UP’s Botanical Garden

Figure 1: Beautiful tree in the garden

“There’s more to life than brick buildings and boring textbooks…explore campus and you’ll see the beauty which lies within”. Little did I know that my friend’s words would be beneficial and lead me to our University of Pretoria’s botanical garden.

Figure 2: Sign seen upon entering the garden

As I walked into the lush, green surroundings, I immediately felt a sense of serenity. The plants radiated with colour that is appealing to the eye and the smell of the plants was refreshing as one is not used to that smell anymore due to being surrounded by man-made structures all the time. The sign that one sees as one walks within this serene space which request people not to make a noise makes my heart fill with joy as it means that one can be one with nature for as long as one desires.

What I observe is there are not a lot of flowers blossoming from the plants. There are leafier plants in different shapes and sizes. The flowers that are in the space have bees on them, which is great as bees are necessary for us to live and they produce honey, which I definitely cannot live without. There are insects on the plants, of various shapes and sizes, yet again and they are all busy carrying on with their day’s work.

As I went with my friend, we were able to spot different features on plants that we liked. My two favourite plants of the day was (1) the water lily in the pond because they look like plants which represent peace,purity and stillness and (2) the big tree with the incredible trunk which looked like it was a work of art from Picasso. These caught my attention and because they are close to each other, we were able to sit on the bridge for a while and enjoy the view for a while, while making some notes.

The environment concern that I spotted was that there was a KFC packet on the grass. It was wet as well due to the fact that the garden had just been watered. I do not think someone intentionally threw it on the floor; I think it flew away from the overfilled bin. This is concerning that the bin gets left to fill up until the brim until it is emptied. The staff that work with the bins in and around the botanical garden need to be informed of the overfilled bins and the plastics left destitute so that they can do thing in a different way.

Not a lot of people know about our Universities botanical gardens. Every time one mentions the botanical gardens people automatically think of the other one in Pretoria. This needs to change and awareness needs to be raised because the university students do not know about the gardens either. Maybe posters can be put up around campus to raise awareness, as well newpapers such as the Pretoria News and Perdaby can contain articles based on the garden. The University website should also contain a small section where they inform people about this place because it’s a great space to clear your mind, study, have a picnic or if you’re extremely tired, it’s a great place to have a 15 minute nap.

 

 

Nurturing our Trees

It’s frightening to think that as man, we are turning our beautiful surroundings into a concrete jungle for our financial gain and other selfish reasons. Trees form a huge part of our lives and often we forget to acknowledge and recognise their existence and importance.

This essay aims to discuss trees. This discussion is based on my own personal experiences and input from three people from different generations by making reference to what Dean calls ‘persistent narratives’. ‘Persistent narratives comprise of four parts namely (1) service  narrative; (2) power narrative; (3) heritage narrative and counter narratives. The format of this essay will follow one of a photo elicitation which is described by Tinkler as an effective manner to communicate and engage with people (). Photo elicitation is wonderful in a sense that conversations (interviews) are more natural and interactive, thus adding value to the essay as the parties that I have chosen to interview are able to share their experiences and memories  of trees by engaging with their feelings and thoughts.

 

The tree as a narrative of service

In 2009, our church planted ten trees at the launch of a program called ‘Renew Africa’. These trees were planted as a symbol of love, faith, friendship and growth of community and Africa as a whole. This tree has grown over the years and on hot, summer days after mass, children love to sit around it and play games with the pebbles that surround the trees while waiting for their parents. As Dean (2015:163) emphasises, trees are essential today because of their ability to provide shade.

Figure 1: Planting of trees as part of Renew Africa program

The tree as a narrative of power

Figure 2: Display of formal and informal  Bonsai trees

As Dean (2015:164) says, trees have the ability to “pacify the city” and in this case, pacify ones living space. Bonsai trees are from the Japanese. They are a symbol of wealth and power. The wealth from this tree is not only financial (this is an expensive tree to grow), but it is wealth of the body, mind and soul as it is representative of tranquility, harmony, order of thoughts, balance and most importantly, it is a reflection of life. I have always wanted a bonsai tree because they have so much character and depth.

The tree as a narrative of heritage

Figure 3: The Marula tree at the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga

A tree such as the Marula tree is full of substance;substance which has emotional connections with communities due to being around for so long and people creating memories in the forms of traditions and folktale around or based on the tree as stipulated in Dean’s article (2015:164). The Marula tree has a lot of history in South Africa. It is loved for the fruits it bears by both people and animals. What is interesting is that the tree can be made into jams, juices and alcoholic beverages, and on a cultural scale, Venda people believe that the gender of an unborn child can be told from looking at this tree in a particular way.

Photo elicitation:

Three parties were interviewed to find out about their personal stories and experiences with trees.

Interview 1: Victoria Mgidlana (Gran)

Trees as a narrative of service

Growing up, my gran was always surrounded by trees and lush shrubs. She describes her experience as a young girl playing in the scorching heat, and then retiring under her grandfathers big apple tree, as one filled with smiles and everlasting memories. That same tree, later became the tree where her and my grandfather would sit and chat, and pick apples(if they were in season) when he secretly came to visit. As she recalls, she laughs, as the tree was a bit far from the house in the homelands so they hardly got caught.

Trees as a narrative of power

When my grandmother moved to Klein Zevenwach,Cape Town in 2014, she immediately asked my cousins to send us pictures of the scenery. The wine farm that they(with my uncle and his family) live on has a driveway which is filled with evergreen trees and she says that the trees just make it seem like she is in a movie every time she goes outside. She adds that all the houses on the wine farms have these beautiful trees which look very high class and no matter what the season, they remain beautiful and green. She also mentions that before she moved to Cape Town, she had never realised that trees can add so much value to a house.

Trees as a narrative of heritage

When my gran was younger, we always used to go visit my aunt and uncle in the township, Daveyton, Benoni. They had this tree that they used to have to sit under every time they did not do their chores or if they were cheeky and mischievous. As they grew up their uncle and aunt used to tell them weird stories about the tree and how it loses a lot of leaves and moves if they do not behave. Being gullible and young, they believed it and avoided the tree at all costs. My gran went on to say that she once pulled her brothers leg by saying she saw the tree moving. He cried so much that ended up sitting underneath it.

Narrative of trees being unruly

“We had an unruly tree at school which would always make our school fence stand in an awkward position. They tried to cut it down, but the roots insisted on growing in a manner which was not right and which created chaos. It was very big and tall and the leaves would always make a mess in and out of the school gates.”

Interview 2: Zinto Mgidlana (Mother)

Trees as a narrative of service

My mother recalls the day that the trees were being planted in the church yard. She says it was such a beautiful, sunny day and the trees although still small, looked like they were going to grow into wonderful plants as they were planted with love. She also mentions the fact that the children love the trees and the trees have such great colours in spring. She appreciates the trees as the children and adults too, do not get sun burnt in the heat. “Some that started out as something small, ended up being a product of growth”, she adds.

Trees as a narrative of power

“When I first went to visit my brother in his new home, I thought I was going to drive into a dodgy forest. I was wrong. Instead, I was driving alongside God’s creation which looked so incredible. I realised at this moment that trees are not just merely trees, but they are plants that need to be nurtured too. The colour and smell of the trees alongside the other plants made me want to stop and take in what I was being surrounded by because it was purely majestic. If Joburg had more trees like this, we would possibly experience a little bit of heaven.”

Trees as a narrative of heritage

My grandfather used to “ship” as my mom would say, her and her siblings to my grans uncle and aunts house when they were growing up. As my mom tells the story of how they used to dislike the same tree my gran dislikes, my gran smiles because she went through the same thing. The same myth about the tree carried on and made all five of my mom’s siblings scared too. She adds that she was extra well behaved because she did not want to see herself under that tree. Luckily she never experienced it at all.

Narrative of trees being unruly

Before we renovated our old house, there used to be a tree which caused a lot of problems for us. The toilets were constantly getting blocked and we needed to call people in because the roots were growing right in the drain and this led to a lot of blockages. This was too much to handle and it led to them increasing the speed of getting the renovations started with.

 

Interview 3: Mbali Mhlongo (Friend)

Trees as a narrative of service

“Trees are the best thing since slice bread. Especially after a three- hour chemistry practical. Thank goodness, Tuks has huge trees where you can chill, eat and take a little time out for a while. If it were not for the trees on campus, I probably would not have made it to second year. They have helped to start new friendships and grow old ones. The shade makes sure we don’t burn and the environmental effects of the trees are positive ones as the trees are well looked after”.

Trees as a narrative of power

The streets of Pretoria are absolutely stunning when the jacarandas start to grow on the trees. Mbali has lived in Pretoria for most of her life, but she only noticed the jacarandas after they moved from Mamelodi to stay in Faerie Glen. The trees play a huge part in her selfie taking and they make her snap stories much more interesting. The fact that Mamelodi does not have these trees shows that only certain areas and people have these trees which means that jacarandas are indeed part of narratives of power.

Trees as a narrative of heritage

“Growing up with my grandparents was great. They always used to share stories with me and tell me about their superstitions. One day, it was very cold and I wasn’t a jersey. They told me that if I am still outside by the time it gets dark, it will rain heavily and I will get wet which means the rain monster will chase me inside. I believed them at the time. I don’t know if I will continue to pass on this myth to my children one day because I think it is very weird.”

Narrative of trees being unruly

Recently tree fellers had to go to cut down a tree down to its stump because it was starting to form a crack in their brick wall. The wall now looks blank and boring. This tree was big and the leaves were an unusual green. She remembers grabbing plenty of leaves and putting them in her pockets because  she had to do an art project in grade 8 for art using the leaves.

Trees form an important part of life and they are life givers. May we learn to appreciate them as much as possible. It would be interesting to hear what others have to say about anything pertaining by using photo elicitation. Photo elicitation enabled the interviewee to communicate her ideas in a better way because there was guidance offered through the form of presenting a photo and allowing them to share their own experiences.

REFERENCES:

Dean, J. 2015. The unruly tree: stories from the archives, in Urban forests, trees, and greenspace: a political ecology perspective, edited by LA Sandberg, A Bardekjian & S Butt. New York: Routledge:162-175.
Tinkler, P. 2013. Using photographs in social and historical research. London: SAGE.

A Painful death.. Slow Violence

When we hear the term ‘violence’, we are quick to think of it as an act or experience which is physical, emotional or that happens at a particular moment. This is not incorrect, but, violence actually goes deeper than what we hear about on a daily basis. It goes beyond the physical abuse, emotional abuse and the psychological abuse. Violence exists in the form of “slow violence” too,as said by Nixon. “Slow violence” is described by Nixon as an act or experience which happens over a period of time. It is not easily paid attention to thus being often taken for granted. “Slow violence” is perfectly described as further as ” a violence of delayed destruction” (Nixon, 2011). Slow violence results in environmental disasters. People who are most affected by slow violence are people who are lack resources to help improve their situation. A current issue which needs our attention is to “slow erosion of environmental justice” (Nixon, 2011). Currently, as citizens, we do not take environmental concerns seriously as said by Nixon. We don’t base our votes on whether the politicians take environmental issues as critical.

The following four images portray how times have changed, specifically focusing on air pollution to emphasise and represent the environmental concern.

Children used to play in the streets with yo-yo’s and paper kites. Children used to play games as a collective and used to find ways in which to be innovative with their time. Nowadays, children are focused on things which we considered to be actions done by adults. These actions among many include smoking in local parks. These not only destroy them, but gradually destroys the local environment. It is not noticeable immediately, but there will be repercussions for our lovely earth sooner than later.The leftover cigarettes that are left on the floor are eventually going to make a pool of yellow and white, instead of  us walking on lush green grass.

A source of life. A source of happiness. A route where one can connect with nature and be filled with happiness. Filled with greenery and giving a sense of peace and tranquility. Currently, trees are being cut down for our own personal gain- for the manufacturing of furniture and production of paper. Trees are burnt by people being careless and throwing the cigarettes; by people who feel the trees are unnecessary. In years to come, who knows what this slow violence will result in…What results in personal gain, cripples our land.

Whoever came up with the solution of creating and inventing electric cars is a pure genius! Why? Well, the environment is sensitive and it needs to be looked after. The emissions that are released from cars, especially diesel cars, is bad and affects our health, the animals health and lifestyle, and specifically the earths well being. A few “puffs” of smoke may seem to be a minor thing, but it all adds up. If everyone’s car fumed constantly, imagine the state our world would be in. This slow violence would result in more deaths, animals and humans, and definitely in the death of nature which would deny future generations of what we have now which is really not fair.

Yes. We need manufactured goods. We need jobs and certain luxuries, but the earth has its own needs too which we tend to overlook and forget. Everyday all over the world, thousands of smoke emissions come from factories which create pollution. Factory owners are aware of the detrimental effects of the pollution, but either do not care and are not thinking of what is to happen in the future or they are not aware of how bad things could get. Places such as Jet Park, in Johannesburg, have plenty of factories thus being major contributors of slow violence.

Slow violence is a serious and it is up to us as individuals, governments and industry contributors to being about change in any way possible.A good question to ask ourselves is ” How do we both make slow violence visible yet also challenge the privileging of the visible?” (Nixon, 2011).

Source Consulted:

Nixon, R. 2011. Slow violence and the environmentalism of the poor. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

 

Companion Species

My partner in crime. My winning streak. My lucky charm. Elma and I have recently become friends and I am sure that in the next few weeks our relationship would have graduated to the ‘best friend’ level. My mother bought Elma after my other horse had been injured on the knee therefore making it difficult for him and I to compete in any competitions. To form a string bond with Elma, I have to train and play around with her every day. As the days go by, our bond is strengthening and the trust shared is cannot be broken. She is a typical girl-she gets moody when she is in season, but other than that she absolutely adores cuddles and kisses and more cuddles! Although she is relatively new in the family, I love her dearly.

I grew with her. I loved him. She ate ice-cream with me. It’s been 14 years and this year,2016, she died due to old age. My dad was in Cape Town, a few weeks. Zoe was sickly and just laying in one spot. He waited until my dad came back from Cape Town and spent Friday night sleeping in his room. In the morning, she had departed. I will forever miss her. She was always so friendly and willing to love everyone who came to our house. She loves nature walks with my dad and was also friendly towards the other dogs, Rocco and Mufasa. Her memories with us will forever live on.

 

Home alone and standing in the pantry looking for something to eat, all I hear is “Robbie…Robbie”. I pick up the phone,dial 10111, only to realise a few minutes later that it’s not burglars but rather a lost parrot. After weeks of not finding the owner, Robbie became ours. My mom is his favourite; I’m his enemy (sometimes). He is extremely grumpy,unless my mom is around. He’s inquisitive and loves setting off on little adventures in the house. We’ve shared many laughs as a family because of Robbie. Been together for 7 years and the love continues to grow.

Wrinkles. No. He’s not old nor is he a “grump ball”.He’s the opposite in fact. We’ve had him since he was about 3 months old from December 2012. When people ask me how many siblings I have I say two because Wrinkles is more than a dog he is a brother. Just like a brother, he is annoying,cheeky and he is constantly eating. When we take him for walks, it’s always hilarious because he “flexes” his muscles and barks to intimidate the bigger dogs. A scary moment in our life was when he ran onto the road and a car knocked him over. Thankfully, he only had a graze on his tummy,but due to the stress he’s one eye popped out one day and we had to put it back. The little things he does to brighten ones day don’t go unnoticed. “God made us and dogs so that we can always have something to rely on when people fail”. He’s more than a PUG. He’s our bundle of joy.

Happy ChooseDay

No matter where you are in the world; what your life path is; your age… you can use your knowledge to find solutions and empower others.

From: https://za.pinterest.com/pin/325807354272494352/

Soundscapes of the Anthropocene

When last did  you wake up hearing the joyful chirps of birds? When last were you sitting on a Sunday afternoon, relaxing, without the sounds of cars, machines, television or any man-made objects? I’m not referring to dreams where these things actually happen.I’m not talking about visits to the bird sanctuary. I’m talking about everyday life. We are so caught up in our everyday lives that we tend to forget the creatures that walk on and share this earth with us. As Whitehouse pointed out in his article, “listening to birds,Carson implied, was no longer something conceivable as straightforward or inevitable” (Whitehouse,2015: 55). We need to take a few steps back and reflect to what is happening to earth, OUR HOME because slowly but surely, the soundscapes of Anthropocene are changing at a rapid pace.

‘Soundscape’ is a word which is commonly used in music. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, it is defined as a “melange of musical and sometimes non-musical sounds”.

My weekdays have a particular routine. Everyday when I go on campus, I tend to hear the same sounds: voices of different people, lawnmowers, cellphone (or device) noises or tills from food outlets. It is really rare to hear the chitter-chatter of birds,whether in the morning or afternoon. It got me thinking that maybe, just maybe we are actually inhibiting on the poor creatures freedom. Maybe they also want to be out and about,but do not get the opportunity to, due to our somewhat selfishness. It was correct of Whitehouse to say that “human sounds are drowning out the biophony (sounds made by animals,plants and other organisms) and geophony in many parts of the world” (Whitehouse,2015:56). When I enter different spaces, the sounds mentioned above are still heard clearly, thus being constant. The sounds heard are dominating and can be considered to be soundscapes of the anthropocene. If we did not live in this concrete jungle, more earthly creatures would have “freedom of expression”. Life would be interesting, colourful. Instead of “drowning out” the sounds made by the creatures such as birds, we should be lifting up awareness of animal (and wildlife) conservation.

As a student at the University of Pretoria, it is difficult to hear the sounds that the birds make (unless I go near the botanical gardens). I had to wake up early on Saturday morning to be able to experience the freedom the birds have while the city was still asleep. You would swear I was in a different place, when in fact I wasn’t. The experience of sitting outside with the pure intention of listening to the birds was different (in a good way) but also strange. It was different as it was not the normal sounds one expects to hear: cars, cellphones, music, people talking. It was like listening to the birds express themselves; have conversations with one another. It was quite touching as this experience does not come in one’s direction that often. Some birds were chattering really loudly in comparison to others. Upon closer inspection, I became aware that some of the bigger birds are the ones which were more “outspoken”. The colours of the birds were a normal grey. Gone are the days when once in a while, the brightly coloured birds would come by. The bird sounds seem to be of a particular or a few number of species. There is definitely a lack in biodiversity, almost as if birds are becoming at an alarming rate too. The responses to what is heard is one of where people either ignore what is happening or one when people get irritated to hear those sounds made by the birds as they are not sounds that we are accustomed to anymore. As one is listening to the joyful sounds of the creatures, the response is different, as one has more knowledge of the Anthropocene than others. The response is one of a loving, caring nature as well as one of concern.

Our generation and the future generations have definitely missed out on the wonderful bird life and wildlife that nature used to offer. The fact that previous generations did not have to go to the zoo, or go on the internet to see a photograph of what a particular animal or bird looks like says enough.

My grandmother having lived in a village had the luxury of being woken up at the crack of dawn by the sounds of chickens. Sometimes upon her journey to school, the cows would be awake grazing as well as cattle. The field would be filled with countless birds “unlike nowadays, where you see one every so often”. There were more animals in the wild; more people who kept cattle kraals and who had a genuine love for animals. “The days when we used to chase the chickens in the yards, will always stay in my heart because that is when we gained a lot of memories” says my grandmother.

The interview conducted is a clear indication that one could say that one has a gap missing in one’s childhood. It is a gap which cannot be filled unfortunately. This places emphasis on the fact that nature is not the way that it used to be; that it should be. Nature is in fact, different to such an extent that there is a lack in biodiversity and the ecosystem is changing to in various aspects. It is very disheartening to see the fading away of the ecosystem and of biodiversity. The Anthropocene represents the public death of the modern understanding of Nature removed from society” (Whitehouse,2015:54). This is a negative thought which can be spun around to become a positive with the right mindset, as humans. The reason why there is a deterioration is due to the fact that humans are bring disruptions. These disruptions may work for one party, but they do not work for others too. The altering of the environment has brought about more negatives than positives upon closer analysis. The problem is that humans are thinking of their needs and forgetting about the future needs. Clearly, future generations will not know what animals or birds sound like in real life. In primary school, we were surrounding by hadida’s. I remember the days when we would have competitions based on who could ‘impersonate’ them best. Since those years, yet again, there has been a decrease in the loss of biodiversity as well as a degradation of ecosystems.

Our soundscape is a clear indicator that we live in the Anthropocene. It may take a while for many people to realise it and to change their actions, because it is a fairly new concept. Humans are disrupting peace by causing disruptions to the harmonies of sonic ecosystem. This is evident as the number of species of birds that have been accounted for have significantly decreased and so has the biodiversity of animals too. It can therefore be said that the Anthropocene is evidenced by the loss of ecosystems and biodiversity. On the positive side, it is not too late to change the way we do things. We can slow down the process and preserve the little that we have left of our biodiversity.

Sources Consulted:

Gisli, P et al. 2013. Reconceptualizing the ‘Anthropos’ in the Anthropocene: integrating the social sciences and humanities in global environmental change research. Environmental Science & Policy 28:3-13.

Steffen, W et al. 2011. The Anthropocene: conceptual and historical perspectives. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 369:842-867.

Waters, CN et al. 2016. The Anthropocene is functionally and stratigraphically distinct from the Holocene. Science 351(6269):[sp].

Whitehouse, A. 2015. Listening to birds in the Anthropocene: the anxious semiotics of sound in a human-dominated world. Environmental Humanities 6:53-71.

Drought: South Africa’s Struggle

Our bodies are made up of +/- 70% water and we need water to survive. Due to the recent drought in South Africa, water has become scarce to a point that it has become a luxury for many communities and provinces. Individuals, groups of people and private companies are joining hands in efforts to collect water bottles for distribution in areas which are in desperate need. Initiatives such as the Water Shortage South Africa (WSSA) are one of many initiatives started and supported by fellow South Africans. WSSA does not only need water bottles, but help can be offered in the form of letting more people know about the initiative via social media by raising awareness of the drought problem that South Africa is faced with. Organisations such as LeadSA and Gift of the Givers have also joined in to help.

Seen below is a volunteer of WSSA, Andre le Roux, going an extra mile to help by storing some of the water collections at his home.

Since drought is an urgent issue which needs our attention, various articles have been consulted to address this issue, as well as to critically analysis what is happening in our country because of the drought. The articles consulted are from News24, Mail and Guardian and the SABC News. The sources consulted were used to gather further details regarding (1) who and what are the drivers for change; (2) what is happening; (3) what can be done (if appplicable/mentioned); (4) how to get it done and (5) what are the means to get it done. This information will be portrayed in a table:

 

    Article                                  Who and what are the                 What is happening?

                                                    drivers of change?

News24                                  (1) Department of Water              The water scarcity and

and Sanitation;                        drought seems to be                   Fin24                                       (2) Circle of Blue                             decelerating, but with

(Choke Point)                            winter approaching, it

seems like South Africa

will be experiencing

problems due to dryness.

Mail & Guardian                    (3) Central Bank of                  The drought has affected farms.                                                          Swaziland                              Vegetation is not growing                                                                                                                     which  means that there could                                                                                                                      be  inflation, price hikes and a                                                                                                                      threat on food security.

What can be done             How to get it done                 What are the means to do it

(if mentioned /                  (if applicable/                          (if applicable/ mentioned)?

applicable)?                         mentioned)?

(1) Millions of rands have been                                                                                                                           spent to try relieve the problem and                                                                                                            water tanks and fixing  reservoirs                                                                                                            throughout the country (R78M and                                                                                                              R38M respectively.

(2) “Choke Point:

South Africa will report                                                                                                                                    on the Medupi and Kusile                                                                                                                              power stations, and other                                                                                                                      facets of the competition                                                                                                                            for water, energy, and food                                                                                                                             in this drying nation”

– News24.

(3) -Help victims of the                   – Central Bank of                                                           drought.                                         Swaziland.
-Offer support to the                 publicised that they                                                                                   farmers.                                       would donate the                                                                                                                      equivalent of R1  million.                                                                                                                    -More donations from                                                                                                                                       private companies as  well                                                                                                                      as  governments through-                                                                                                                              out the  continent is required.

Holm, in his article, Humanities for the Environment—A Manifesto for Research and Action discusses two points, the “Great acceleration” and “The New Human Condition” amongst other points. These two points will be used to furthermore critically analyse the sources consulted for a deeper understanding of the topic of drought.

The “Great Acceleration” can be described as aspects such as power, money, consumption, technologies which have of the past 70 years that have been imperative mechanisms of Global Change which have in turn resulted in a complete change in environmental conditions (Holm 2015:980). In all three articles, the “Great Acceleration” is appealed to as there has indeed been a change in environmental conditions due to human efforts. Examples of this can be due to people having the resources to purchase water whenever they think it’s necessary and for whatever reason, without being accountable. We have the power through resources such as money to consume water as we wish, especially in areas in South Africa where water scarcity is not a problem. Due to power, yet again, we are able to do things with water, which are extremely unnecessary for our own selfish gain. An example of this would be people taking part in the ALS ice water challenge. This was a great initiative started for a good purpose(to raise funds), but people did not do it for the right reasons, thus resulting in water waste. The drought is not something which we can physically control, but through our actions and by means of political, institutional, cultural and societal factors, the situation South Africa is faced with at the moment could be better controlled. For example, the government should have implemented initiatives at an earlier stage to try to alleviate the problem of drought. People should have been educated and informed of what was to come beforehand, and programs and warnings should have been initiated beforehand too. Socially and culturally, families and communities should have, and should be, doing (done) more to try help the country with the problem. This could be done through efforts such as informing their families of the importance of water and its conservation, as well as telling the members of ways to save water.

In his article Holms also discusses “The New Human Condition” which is essentially how we react to situations o the environment which are presented to us. The Department of Water and Sanitation decided to put in millions of rands in efforts to improve the situation by supplying water tanks and filters as well as by providing money for drought relief. Personnel within the Department are constantly researching and their findings depict that although the drought crisis is getting better as the days go by, winter is going to be a bit difficult for some communities due to the lack of rain over the past few months (New24, 2016). According to the article by Keith Schneider, although the country is already suffering economic strains, people will have to pay more for farm produce due to the drought. Actions taken are by organisations and the government providing help to farmers for irrigation purposes. Choke Point is one of the front runners as they state in the article that “South Africa is the next chapter in our global reporting to understand how nations are responding to the 21st- century environmental shape-shifting that is changing patterns of rainfall and snowmelt, affecting supplies of water, energy, and food, and bullying economies on every continent (News24,2016). In the article from Mail and Guardian, the Central Bank of Swaziland has pledged to donate money to help those that are affected by the drought (Mail and Guardian, 2016).

The proposed solutions do engage with the business/corporate sector. Many organisations have started to raise awareness of the problem at hand and have taken further steps to get water for places which are in need. Organisations such as  Gift of the Givers, Water Shortage South Africa and LeadSA have been motivating people to do their bit because every litre helps. Private companies have also joined in to help and an example of this would be First National Battery, who recently went to deliver 15 000 litres of water to a community in Bloemfontein. Pick ‘n Pay has also got a place where people can leave their donations of water. In the articles,Circle of Blue through their Choke Point initiative, have also undertaken to take action by educating the masses through the knowledge that they have.

The proposed solutions and means to do it do stem from collaborative processes of research, stakeholder engagement and public participation. This is seen by the response that has been seen from the public as well as from companies and organisations. Without collaborative processes, it was going to be a challenge to help as many victims as possible. It is good to take note of the fact, that people did not leave the problem in the hands of government alone, but rather opted to help in one way or another.

The solutions are definitely being translated into practical means that can easily be achieved by the public, for the most part. More still needs to be done in this regard and more people need to participate for a great impact,but the practical means are clearly evident and helpful, especially to the victims of the drought.

Drought is not a problem which is going to end now as can been seen by the change in weather patterns and climate change. It is essential that every one of us do our bit. It can be donating a bottle of water, raising awareness and educating the masses, or it could be in the form of donating money in aid of the drought. It is up to you, the next person and myself to preserve water and help those who are in dire need.

Critical questions we need to ask ourselves is: “How much is South Africa willing to invest in drinking water supply and waste water treatment networks that have been poorly maintained” (News24,2016). How willing are we to contribute to a positive change too?

Sources consulted:
Mthalane, V., 2016. News24. [Online]
Available at: http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/South-Coast-Fever/water-limitations-likely-to-continue-20160323-3
[Accessed 1 April 2016].
N.a, 2016. Your Neighbourhood. [Online]
Available at: http://yourneighbourhood.co.za/be-a-hero-save-and-donate-water/
[Accessed 27 March 2016].
Schneider, K., 2016. News24. [Online]
Available at: http://www.fin24.com/Opinion/drought-pushes-south-africa-to-water-energy-and-food-reckoning-20160124
[Accessed 27 March 2016].
Steyn, L., 2016. Mail and Guardian. [Online]
Available at: http://mg.co.za/article/2016-01-14-droughts-devastating-ripple-effect
[Accessed 29 March 2016].