In 2024 the University of Cape Town ran multiple publicly accessible education and engagement activities about ecosystems, wild flora and fauna that were explicitly targeted at local and national communities. Examples include: (1) public Summer School courses on conservation, nature and heritage held in January 2024; (2) UCT research projects that actively communicated and trained the public and citizen scientists about urban wildlife (e.g. the Urban Caracal Project); and (3) new UCT research/engagement units launched in 2024 that state capacity-building, community awareness and nature-based solutions as core aims.
UCT Summer School - “Conservation / Nature / Heritage” programme (Jan 2024)
UCT’s flagship public Summer School included a strand of short courses and public lectures on conservation, nature and heritage (examples: courses/lectures on the Kruger National Park, the Okavango Delta, sustainable aquaculture, and film screenings about wilderness). The Summer School is a public education programme aimed at the wider Cape Town community and visitors.
Some highlights listed below.
Laetoli Footprints
Professor Charles Musiba, Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver, United States; Tuesday 23–Wednesday 24 January 5.00 pm
The volcanic-derived sediments at Laetoli in northern Tanzania preserve a plethora of fossilised fauna remains and animal trackways that provide evidence of human origins in eastern Africa 3.66 million years ago. Of particular interests are hominin remains and footprints assigned to Australopithecus afarensis. Ongoing research at Laetoli has recovered hominin remains, including two robust-like mandibles that will provide significant information on the possible existence of multiple species of australopithecines at Laetoli between 3.5 and 3.8 million years ago.
Lecture titles
1. Hominin diversity at Pliocene Laetoli
2. Who owns the past: centring conservation of hominin footprints at Laetoli
Cederberg Rock Paintings as a Social Archive
Emeritus Professor John Parkington, Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town; Monday 22–Tuesday 23 January 11.15 am
Many Cederberg rock paintings appear to depict social and life history events and to materialise these in lasting form to create a socially meaningful landscape. As many archaeologists have noted, hunter gatherer landscapes are more than topographic or ecological spaces; they are worlds created by repetitive living in and usages of ‘persistent places’. In this way identity and belonging are co-created along with place and landscape as mutually and inextricably linked concepts. These entanglements include other living forms such as elephant communities, which are viewed as ‘other-than-human-persons’. In this course we exemplify this process by examining the rock paintings of the middle Brandewyn River in the Agter Pakhuis region of the Northern Cederberg.
Lecture titles
1. Paintings of human figures
2. Paintings of animal forms
Sustainable Seafood Production through Integrated Aquaculture
Coordinated by Emeritus Professor John Bolton, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town; Wednesday 24–Friday 26 January 9.15 am
More than 50% of the seafood consumed globally is produced in aquaculture, which is the farming of aquatic organisms, such as fish, abalone, sea urchins or algae in controlled environments. However, as with any farming, the environmental impact of these practices should be considered to ensure sustainable seafood production. Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), where the waste from one farmed species is recaptured for use by another, represents a sustainable production method that can reduce the environmental impacts of aquaculture, increase the number of species that are farmed, and increase production. For example, the solid waste excreted by abalone can be used as a food source for sea cucumbers, while the dissolved ammonia in the water can be used as a fertiliser for seaweeds. The seaweeds also act as bio-filters so that water can be re-used, and the seaweed can be used as a feed. These lectures will explore marine aquaculture and the implementation of IMTA in South Africa, and globally in the context of the EU-funded ASTRAL project.
Lecture titles
1. Overview of integrated aquaculture Dr Marissa Brink-Hull
2. Integrated aquaculture and the importance of seaweeds Emeritus Professor John Bolton
3. Sustainable strategies for improving health of intensive aquaculture systems Dr Brett Macey
Other lectures with the focus on Conservation Nature Heritage
Into the Future: The Kruger National Park as a Region
Professor Maano Ramutsindela, Department of Environmental & Geographical Science, University of Cape Town; Saturday 13 January 10.00 am–12.00 pm
The Okavango Delta: Paradise in Peril
Professor Paul Skelton, ichthyologist; Saturday 20 January 1.00–2.00 pm
Is it Still Safe to Drink Tap Water or to Swim in Our Waterways? Future Challenges of Water Quality
Dr Kevin Winter, Department of Environmental & Geographical Science, University of Cape Town; Thursday 25 January 1.00 pm
Urban Caracal Project - public engagement / citizen science (Nov 11, 2024)
UCT’s Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa hosts the Urban Caracal Project (UCP). A UCT news article (11 Nov 2024) describes how UCP uses social media and public reporting to raise awareness of caracal ecology, collect sightings and roadkill reports, and engage citizens in monitoring urban wildlife — i.e. active public education and citizen science about a wild mammal species in the region.
PiNC Lab (People in Nature & Climate) - launch and community capacity objectives (23 Sep 2024)
The African Climate & Development Initiative (ACDI) at UCT launched the People in Nature & Climate (PiNC) Lab in September 2024. The PiNC Lab’s stated aims include generating evidence for nature-based solutions, “increasing the capacity of African researchers and communities,” and raising awareness of the value of ecosystems — indicating a programmatic commitment to community-facing ecosystem education and capacity-building.