As part of its mission to produce research and teaching that serve society, the University of Cape Town runs interdisciplinary education and outreach programmes that build knowledge and practical skills for freshwater ecosystem stewardship, water-sensitive design and sustainable aquaculture. These programmes target university students, municipal and NGO practitioners, and local communities — translating research into hands-on learning, local capacity building and tools for water security. The activity supports SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

1. Pathways to Water-Resilient South African cities (PaWS) - Future Water Institute living-lab & community learning (Mitchells Plain)

UCT’s Future Water Institute led the PaWS living-lab project (in partnership with the University of Copenhagen) to repurpose a stormwater detention pond in Mitchells Plain as a multifunctional nature-based solution (NbS). The PaWS work combined physical experimentation (e.g., infiltration swales, managed aquifer recharge trials) with community co-design, workshops and public events where residents learned about stormwater, water quality and stewardship. PaWS produced practitioner guidance and a screening tool for stormwater pond repurposing and aimed explicitly to engage and train local residents and city officers in water-sensitive interventions. UCT social posts and project outputs show active community events in 2024 (e.g., PaWS “Fun Times at the Pond!” event, July 2024) and ongoing local engagement through the living lab.

PaWS converted a research site into a living classroom for residents and practitioners, teaching practical water-management techniques (stormwater treatment, infiltration, simple monitoring) and generating an implementation toolkit for municipal and NGO audiences.

2. IARU / UCT Summer course - Sustainable Water Management (15–26 July 2024) - interdisciplinary training for students & early-career practitioners

UCT hosted the IARU (International Alliance of Research Universities) Sustainable Water Management course from 15–26 July 2024. This intensive, in-person programme (aimed at senior undergraduates and graduate students) taught water-system thinking across demand, supply, treatment and water-sensitive design, and included African case studies and practical tools for managing freshwater systems in urban contexts. The course curriculum explicitly addresses how to secure alternative water sources, reduce burden on supplies, and apply water-sensitive solutions.

This IARU-hosted course is a formal, accredited training module delivered by UCT in 2024 that builds applied skills in freshwater and urban water management for future professionals.

3. UCT Summer School - Sustainable Seafood Production through Integrated Aquaculture (Jan 2024) - practical aquaculture & water reuse teaching

UCT Summer School ran a short course on Sustainable Seafood Production Through Integrated Aquaculture (24–26 January 2024). The course covered integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), water re-use and nutrient recycling in aquaculture systems — practical techniques for producing food while reducing environmental impact and conserving freshwater resources where relevant to aquaculture systems. The programme targeted students and practitioners interested in sustainable aquatic food production.

Short, practical summer-school courses extend UCT teaching into co-curricular, public programmes that transfer knowledge about water reuse, filtration and nutrient cycling to learners and practitioners.

4. CSAG / CONFER short courses & practitioner training (2024) - climate risk with water-management modules

UCT’s Climate System Analysis Group (CSAG) runs its annual Short Course on Navigating Climate Risk and the CONFER climate-risk school (2024). These practitioner-oriented short courses include modules and case studies on how climate risk affects water resources and how to design early-warning, monitoring and adaptation interventions for water supply and freshwater ecosystems — training municipal officers, NGOs and practitioners who manage water systems.

CSAG’s short courses build capacity for water risk management among practitioners who work in municipalities and utilities — turning UCT research into actionable skills for water governance.

5. Outputs & toolkits for practitioners - compendia, screening tools and monitoring guidance (applied education outputs)

The PaWS project and Future Water outputs commit to producing a toolkit / compendium and a GIS-based screening tool for practitioners to identify stormwater ponds suitable for nature-based retrofit and stormwater harvesting. These are designed for municipal officers, consultants and community practitioners to replicate interventions across the city — an educational product aimed at practitioners rather than only academic audiences. UCT reporting (project pages and PaWS descriptions) documents these outputs and the intent to disseminate them widely to local government and NGOs.

In 2024 UCT delivered multiple education and outreach engagements that taught freshwater-ecosystem stewardship and water-sensitive practices to students, local residents and municipal/NGO practitioners: a dedicated IARU Sustainable Water Management course (15–26 July 2024), UCT Summer School aquaculture training (Jan 2024), CSAG climate-risk short courses with water modules, and the PaWS/Future Water living-lab in Mitchells Plain that hosted community workshops and produced practitioner toolkits. Taken together, these offerings show UCT converts research into hands-on learning and capacity building for water conservation and management at local and national scales.