GSN T-shirt
Then it was time to unveil the winning T-shirt design in a competition that was open to all GSN members and invited members to vote for the best design entered into the competition. The winning design was by Naudene Maree, a student from the University of Venda. Naudene re-designed the T-shirt and changed the slogan to "I don't just hug a tree, I use my degree environmentally", accompanied by a cartoon of a monkey hugging a Baobab tree. Once this T-shirt has been finalised it will be made available to the Network.
What students had to say about the Indibano
"Treehuggers anonymous!" - Naudene Maree
"Something fresh and different, unlike other conferences, with a good mix of excellent graduates with different environmental study fields!" - Marinus Boon
"Good quality presentations and competent presenters." - Rion Lerm
"The Indibano is a good initiative and I believe it achieved its aim to encourage networking between GSN members. Keep it up!" - Rabia Mathakutha
"It was so fantastic to be surrounded by like-minded people who did not mind hearing all about your research. Most importantly, it provided a platform for sharing our fieldwork war stories. Overall a lovely experience and what amazing research is being done in South Africa." - Amy Webster
"It was a great experience. I learnt a lot and made a bunch of friends ...I loved it! Must say, being chosen [to attend] gave me so much confidence in terms of my research." - Aobakwe Lenkwe
"Great networking opportunity. Great to see what interesting and useful research is going on in the country and what type of data is available. We learnt from each other and found mutual encouragement." - Anina Coetzee
"Interesting and invigorating Indibano indeed!" - Rita Steyn
"Exceptional" - Gabolwelwe Mosina
"The Indibano is a perfect platform to meet and get to know other scientists/students in your field. It also helps improve the students' presentation skills." - Sinethemba Ntshangase
"The GSN conference was a fun and enriching experience. It was great to spend a few days with an amazing group of people from such diverse scientific backgrounds. It definitely broadened my knowledge of the different projects taking place in our beautiful country and helped me to identify individuals that I could potentially collaborate with in future." - Monique Nunes
Vote of thanks
On behalf of all the Indibano 2015 delegates, the members of the GSN Committee would like to thank the following people and organisations for their contributions in making this year's Indibano a success: Beate Hölscher (SAEON), Eva Mudau (SAEON), Ous Meisies Lodge staff, Anelda van der Walt (Talarify), Bertie Seyffert (North West University) and the SAEON Arid Lands Node staff.