Memoir of a South African Adventure
By Kathryn Reis and Kim Shumate
Photos provided by Kim Shumate

When we saw the South African Ecosystems Services flier hanging on the bulletin board in Jordan Hall, we knew that this was the study abroad trip for us.  This transcontinental adventure offered us a chance to experience natural resource issues that are unlike those in the United States.  Of course, we were not the only students who felt the excitement of this study abroad trip.  Kathy Spears, Marta Pongor, Davis Murphy, and Derek Dussek also leaped at this experience of a lifetime.  So, on May 11, 2009, we boarded our Delta plane and set out for Africa.  After a twenty-three hour plane ride, we arrived in Capetown, South Africa.  It was not until we saw the panoramic photo of zebras hanging above the booths of international customs that reality set in … “We’re in Africa!”

Dr. Elizabeth Nichols in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, in partnership with Drs. Melissa McHale and Ted Shear, spent nearly a full year planning the South Africa excursion.  Focusing specifically on ecosystem services, the trio of professors organized a three-week session that had us all working side by side with South African professionals.  The trip was divided into four topics:  urban ecology (Capetown), forestry management (Mpumalanga), forest research and subsistence use of natural resources (Kruger National Park and Hamakuya Village), and ecotourism (Loskop Dam Game Nature Reserve).   

During the urban ecology practicum, the NCSU troop divided into groups to tour various conservation areas of Cape Flats in the Western Cape Province.  Kathryn and I visited the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.  We acquired information about so many different things that day:  penguin conservation at a former whaling station, fire management in the fynbos plant community, integration of vineyards and orchards into land conservation and ecotourism practices, and, of course, the ramifications of economic disparities in a post-apartheid South Africa.  

On the next day, the entire NCSU troop worked with the residents of Casablanca, a small community located within Cape Flats.  These residents may have little money in their pockets, but they have a love for their land and an impassioned desire to protect it.  Harmony Flats Nature Preserve is a 9-hectare plot of land that once supported the critically endangered geometric tortoise; that is, when the land stretched untouched to the Indian Ocean.  Significant changes to the land area have altered the preserve, but remnants of the rare Lourensford alluvium fynbos community still exist.  This endangered ecosystem exists among a community of people that rely on the land for survival.  Hence, the individuals use the plants within the reserve for reasons that remain unknown to the manager of Harmony Flat.  The manager, however, suspects that plant extraction for traditional medicine and broom making is highly likely.  Operating under this assumption, the preserve manager faces the difficult challenge of balancing cultural tradition and plant preservation.

Photo (above): Derek Dussek, Dr. Melissa McHale, Davis Murphy, Kathryn Reis, Kathy Spears, and Harmony Flats Researchers collecting data in Harmony Flats Nature Preserve.

In addition to plant harvesting, the Cape Flats region has a tremendous problem with trash and theft.  To us, the outsiders, Harmony Flats Nature Preserve looked like a soccer field covered in trash.  However, as we listened to the elders of Casablanca talk, we recognized that Harmony Flats serves as the glue that holds this community together.  The lack of materials to build dwellings causes locals to become resourceful and use any material that can be found.  For instance, we learned that some residents are quick to steal signs, barbed wire, and wooden planks immediately upon installation.  Faced with the challenges of plant harvesting, trash accumulation, and theft, as well as human ignited fire and plant trampling, Harmony Flats Nature Preserve has become a difficult place to manage.  Therefore, it was our duty to help the Casablanca residents and preserve manager map the location of social trails, illegal plant harvesting, boundary lines of fires, rubbish piles, and sand removal.  We also prepared a list of management recommendations for the community.

The forestry management practicum was short but informative.  During our one full day in Mpumalanga Province, we toured the Ngodwana Paper Mill, nurseries, and research plantations of Sappi (South African Pulp and Paper Industries).  According to Jacob Crous, forestry production began in South Africa in 1876.  Sappi emerged between 1965 and 1975.  Today 68% of South African lands are used for various purposes, and forestry production represents only 1% of that land use breakdown.  Economically, forestry yields 2% of South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product and is a major employer in the rural communities.  Within the Ngodwana area, Sappi focuses on softwood production, mostly pines and eucalyptus.  To conserve water, Sappi uses an effluent pond to recycle its dirty water during the milling process for paper production.  In these storage ponds, the dirt particles settle to the ground.  Sappi pumps water out of the effluent pond to conduct activities in the mill and extract the sludge for disposal at a designated dump.  This is just one example of water use that makes the Ngodwana Paper Mill one of the most water efficient mills in the world.  Sappi also strives for efficiency in its wood use.  All wood waste created at the mill is converted to soil that Sappi uses when planting seedlings at its nurseries.

Next, the NCSU crew established camp at the University of Witwatersrand’s Rural Facility outside of Kruger National Park (KNP) in the Limpopo Province.  We helped Dr. Tony Swemmer at the South African Environmental Observation Network identify sampling strategies for mopane tree/shrub density estimation and fuel wood collection.  For reasons unknown to scientists, mopane dominates the shrub-savanna landscape of central KNP where the soil consists of basalt.  Dr. Swemmer is monitoring the distribution of mopane trees/shrubs to learn if the plant moves southward in response to global climate change and out competes other native species.  Our task was to determine which plot size yields the least variation in mopane density counts.  For at least half a day, we set up many 20 x 20 nested plots in Kruger National Park and busied ourselves with tree/shrub identification and stem counting.  It was quite thrilling knowing that Godfrey, an armed game warden for Kruger, was strolling the woods making sure all of the park’s spectacular but dangerous animals maintained a safe distance from us.  As for the fuel wood collection study, we mostly helped Dr. Swemmer establish long-term monitoring plots.  For each plot we collected baseline information (diversity of tree/shrub species represented, number of individuals per species, and stem density).  Photo (left): Davis Murphy and Marta Pongor assisting SAEON researchers with plant sampling in Kruger National Park.

The fuel wood collection study was the most intellectually challenging.  Many villagers of Bushbuckridge harvest tree limbs to heat their homes, cook food, and sell at street side markets.  Dr. Swemmer wants to learn how such activity is impacting the growth and regeneration of the harvested trees/shrubs.  Ideally, Dr. Swemmer would like to know how much fuel wood is collected for an individual household and for what purposes.  Additionally, Dr. Swemmer wants to collect certain measurements so it can assess how much biomass is removed from an individual tree/shrub.  However, the villagers wander a vast area in search of fuel wood and rarely at the same time from one day to the next.  How can Dr. Swemmer’s scientists and volunteers monitor the activity of each household?  We believe the answer lies in participatory research; get the villagers involved in the project.  For instance, Dr. Swemmer already employs a few villagers to assist with data collection projects.  Dr. Swemmer could expand that model to train more villagers on specific fuel wood data collection needs.  Each volunteer could be assigned to a certain number of households, always accompanying the household members on their fuel wood collection treks. Photo (right):  Bushbuckridge villager carrying a head-load of fuelwood

For our third practicum, the NCSU crew relocated to Tshulu Camp in Hamakuya, Limpopo Province.  What a fascinating experience this was!  Hamakuya is a village of the matriarchal Venda tribe.  Dr. David Bunn from the University of Witwatersrand works with other individuals to employ the services of local villages in the creation, maintenance, and research activities of Tshulu Camp.  Our task was to collect information about individual baobab trees.  How tall and wide is the tree?  Does it show signs of historical elephant damage?  Are there any animal nests in the tree?  How many fruits are hanging from the trees?  With the information we collected, Dr. Bunn will visit with local villagers to learn how they use the trees.  Collectively this information will help Dr. Bunn and others learn why the majestic baobab (a.k.a., tree of life) is struggling to regenerate in this elephant free area.  As we went from one 1,000 plus year-old tree to the next, the village children followed our every movement.  Some wanted to carry our backpacks.  Others wanted to help us measure tree diameter, and some simply wanted to watch and sneak a touch of our hair.

Photo (above):  Derek Dussek, Marta Pongor, Kathryn Reis, and Kathy Spears measuring Baobab trees in Hamakuya.

On the next day, we initiated our 24-hour home stay with a Venda family.  We got to interact with several of the same children, learning their games and dances and teaching them some of America’s games and dances.  The adults of the village were eager to spend a large part of the day and night dancing to the music of drum beating and an accordion player.  Part of the home stay also incorporated daily homecare activities:  cooking pap (cornmeal bread), mopane worms (a spiny caterpillar and main source of protein for the villagers), collecting water, washing dishes, and sweeping the patio. Photo (left): Davis Murphy interacting with Venda children during our home stay in the Venda Village, Hamakuya.

The final practicum was much more relaxing than the previous ones.  We completed our study abroad trip camping at the Loskop Dam Game Nature Reserve along the Olifants River in Mpumulanga Province.  Joining a group of students from Canada, we learned how to track various animals using our five senses.  On one night, Hannes Botha, a doctoral student from the University of Pretoria, visited the reserve.  Botha lectured on the mystifying decline of the Nile crocodile population.  Afterwards, we joined Botha as he patrolled the Olifants River in search of crocodiles.  Botha successfully caught one croc and allowed many of us to hold the prehistoric animal that measured roughly 1.5 meters.

Photo (above): Kim Shumate holds a 3 to 5-year-old Nile crocodile, collected from the Olifants River in Mpumulanga Province.

On the last day of May, we bid farewell to South Africa and headed back to the States with a suite of memories and learning experiences that will last a lifetime.  May our reflections inspire you to follow in our footsteps and explore the cultural and natural glories of South Africa!

Learn more: Ecosystem Services in South Africa Study Abroad Website