Prof. Patrick FitzGerald (University of Witwatersrand) and Prof. Rita Maré (Unisa Vice-Principal Academic: Teaching and Learning) sign the memorandum of understanding at Unisa’s Florida Campus.

Collaborations, particularly those related to research production, are the game of the 21st century information society, knowledge economy, and the 21st century university, said Professor Patrick FitzGerald from the University of Witwatersrand (Wits).

“As a single university, no matter what comparative advantages you have, no matter what intellectual talent or particular strengths you may have, you are not really going to go forward and perform optimally, and leverage and exploit your resources, unless you are able to use those resources to enter into fruitful collaborative partnerships. Because one institution cannot have the critical mass; it cannot have all the equipment, and all the energies to actually achieve optimally.”

FitzGerald was speaking to staff from Unisa and Wits on 12 November, when the two universities confirmed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and launched their research collaboration plans.

Both universities have agreed to develop initiatives with special focus on identified niche areas and sharing of resources towards the advancement of each other’s research cultures; jointly organise and host public lectures, seminars, policy dialogue, symposia, and conferences; collaborate in joint research and development initiatives, with particular focus on the biosciences, plant and animal health, natural resources, and engineering; participate in joint projects including the development of joint research and publications, exchange of academic materials as well as the sharing of technical expertise and resources; provide opportunities for exchange of post-doctoral fellowship at either university; and cooperate in supervision, tuition, and assessment of postgraduate students.

The way forward, said FitzGerald, is to strategically pick the right partnerships in the right fields, with the right people.  He said universities should have the requisite commitment to design effective partnerships to take forward a whole series of complexities and yield effective results in how they respond to what is occurring in the country.

He added that Wits’s commitment to Unisa in lab-based research is a sustained one. “…We are happy to join you since you are a new player, who brings new investments, who is possibly going to have equipment that we don’t have or more recent versions of the equipment. You are going to have a cadre of academics, you are going to have postdoctoral and postgraduate students, who can relate to us, and with all the technologies at our disposal in terms of ICT, I think there is every opportunity, and that this is something that Wits needs to do.”

FitzGerald said Wits is known asa  research-intensive university, and therefore they are focused on going forward and contributing not only to science and lab-based research, but to society. “We need the hard research, we need the research outputs, but we also need the socialisation and commercialisation of intellectual capital based on good science. This is one of the things that South African universities have generally under-achieved in. We need to be more resolute in order to achieve according to our potential. We probably need a lot more partnerships of this kind. It’s difficult for a single university to drive it forward without affirming partnerships, and networks of innovation. It is sometimes those relationships with colleagues from other universities that drive and spark innovative thinking … The document (MoU) must be taken forward in the real world,” he said.

Executive Dean of Unisa’s College of Graduate Studies, Professor Greg Cuthbertson, also addressed the importance of partnerships, but spoke on the policy changes relating to sustainable development, higher education and research, as well.

“…What has interested me quite a lot is the CHE (Council on Higher Education) document on new formats for doctoral research … and I think this project has a lot to do with those configurations which break out of universities being the custodians of advanced degrees on their own. And Unisa has not explored these things enough, and I congratulate this college (CAES) for being the leaders in establishing this kind of contact.”

Cuthbertson was impressed with the MoU, and said one of the aspects that stood out was the conscious focus on postdoctoral exchange. “It’s a thing that we all struggle with as universities and to have a reciprocal relationship where Wits postdoctoral students come to work at Unisa for career advancement, and vice-versa, is a fantastic arrangement, because I know how universities do struggle to find places, and in a competitive environment, give people career options, which I think are immeasurable in terms of promoting research. So the postdoctoral exchange concept in your memorandum is a very fertile region for research in the future.”

Professor Maggie Linington, Executive Dean of the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES), said given Unisa’s geographical reach across Africa, the university’s success in enhancing innovative research and postgraduate studies had the potential to influence the future of research in South Africa and on the continent.

She said that, amongst other things, the science laboratories currently being built at Unisa’s Florida Campus demonstrate Unisa’s commitment to becoming a research-intensive university, a university dedicated to enhancing research and innovation and the production of postgraduates.

Linington said Unisa’s Research and Innovation Portfolio supports research partnerships and collaborations across disciplines and universities. “…We recognise that through collaborations we can create critical maths and science research, and research on focus areas critical to the country, and produce a new generation of scientists for the nation … The university sees a competitive advantage in research through the collaborative approach that attracts top researchers. Therefore both Wits and Unisa will benefit hugely from this collaboration.”

Linington added: “We believe that there is expertise across the science sector and if you want to actually benefit from the expertise in South Africa, collaborations and partnerships are pivotal to it … We need to collaborate across disciplines if we want to fix problems. We need multi-disciplinary research, and we need multi-disciplinary teams, and we can only be strengthened from each other’s expertise.”

Dr Monde Ntwasa from the School of Molecular and Cell Biology at Wits presented a brief context of the MoU. Click here to view his presentation.

Unisa Vice-Principal Academic: Teaching and Learning, Professor Rita Maré, said both institutions would benefit from the sharing of expertise and resources in the interest of science. “The collaboration with the Wits is an important milestone for Unisa. Working closely with a neighbouring university with a strong research culture will have mutual benefits for postgraduate students, researchers and for the creation of new knowledge. The possibility of developing a joint qualification is another exciting possibility to share resources.”

Professor Fhatuwani Mudau from Unisa’s Department of Agriculture and Animal Health said the challenge moving forward would be ensuring that the MoU was more than just a piece of paper. Words needed to be put into action, he said, if both universities were to ensure the collaboration bore fruit.

Staff from the University of Witwatersrand and Unisa listen to a presentation by Dr Monde Ntwasa (School of Molecular and Cell Biology: University of Witwatersrand)

* Written by Rivonia Naidu-Hoffmeester

Dr Christy Boylan (Ireland), Prof Richard Hendrick (Director: School of Environmental Sciences), Dr Gregory Moore (University of Melbourne, Australia) and Prof Willie Nel (CoD: Environmental Sciences)

The Department of Environmental Sciences (DES)  in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) held a very successful colloquium on 1 November 2012 at the Florida Campus, focusing on the value of urban green spaces and greening. Papers were submitted by two international speakers and academics from the department.

The presentations included the following:

• The real value of urban trees and landscapes by Dr Gregory Moore, University of Melbourne, Australia

• The arboriculture and economic benefits of formative pruning of street trees by Dr Gregory Moore, University of Melbourne, Australia
• The diverse values and uses of parks by Dr Christy Boylan, Ireland
• Management of parks and open spaces – strategies and models by Dr Christy Boylan, Ireland
• Estimates of carbon storage by jacaranda street trees in the City of Tshwane by    Professor Hennie Stoffberg, DES, Unisa

Dr Moore highlighted and discussed in detail the variety of benefits, both socioeconomic as well as environmental, that urban greening and trees have within an urban environment. The presentation was especially apt in the light of climate change and global warming. The most important aspects are summarised below:

Dr Moore concluded that it was concerning that, at a time when urban trees and public open space were being appreciated as urban infrastructure assets, they were being threatened and neglected in many major cities. This will have a serious impact on the capacity of cities and regions to mitigate at least some of the effects of global climate change. Also, this will have a deleterious effect on human health, social structures and the economic components of our society as well as the environment.

Dr Boylan highlighted the various and diverse values and uses of parks. He outlined a dazzling array of benefits including human health and well-being, economic in terms of tourism, visual impacts and biodiversity, engineering values, education and research values, heritage values, social interaction and community development.

In his follow-up presentation, Dr Moore focused on professional street tree pruning, highlighting the environmental and economic benefits if these practices were implemented scientifically and correctly by city parks departments, which is seldom the case.

In his follow-up presentation on parks management strategies and models, Dr Boylan highlighted the benefits and risks of four options of private-public management models for the management of urban green spaces as well as seven ingredients required to do so successfully.

Unisa’s own Professor Hennie Stoffberg presented findings of a study published in 2012 by Unisa Press which indicated that about 17% (33 300) of the City of Pretoria’s urban street tree forests (195 000 trees) consisted of jacaranda trees. This research indicated that these trees stored more than 41 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in their wood and roots. Carbon dioxide is the main greenhouse gas and it thus places great emphasis on the critical necessity of street tree urban infrastructure to reduce global climate change impacts.

* Written by Professor Willie Nel

Dr Agricola Odoi

The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) hosted their African Visiting Scholar of the month lecture series on 25 June 2012. The lecture sought to analyse the relationship between where people reside and the possible health risks this might pose.

The lecture was presented by Dr Agricola Odoi, Associate Professor of epidemiology at the University of Tennessee and an adjunct faculty at East Tennessee State University. His lecture was entitled “Does where you live affect your health & that of your animals?” GIS technology in health and veterinary research.

He said that based on the research he has done, it shows that the places where people or animals live does have an impact on their health, especially people who live far from health care facilities. He added that those who suffer from strokes might not get immediate help if they live far from hospitals. “Stroke and heart attack are conditions that need immediate attention and if patients are not treated quickly, they might not survive.”

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are used to gather and store data, and analyse that data. He explained that the GIS uses a method of network analysis that calculates the travelling time from different neighbourhoods to the nearest health facilities. The results are also displayed in a map format providing easy access for all people. He said that the maps on display help health practitioners to respond to the outbreaks of any disease.

Responding to the paper, Dr Godfrey Netswera (Director: Research Administration, Unisa) agreed that where people or animals live affects their health. “This is not a simplistic response and it should not be. Scholars should try their best to provide thought through responses and be backed by empirical evidence.” He added that as a sociologist, he was tempted, upfront, before listening to the scholarship of Dr Odio, to size up the matter and “look at the question from a social and economic reference point.”

Dr Agricola Odoi earned his veterinary degree in 1993 from Makerere University (Uganda), MSc in epidemiology from University of Nairobi (Kenya) in 1998 and PhD in epidemiology from the University of Guelph (Canada) in 2002. Before joining the University of Tennessee, Dr Odoi taught epidemiology and public health at Makerere University (Uganda) and was a public health epidemiologist in Ontario (Canada). He is a director and awards chair of the Association of Veterinary Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine (AVEPM). Dr Odoi also serves as a senior staff member of the National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS). His research interest is in health disparities and especially the effect of where people live on the health of people and animals. Dr Odoi serves as an expert scientific reviewer for a number of research grant funding agencies including the National Institute of Health (USA), the American Heart Association (USA), Ontario Ministry of Agriculture (Canada), and Innovational Research Incentives Programme (The Netherlands). He is also an Associate Editor of the African Journal of Agricultural Research and is an editorial board member of several international scientific journals.

From left: Mr V Mququ, Mr Somhlahlo, Mrs K.A Kikine, Ms Ellen Mokoena, Mrs Liphapang, Ms Poppie Khoza(CAES), Mr L Ndlovu, Ms N Sopodi and Ms NK Mkhathsane

Corporate Communication and Marketing (CC&M) and the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) in partnership with the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform visited nine schools from six local areas namely; Lusikisiki, Ntabankulu, Mt Frere, Mt Fletcher, Lady Frere and Motherwell. These are adopted schools in the programme of the MEC of the Department. The school visits took place from 21 to 25 May 2012.

The primary objective of the visits was to expose learners from adopted schools to the qualifications offered in the areas of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. The Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform is making an effort to attract learners to study in the field of Animal Health and Veterinary Sciences because they have been identified as scarce skills in that area.

Learners had an opportunity to ask questions about Unisa as an ODL institution, student funding and admission requirements. 

The visits were well planned and well coordinated. Each school was assigned to a senior official from the Department.

Prof Neil Eccles (Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship), considers a remark from an audience member during the question and answer session

World Environment Day was observed on 5 June 2012 with the aim of educating global citizens about the dangers that threaten natural environments. To this end, the Department of Geography hosted a discussion based on this year’s theme, The green economy – Does it include you, which focuses on creating a low-carbon, resource efficient model for countries.

In 1972, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly established World Environment Day to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the programme which creates awareness on environmental issues such as global warming. 2012 also celebrates 20 years since the first UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Earth Summit) in Brazil.

Prof Neil Eccles, Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship, discussed what the World Environment Day theme really means and the possible avenues for achieving a global green economy.

His presentation included the countries he felt were the closest to sustainability, those who were not, and nations that were completely unsustainable. There were several theories he outlined to maintain an equilibrium including depopulation, growing technology and lowering a country’s growth rate. Prof Eccles says the world needs to start asking some tough questions to become serious about solving the environmental perils of our time. “We knew 40 years ago that we would eventually need a green economy, so the question is, ‘do we have the time?’ Are we actually smart enough to solve this and do we actually have the will to want to change things?” Click here to view Prof Eccles’ full presentation.

Front row, from left: Melanie Nicolau (Head of the Geography Department), Ernestina Nkooe (Department of Geography), Anna De Jager (Department of Geography). 2nd row: Anisa Khotoo (Department of Geography), Prof Neil Eccles (Acting Chair of the Institute for Corporate Citizenship), Prof Maggi Linington (Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences); 3rd row: Laura Steyn (Department of Geography), Jaco Immelman (Department of Geography), Chris Vlok (Department of Geography). Back row, Schalk Van Heerden (Department of Geography), Rhett Calvert (Department of Geography), Prof Jimmy Hendrick (Director: School of Environmental Sciences), David Hedding (Department of Geography), Hellene Steenkamp (Department of Geography), Prof Simphiwe Mini (Department of Geography)

Prof Maggi Linington, Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, drew attention to the fact that South Africa needs a sound green economy. “The question of sustainability is a fundamental one. We should try to care for the earth now,” she said.

As one of the largest universities in the country, Unisa is also playing a critical role in reducing unsustainable practices. According to Prof Divya Singh, Vice-Principal: Advisory and Assurance Services, Unisa has been a signatory to the UN Global Compact since 2007, a strategic policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. “We subscribe to the Green agenda because of the sustainability obligations imposed by the King III Code, but also, more importantly, because it is the ethical thing to do. As a University, the Vice Chancellor has made ethics an institutional priority and he is driving the initiatives directly from his office.”

Unisa will also be rolling out a carbon footprint report and environmental policy from 2012-2013.

Prof Maggi Linington (Executive Director: College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences), revealed that Unisa would be one of 29 universities, signing a sustainability pledge	Melanie Nicolau (Head of the Geography Department), facilitated the discussion
Prof Eccles’ presentation focused on three key aspects; Problems, Solutions and Elliot	The audience listened to a presentation that was enlightening and informative

From left: Prof Willie Nel (COD: Department of Environmental Sciences), Lerato Bapela (Department of Environmental Sciences), Samanta Stelli, (Rand Water), Thabo Masike (Department of Water Affairs) and Charles Makuwerere (Bembani Group) at the water colloquium

“There will be no global crisis because of physical scarcities of water. If there will be a crisis it will be because of poor water management.”  This was the conclusion that the Asian Development Bank came to a decade ago. It is with this conclusion that International Water Day, held annually on 22 March is becoming more imperative with each passing year.

In support of water conservation, Unisa’s Department of Environmental Sciences hosted a colloquium on 22 March 2012 focusing on the uncertainty of water in a changing environment.

Thabo Masike’s (Department of Water Affairs) presentation entitled “Water Conservation (WC) and Water Demand Management (WDM) is a national imperative to ensure water security for the country” stressed the importance of WC and WDM and the implementations that should be taking place. Explaining WDM, which is the adoption of a strategy by water institutions to influence demand for water and reduce overall consumption by end users, Masike said that “one can’t be using water passed an acceptable bench-mark. We shouldn’t believe that because this is a gift from God, we can use and abuse as we see fit.”

Advocating for Water Conservation the Water Wise Way, Samanta Stelli, from Rand Water, echoed Masike’s words.  With South Africa being a water-stressed country, Stelli shared the vision of Rand Water’s Water Wise campaign which is aimed at increasing awareness of the need to value water. She explained the fundamental need for this campaign based on climate change, drought, limited water resources, growing population, environmental damage and cost-savings to name a few. She said, “we have to look at ways of reducing water use and re-using or recycling water to meet the needs of our growing country.”

From a South African perspective, Lerato Bapela (Department of Environmental Sciences, Unisa), delved into the impacts of climate change on water resources. Through her presentation she did a global overview of water security, adaptation measures and policy based priorities. Some of the adaption measures Bapela mentioned include water conservation and demand management, groundwater exploration, water harvesting,  soil water conservation, efficient irrigation farming practices and education to name a few.  She said, “education increases understanding of the impacts of climate change on water and enables better planning and use of resources.”

The colloquium also gave a platform to other speakers discussing relevant views on water conservation, including Sydney Nkosi (City of Jo’burg), Prof John Dewar (Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, Unisa), Charles Makuwerere (Bembani Group),  Thomani Manungufala (South African National Biodiversity Institute), Wandile Nomquphu (Water Research Commission) and Dr Tobias Barnard (Water Institute of Southern Africa).

From left: Poppie Khoza (CAES), Ellen Mokoena (CC&M) and Vicky Lee-Shew (Western Cape Region)

The Western Cape Region, the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and staff from the Department of Corporate Communication and Marketing (CC&M) participated in the 2012 Livestock Health and Production Group (LHPG) congress in Stellenbosch.

LHPG’s mission is to perform quality continuous professional development for members, industry partners and customers to foster collaboration between livestock veterinarians and relevant producer organisations. The congress was attended by 145 national and international veterinarians, with 20 companies and institutions exhibiting their products and services to the congress attendees.

The team had an opportunity to visit the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishers and also Agricultural Research Council (ARC), both at Stellenbosch for Business to Business (B2B) purposes, where a brief was given on Agriculture and Animal Health programmes.

This gave CC&M the platform to position Unisa as an ODL institute of choice. The Western Cape Region and CAES also had the opportunity to exhibit the Agriculture and Animal Health programmes, as it is one of the main focus areas of the College. Delegates showed interest in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered by CAES.

From left: Ellen Mokoena (CC&M), Tshepiso Modiba (Western Cape Region) & Poppie Khoza (College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences)

The Western Cape Region,  the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) and staff from the Department of Corporate Communication and Marketing (CC&M) participated in the 2012 South African Equine Veterinary Association (SAEVA) congress which was hosted  in the Southern Cape in February this year.

SAEVA is a group dedicated to improving the health and welfare of the equine through the professional development of its members by providing leadership and resources in matters pertaining to the equine industry. The congress was attended by 115 national and international veterinarians, with companies and institutions exhibiting their products and services to the congress attendees.

This gave CC&M the platform to position Unisa as an ODL institution of choice. The Western Cape Region and CAES also had the opportunity to exhibit the Animal Health Programme, as it is one of the main focus areas of the college. Delegates showed interest in both under graduate and postgraduate programmes offered by CAES.

The Department of Agriculture and Animal Health in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences invited Professor J W Ng’ambi as the African visiting scholar of the month on 21 September at the Florida Campus.

The paper focuses on the potential for goats to reduce poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa. It offers information on the present status of goat populations and their productivity. The current systems of production are described. The social and economic roles played by goats in food security and income generation are considered. The potential of goats in food production is discussed in terms of productivity, economic importance and potential for increasing food production in Sub-Saharan Africa. The rising demand for animal products from increasingly wealthy urban elites also offers a tremendous opportunity for goat farmers to share in the growing wealth of urban centres.

Goats have played multiple roles in the support of mankind for over 7000 years (Aziz, 2010). While goats were originally domesticated in southwest Asia they quickly moved into Africa and now can be found in every environment on the continent. Goats are deeply embedded in almost every African culture and are true friends to the rural people of Sub-Saharan Africa in particular (Peacock, 1996). However, while the widespread cultural acceptance of goats and goat products forms a sound basis for development there are many physical, economic, social and political constraints to developing goats in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper will focus on the unique role and potential of goats in sub-Saharan Africa to improve the livelihood of the people. After all, Nelson Mandela herded goats as a young boy in the Eastern Cape, drank their milk and look at his achievements!

Goat breeds
There are a number of goat breeds in Sub-Saharan Africa. These can be grouped into meat goats (a number of indigenous goat breeds, Boer goat, etc.), milk goat breeds (Saanen, Alpine, Toggenburg, etc.) and mohair breeds (Angora goat) .

Uses of goats
Goats are generally kept for their milk, meat, hair (mohair, cashmere) and skins. However, goats provide their owners with a broad range of products and socioeconomic services and have played an important role in the social life of many African people , being used as gifts, dowry, in religious rituals and rites of passage (Peacock, !996). Goats may also be used for controlling bush encroachment.  There is, however, a potential for obtaining additional income by value-adding operations including the manufacture of goat leather products such as handbags, slippers and key chains, goat meat products such as spiced meat cuts, and milk products such as drinking yoghurt, cheese and amasi (FARM-Africa, 2004; Peacock, !996 ).

Goat production statistics
Accurate statistics are required to determine the future outlook of the goat populations and their productivity. They are also needed before any improvement policies can be planned on a realistic basis and implemented with confidence. Table 2 presents numbers of goat populations in different parts of the world (FAO, 2011). The world total numbers of goats were 861.9 million. There are tremendous variations among the different parts of the world regarding the number of goats. The largest number of goats is observed in Asia, followed by Africa, representing about 59.7% and 33.8% of the total number of the world, respectively. The top ten countries have approximately 65.7% of the world total number. Seven countries of this list are in Asia, and the rest are in Africa. The largest number of goats in the world is in China, followed by India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, all of them are in Asia. The number of goats in these four countries constitutes about 45% of the world total. Number of goats in the world has been increasing since 1990 by about 1% to 4% each year (FAO, 2011).

Dairy goats produce about 15.2 million metric tons of milk, accounting for about 2% of the world total amount of milk produced by livestock species. The developing countries produce approximately 83% of the total amount. In Europe, goat breeding is strongly oriented towards milk production, with only 3% of the world goat population producing about 15% of the world’s goat milk, which is mostly used for cheese production. Table 3 shows the amount of goat milk produced by the top ten countries in the world, along with the total number of dairy does and the average of milk produced per doe per lactation (FAO, 2011). The largest amount of goat milk is produced in India, followed by Bangladesh and Sudan. There are three European countries in the list producing a considerable amount of goat milk: Spain, France and Greece. These three countries produce similar amounts of goat milk. In France, interest in dairy goats has led to the establishment of organized programs for selection, processing and commercialization of goat milk, which is produced mainly from Saanen and Alpine breeds. France leads the list in terms of the annual milk production per dairy doe, while Iran reports the lowest milk production per dairy doe. China has the largest total number of goats in the world, but they are mainly kept for meat production. Milk production per dairy doe ranks third, behind France and Spain. China officially reports 1.4 million dairy goats producing 0.3 million metric tonnes of milk (FAO, 2011).  The dairy goat industry has great potential for further growth. It has grown partly because of a trend towards self-sufficiency by rural people, especially in developing countries, where goat milk can help to improve the nutrition of millions of people. In developing countries, much of the milk produced by goats is for family consumption, but goat milk can also be further processed into a variety of marketable products. In Sub-Saharan Africa marketing of goat milk and its products is still in its infancy. Less than 5% of the total milk produced by goats is marketed (Aziz, 2010; FAO, 2011).

Prof Willie Nel, Head of Department: Environmental Sciences; Dr Christy Boylan, international guest speaker; Cllr Mabena, Johannesburg Metro; and Prof Jimmy Hendrick, Director: School of Environmental Sciences

The importance of green public spaces was highlighted during the Department of Environmental Sciences’ public lecture held at the Unisa Florida Campus on Monday 16 January 2012. Dr Christy Boylan from Ireland was the guest speaker at the lecture and his topic of focus was “The value, quality, quantity, accessibility, utilisation, assessment techniques and so on of public green spaces”.

Different members of society interested in going green and those who work at various parks attended the event and engaged extensively with Dr Christy Boylan. Dr Boylan started with the background, history and origin of parks. He said that parks cater for a wide diversity of populations. ”Good quality parks are attractive to all age, race, gender and wealth groups.” He added that the reason society needs parks is because they promote healthy lifestyles as people walk around parks a lot, they are essential for wild life, they are a good place to go when people need clean air and they are great for recreational purposes.

He also mentioned that heritage is one of the crucial aspects of parks. Dr Boylan emphasised the fact that people need to take good care of their parks. “There is great vested interest in parks in Europe; even the space between blocks of flats are developed and made green.” He mentioned that he cannot form an opinion on South African green spaces since he has not travelled locally yet. “However, universities need to develop their public spaces so that students can use them as their study group areas,” he added.

Dr Christy Boylan began his horticulture career at an agricultural college. He then moved to the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin, where he completed a National Diploma in Horticulture in 1966. He graduated from the University College Dublin in 1971 with a B.Agri.Sc (Hort). He also studied Landscape Architecture, Landscape Horticulture and Parks and Recreation Management at Michigan State University, USA, where he earned an MS and PhD. Upon his return to Ireland in 1975, he joined Dublin Corporation Parks Department, becoming a Senior Executive Landscape Architect until he moved to South Dublin County Council in 1993 to head the newly formed Parks and Landscapes Services Department. In 2003, he obtained a Master of Business Administration from Dublin City University. In 2007 he retired from managing parks in Dublin to pursue a career in Landscape consultancy.