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28 February 2018 Photo Pixabay
Use less water and save more
Don't think twice about being water-wise

“Lift up the handle as soon as you flush. Don’t use the whole five litres at a go,” says Dr Cindé Greyling, who reckons we could save 25% of the water we flush down the toilet. Dr Greyling, who completed her PhD in Disaster Management at the University of the Free State (UFS), has spent years studying ways to shape the drought dialogue. Her voice is one that deserves our attention as citizens of this province.

Over the past five years the Free State has been experiencing heightened stress levels on reservoirs and dams due to the drought conditions induced by climate change. Since 2013 the issue has been worsening instead of improving.

Feasible water-conservation strategies
Students and staff members are advised to apply the same principle in the bathroom and kitchen alike by not letting the tap run while rinsing coffee cups. You could save a litre or two a day by (depending on how much coffee you drink and the number of cups rinsed) by quitting this bad habit. According to Dr Greyling, litter on campus is a secondary way of wasting water which many are unaware of. Litter blocks the drains and water which could have otherwise been recycled is lost in the process.

What do fellow Kovsies say?
Unamandla Mdlotshana, a third-year Actuarial Science student proposed eco-friendly adjustments that could potentially save litres of water on our campuses. He believes that using bottles to collect drinking water from taps, installing more water dispensers, and introducing hand sanitisers in bathrooms could drastically minimise water usage.

According to Dr Greyling, litter on campus is a
secondary way of wasting water which many
are unaware of. Litter blocks the drains and water,
which could have otherwise been recycled,
is lost in the process.


In Tebogo Chabangu’s view, taking shorter showers, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, and making sure taps are properly closed are some of the ways we could be water-wise. For the Anthropology honours student being water conscious means changing habits on a daily basis.

Join us as we spread the message of reversing the effects of the drought by saving water prior to the Rector’s engagement with students at 11:30 on 08 March 2018 at the Albert Wessels Auditorium on the Bloemfontein campus.

Remember to tag us on your water-saving tips on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

News Archive

KovsieTennis wins gold at USSA – again
2014-12-10

The annual University Sport South Africa (USSA) tournament was hosted by the KovsieTennis Club from 1 – 5 December 2014 in Bloemfontein.

This year was the first time that KovsieTennis entered two teams in the tournament. Our first team played in section A, while our second team competed in section B. Both sections were divided into two pools with round robin matches during the first three days. Thursday presented the cross-over with the finals taking place on that Friday.

During the round robin phase, our first team beat Rhodes University, University of Witwatersrand and University of Pretoria. On the Thursday, they met North West University (Pukke) in the semi-final and beat them 8-5 in matches. The last match was not played, since Kovsies already won the semi-final. For the third year in a row, Kovsies faced Stellenbosch University (Maties) in the final. After some brilliant tennis in sweltering heat, Kovsies found themselves 7-5 down in matches with the last two mixed doubles still to be played.

Janine Erasmus and Duke Munro, as number one couple, and Arne Nel and Heidi Murray, as number two couple, played outstanding mix doubles to win both matches, tying the score on 7-7. Due to the fact that Kovsies lost three of their matches in three sets they were crowned champions, winning with 17-14 on sets.

It is the eighth year in a row that the Kovsie club managed to win gold during USSA. We are also the only team that has won the tournament since the format changed to combined teams from 2010.

After the tournament Arne Nel, Duke Munro and Christi Potgieter were included in the squad from which a team will be selected, should tennis feature at the World Student Games in Korea during July 2015. Janine de Kock , KovsieTennis manager, was also appointed as manager of the SA Student team and Marnus Kleinhans from Kovsies will be their coach.

The second team beat Tshwane University of Technology, University of Kwa-Zulu- Natal and University of Cape Town during the round robin and in the semi-finals they won against University of Pretoria. Unfortunately they lost in the final against the North West University, but the club is extremely proud of the players since it was the first time all of them played in a USSA tournament. They gained a lot of experience that will greatly contribute to the value they will add to the team next year.

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