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09 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Varsity Sports
Lefebere and Khanyisa
Lefébre Rademan (left) and Khanyisa Chawane before the start of the Varsity Netball clash. Rademan was named the Player of the Tournament, a reward Chawane received last year.

For the sixth time in the seven years of the competition, the best player in the Varsity Netball tournament hails from the University of the Free State (UFS).

Lefébre Rademan, captain of the Kovsie netball team who ended third in Varsity Netball, was named as the Player of the Tournament and the Players’ Player of the Tournament on Monday night (7 October). Previous UFS recipients of the award are Ané Bester (2013), Karla Pretorius (in 2014 and 2015), Khomotso Mamburu (2016), and Khanyisa Chawane (2018).

Rademan shot 176 goals from 214 attempts for a goal average of 82%. In both the Premier League and National Championship, she received the prize for the best shooter this year.

The news comes shortly after the announcement that a UFS teammate has secured a contract to play overseas next year. Khanyisa Chawane, who impressed immensely as a member of the Proteas at this year’s World Cup, will represent Bath in Europe’s Superleague. The 23-year-old Chawane also received an offer to play in the Australian league, but the one in England suited her better.

She will return to Bloemfontein midway through the year and will still be available for the Kovsie netball team, as she will continue her studies. The talented mid-courter follows in the footsteps of Pretorius, who also spent a season with Bath in 2016.

“I am really thrilled to have signed with Bath. There is no doubt that I’m going to come out a better player; I’m grateful to have been scouted and given this opportunity to play for such a big team. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.”

“My goal has always been to play abroad and to challenge myself. I always strive to better myself and give my best on and off court,” Chawane said about the opportunity next year.

News Archive

Researcher uses NRF funding for studies to conserve plant and animal life
2017-04-18

Description: Butterfly Tags: Butterfly

It is difficult to survey all different types of
plants and animals and is therefore necessary to
choose one representative group. Butterflies are
relatively cheap and easy to sample. They are
known to be linked to specific habitats and to
respond to human pressures, such as farming.
Photo: Dr Falko Buschke


Earth is the only planet we know of that contains life. The variety of different plants and animals is remarkable: from the giant whales that swim our oceans, to the tiny mosses that grow on the shaded sides of rocks.  Many of these plants and animals are important to humans. For example, trees provide us with oxygen to breathe, bees pollinate our crops and owls control pests. More importantly though, we can tell a lot about society from the way it cares for nature. Humans are the custodians of the planet and the way we care for nature reflects the way we value life.

Dr Falko Buschke, Lecturer at the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State, is interested in understanding how the distribution of biodiversity [the variety of living things in nature] in time and space influences the way we should conserve and manage nature.

Earth is losing biodiversity faster than at any time in human history

The planet is losing biodiversity faster than at any time in human history. “There is an urgency to conserve plants and animals before they are lost forever. Nature is complex, so the way we study it should embrace this complexity. We should not rely on limited data on one type of species from one place and assume that it will also apply elsewhere. Instead, it is important that biodiversity research is comprehensive in the types of plants and animals while also considering that ecological and evolutionary processes vary through time and across geographic space,” he said.

To conduct his research, Dr Buschke uses a variety of research tools, including biological data surveyed directly from nature, spatial data from satellite remote sensing and geographic information systems databases, and data generated though custom-built computer simulations.

"There is an urgency to conserve
plants and animals before they
are lost forever."

Field work in the eastern Free State
Although parts of the eastern Free State are considered a global priority for biodiversity conservation, it is mainly privately owned commercial farmland. This means that it is important that plants and animals can survive despite living side by side with agricultural production.

“My project investigates whether the sandstone outcrops, known as inselbergs (island-mountains), are safe havens for plants and animals. Because it is difficult to survey all the different types of plants and animals, it is necessary to choose one representative group. That is where butterflies come in. Butterflies are relatively cheap and easy to sample. They are known to be linked to specific habitats and to respond to human pressures, such as farming,” he said. “Once this butterfly data is collected, it can be linked to satellite information on plant growth patterns. This will provide a clearer picture of whether plants and animals can persist side-by-side with commercial agriculture”.

Dr Buschke has just begun surveys that will carry on until the end of this year. “This 12-month project is funded under the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme through the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

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