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02 August 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba
Red Square Upgrade artist impression
Eco-friendly measures will ensure better water management at the University of the Free State.
The first phase of an exciting environmentally focused project to upgrade Red Square between the Johannes Brill Building and the H van der Merwe Scholtz Hall on the Bloemfontein Campus is currently underway.

The project forms part of the water-wise and grey-water initiative of the University of the Free State (UFS) implemented in 2018 in response to climate change and drought conditions in the Free State, and to save water in alignment with global standards of environmental efficiency.

Out with the old, in with the new

Modern architecture will be used at Red Square to project the image of a campus that cares for the environment and believes in sustainable solutions. Phases 1, 2, and 4 of the upgrade will be dealt with during the current project. This will take approximately three months to complete, with the remaining phases to follow. 

The initiative also entails the upgrading of areas with crucial focal points that have a visible impact, such as the traffic circles at the George du Toit and Francois Retief buildings. Vegetation such as artificial grass, stones and drought-resistant plants will be the new signature look for these and other areas. 

Going green 
 
More than 100 indigenous trees will be planted as part of the initiative. This will ensure that all available water sources are used for consumption and for maintaining a healthy ecological footprint.
 
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News Archive

Centre for Sustainable Agriculture to focus 20 years’ experience on food security
2014-12-04

 

The University of the Free State (UFS) Centre for Sustainable Agriculture is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. According to Prof Izak Groenewald, professor in this centre, their vision in future will be to focus on food security.

Besides the centre’s role in training people to make a contribution to food security, Prof Groenewald and his team adapted the learning programmes to add mobility to its qualifications – students can now obtain qualifications in short courses up to PhD qualifications.

Short courses include:
• Introduction to Innovation and Rural Development
• Foundational Theories in Livestock Production
• Sustainable Plant Production

Persons interested in the Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Agriculture, can register for the following modules:
• Fundamentals of Rural Development
• Fundamentals of Agricultural Economics
• Sustainable Plant Production Practices
• Sustainable Animal Production Practices
• Basic written communication and presentation skills

Focus areas in the master’s degree programme are:
• Agribusiness management
• Value adding
• Rural development
• Plant production
• Animal production

The Centre for Sustainable Agriculture regards partnerships with institutions abroad as vitally important. For this reason, partnerships have already been fromed with the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), the University of Minnesota and the National Department of Agriculture.

Persons obtaining qualifications at the centre will be able to find employment in the following fields:
• Project management and planning
• Rural development sociology
• Livestock production systems
• Advisors in the agricultural sector of commercial banks
• Commercial and emerging farmers
• Extension services with government departments as link between farmer and government
• Lecturers
• Researchers

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