The Unseen Threat of Pampas Grass in South Africa
Pampas Grass has found its way into countless South African homes and events. Yet it is an ecological menace that demands our attention.
The Fragility of Africa’s Lions
lion populations have dramatically declined over recent decades, with the most recent estimates suggesting 20,000 to 25,000 wild lions remaining in Africa
A fond farewell from the Editor
I have had the pleasure of compiling and editing the remarkable stories the EWT’s staff members have written over the last three years and reading and contributing to them for eight years before that. It’s a little late to introduce myself, but I am sadly leaving the EWT and wanted to say a few words about my EWT story and acknowledge those who have walked beside me.
Period Poverty is real. Period equity should be too
Approximately seven million girls in South Africa still suffer from what has been coined “period poverty”, as they don’t have access to menstrual products each month. What is needed is period equity – ensuring girls have access to reusable and affordable menstrual products and information on feminine hygiene.
Following a stork named Fill
UKZN PhD student Jonah Gula aimed to find and trap four Marabou Storks and fit them with tracking devices as part of his PhD project, but first, he needed to find a site with large numbers of Marabous. The Marabous proved to be much more wily birds than we initially gave them credit for and it was quite the adventure!
Cycads: Prehistoric plants in peril
Cycads are ancient seed plants (or gymnosperms) that date back to the Jurassic period. The illegal harvesting of wild plants and habitat destruction severely threaten these prehistoric plants. Worryingly, many cycads are Critically Endangered, and others are extinct in the wild, meaning none are left within their natural range.