) clubs of Nombulelo and Mary Waters High Schools, Don Hendry reports.
Facilitated by the Rotary Club of Grahamstown Sunset, the Grahamstown branch of WESSA provided the sponsorship to uproot black wattle and Port Jackson willow trees from the Grey Dam/ Mountain Drive area.
The funds so earned will be applied towards the Interact clubs’ project to fund a Shelter Box. This, in turn, will assist families made homeless by natural disasters.
Sixteen pupils from Nombulelo and eight from Mary Waters managed (with the help of seven borrowed Tree Poppers) to uproot more than 2 600 trees of various sizes in two three-hour sessions.
The session closed with lunch at Dassie Krans to introduce the pupils to indigenous vegetation.
The top road of Mountain Drive, going past the radio masts, is now virtually clear of these aliens up to the toposcope turnoff, as is the valley above Grey Dam going east (except for a copse of large trees at the top of the valley that will require cutting and poisoning).
This was a repeat of a similar sponsored “hack” last year, after which the funds raised by the Interact club were used to repair the roof and ceiling of Luzuko Pre-school.
US Moves on Climate Change and Drama Down Under
President Obama has announced a move to reduce carbon dioxide emissions: rather late in the day, considering he was elected in November 2008. Better late than never, I suppose.
Meantime, I was in Australia last week, where her predecessor Kevin Rudd rather dramatically deposed Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Rudd was previously deposed by Gillard.
The details of who knifed whom and why are only interesting to dedicated Australia watchers.
Of significance for the climate debate is that Rudd is much more likely than Gillard to defeat leader of the opposition Tony Abbott, who is on record as describing climate science as “crap”.
In a country where both major parties have had faeces chucked at them by protestors, we can relate to that sort of language. The political climate in the US and Australia has improved the potential for real climate change action.
So what about some action here? South Africa remains one of the most coal-dependent countries in the world. We are at risk of being left behind, as the rest of the world moves to clean energy solutions.
Welcome to Festival
Welcome visitors to Grahamstown. The Festival is a great opportunity to experience the best of national and international acts.
But don’t forget the town that hosts you.
Take a look around while you are here, and take an interest in local attractions.
The Fingo Festival helps build our local community. Sustainability is not only an environmental concern: it is also about communities that work. Take some time to view our historical buildings.
Look for local and regional traders at the Village Green.
The Eastern Cape is one of the poorest provinces, and the Festival is the only large source of income for some traders for the entire year.
Small-town life has a lot to recommend it, and I hope you enjoy your time here.
Our town has a lot to it besides the country’s biggest and best Arts Festival.
I hope you will be back not only for another Festival, but at a quieter time of year, when you can see our town as it usually is: a small country town with historical buildings, and the not insignificant effect of one of the country’s biggest concentrations of educational institutions.
More here: http://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/show/fingo-festival/
Nikki Köhly: n.kohly@ru.ac.za, 046 603 7205 | Jenny Gon: j-gon@intekom.co.za, 046 622 5822 | Ruth Krueger: g10k2679@campus.ru.ac.za, 076 295 8045 | 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
