Science inspiration for Kuyasa pupils
Marina hosts day of learning, fun
There was laughter and amazement at the Royal Alfred Marina last week, as 20 grade 9 pupils from Kuyasa Secondary School experienced science in action.
In the quest to make scientific knowledge accessible to the public and to encourage sustainable environmental practices, the Coastal and Ocean Sciences Team (COST) from the SA Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (NRF-SAIAB), in collaboration with the Royal Alfred Marina, hosted the pupils.
The initiative, which included presentations from PhD students, an exhibition and a fun quiz took place on Tuesday September 5.
The collaboration between NRFSAIAB and the Royal Alfred Marina came about from their shared values: creating awareness about the importance of conserving and preserving aquatic life.
This was also a perfect fit, because the Royal Alfred Marina is a humanmade structure and the event was coorganised by SAIAB’s IMIsee (Indigenous Marine Innovations for Sustainable Environments and Economies) project.
This is transdisciplinary research that aims to enhance early life-stage coastal biodiversity in the built environment, as compared to natural rocky shorelines.
In other words, the research
acknowledges that not every part of the coast can remain pristine: humanmade structures and activities on SA’s coastlines are here to stay.
The day began with an introduction from the project’s manager, Professor Francesca Porri, followed by presentations from PhD students, Vuyolwethu Mxo, Nobuhle Mpanza, Jabulani Ndaba and Siphelele Dyantyi.
The students presented their research topics and their significance to the overall field of conservation. The students also spoke about the equipment and methodologies associated with their research.
The research topics included using innovative nature-based solutions to improve and understand changes in water quality, primary productivity, biodiversity, and adding light to the early life stage food-webs of fish and invertebrates in urban coastal environments.
A key component of the project is to co-create these nature-based structures
in partnership with the members of the Keiskamma Trust, in Hamburg.
Since the material used to co-create the structures is a plant commonly found in coastal and inland areas of the Eastern Cape, one project is specifically investigating the sustainable potential of domestication of Cyperustextilis —a plant that grows on the banks of ponds, lakes, streams and rivers through different plant-cultivation systems, including aquaponics.
The programme followed up with an interactive display of the equipment used in these research topics to provide a more practical outlook for the pupils.
The day was concluded with a fun quiz with questions derived from the presentations that took place earlier.
The pupils said they were excited to learn about things they did not know existed. Many said they were now encouraged to learn more about science.
Commenting on the initiative, Royal Alfred Marina Homeowners’
Association general manager Claire Wright said the estate had enjoyed blue flag status since 2008.
As part of the blue flag criteria, a marina is responsible for offering at least three environmental education activities to users and staff.
“Additional to the strict rules and on-going monitoring of activities on our marina properties and canals, we have created a programme as part of our social responsibility and community service offering, not only for residents and staff but also for the community,” Wright said.
The current blue flag year runs from November 2022 to the end of October 2023.
The marina’s programme for the remainder of the current blue flag year includes a visit from the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB) for grade 5 pupils from Port Alfred High School and an East Beach clean-up.
The latter will be the first of the Marina’s ‘Leave nothing but footprints’ campaign, involving homeowners and all Port Alfred residents.
Transport for the pupils was provided by the Royal St Andrew’s Hotel.
Rainfall and temperatures in Port Alfred for the week Wednesday September 6 to Tuesday September 12 2023 (rainfall in millimetres and temperature in degrees Celsius)
● Wednesday: 5 (9°C)
● Thursday: 0 (9°C)
● Friday: 0 (10°C)
● Saturday: 0 (12°C)
● Sunday: 0 (13°C)
● Monday: 0 (12°C)
● Tuesday: 2 (6°C)
● Total: 7mm
● Seven-day mean temperature 10.14°C (median 10°C)
● Average for September 57.24mm ● YTD 496mm
● MTD 11mm
— Rainfall and temperature measurements, recorded at 6am in Forest Downs, Port Alfred by Emil Jurgensen.