A well thought out Service Learning project will contribute to food security, as well as promote entrepreneurship and sustainability on the Bellville Campus.
The project will see a group of 80 Landscape Technology students design, construct and manage a 1 000 square meter food garden at the Matthew Goniwe 2 residence.
An initiative of Landscape Technology lecturers Christene Thorne, Gerhard Griesel and Johan van Rooyen, this ambitious project is a first for CPUT and is set to yield substantial benefits for a large group of CPUT students.
Apart from promoting healthy eating and addressing food security on campus, the project provides students with an ideal opportunity to put their theory into practice.
The lecturers involved say the collaborative nature of the Service Learning project will contribute to an “authentic learning experience.”
“Students will have the opportunity to develop environmental stewardship within a built environment community,” says van Rooyen.
Phase one of the project commenced late last year and saw students prepare the area.
Phase two will kick of this term with students focusing on planting, the design of holistic systems to incorporate waste management and water usage as well as the implementation of appropriate organic farming methods.
This unique project has also yielded support from various organisations who have donated funds as well as equipment and plants.
Collaborators include Corobric, Cape Garden Care, Just Trees, South African Landscapers Institute, Continental cobbles, Pro-bio, Reliance compost, Master Organics, Urban Landscape Solutions and Envirochoice Project Management.
Van Rooyen says they hope to roll the project out to other CPUT residences.
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