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Environmental Science & Technology 2018 Journal of Environmental Research
Page 24
March 29-31, 2018
Vienna, Austria
4th Edition of International Conference on
Environmental Science
& Technology 2018
I n 2013, University of South Africa (Unisa) and Johannesburg
City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) started a joint venue to conserve
and improve Mofolo Park in Soweto, Gauteng South Africa. The
park has been partially rehabilitated, but in need of additional
investment. The Department of Environmental Sciences, Unisa
and the JCPZ Environmental Education team collaborated
to start working in schools bordering Mofolo Park. The aim
of the project is to enhance environmental learning through
informed environmental responses. Contextual profiling was
done using questionnaires at six schools. Two considerations
needed to be taken into account when selecting the school,
which was; which school would gain the most from our project
implementation and which school would be able to sustain
our project when we exit from the school for them to run the
project on their own. The data which was collected indicated
that Emisebeni Primary School was ideal to implement the
project. Prior to project implementation informal interviews,
discussions and observations took place at the school. During
the informal interviews, the principal of the school and other
staff members, who were involved with existing environmental
projects, were consulted. Post to project implementation, data
was collected using questionnaires to measure classroom
learning and the environmental awareness impact of the
project. Action projects created an opportunity for the learners
to get out of the classroom. This experience enabled them to
look at practical examples to reinforce theoretical teaching
in the classroom. Areas that link to the curriculum included:
water conservation, healthy living, environmental respect, tree
planting and plant requirements and maintenance, ecosystem
studies, entrepreneurship and community involvement.
Biography
Queline Bersiks is a Lecturer at the University of South Africa, in the Depart-
ment of Environmental Sciences specifically in Ornamental Horticulture.
She has been the Ornamental Horticulture programme co-ordinator for two
years and has been involved in curricula design for open distance education
students. For the past four years she has been the departmental represen-
tative for community engagement which is where one of her passions lies.
She graduated from the School of Horticulture, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
scholarship programme in 2004. Currently she is pursuing Master of Sci-
ence in Ornamental Horticulture focussing on the propagation of the medic-
inal plant Helichrysum rugulosum for its’ commercial horticultural potential
in Gauteng, South Africa.
University of South Africa emisebeni primary school greening
project: Mofolo Park, Soweto, Gauteng, South Africa
Queline Bersiks
University of South Africa, South Africa
Queline Bersiks, J Environ Res, Volume 2