Enviro Clubs

Bringing Science to Environmental Clubs: Wherever possible the Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands Node tries to get involved in opportunities that expose learners to their environment and related career paths. News and updates on various visits that have been conducted with the GFW Node are described here. Mphomphomeni Environmental Club Visit Mphomphomeni Environmental club is part of the WESSA Eco-Schools program and is co-ordinated by Charlene Russell. Once a month learners between the ages 4 and 18 years meet outside a library in Mphomphomeni, a township just outside Howick, to learn about how they can care take of the environment. The Grasslands-Forests-Wetlands SAEON Node was invited to host the August meeting on the 2nd of August 2014. The Node enthusiastically accepted realising the opportunity for human capacity development. The aim of the visit was to expose and educate the children regarding different career paths, not only in science, but in the environmental field. The team (Sinethemba Ntshangase, Nasiphi Ntshanga and Sue J. van Rensburg) formulated a set of activities designed to help the kids align their passion for the environment with their career prospects. In addition to the Know Your –Ologies game, dramatic plays were put together by the kids and these were centred on environmental issues such as pollution and deforestation. The plays had a role for each of the different aspects that are linked to environmental issues, i.e economic, political, social and environmental. The exercise not only created awareness around environmental issues but inspired the kids to pursue careers in science and other field relating to environmental work.

Know you "ologies" game

We have noticed that some school learners and even undergraduate students are not aware of the exciting diversity of science careers.  In response to this, the 2014 DST interns Nasiphi,  Monique and Sinethemba decided to develop  a fun way for learners find out about the different careers in science. This is where the game called “Know your –ologies, –ists and –icians in Science”[PG2] emerged.  Learners have to match a science career to a broad science discipline (for example Ec - "ology", or Ecology), a related picture and two key words with that discipline from a jumbled array. Getting it right wins you something from the Yum-Yum tub….