Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

GROW your own vegetables

24 August 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

UFS vegetable garden — A variety of vegetables, including beans, spinach, onions, and carrots, are sheltered in 40 vegetable boxes in the two 300 m² tunnels opposite the Welwitschia Residence on the Bloemfontein Campus.

At the University of the Free State (UFS), research findings have indicated that 59% of students do not know where their next meal will come from. The recent COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the unemployment rate of 34,9%, adding to the likelihood of our students being affected even more by food insecurity.

One of the initiatives the university has created to address the issue, is a vegetable production and training programme. The purpose of the programme, which was established by the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, KovsieACT, and the Food Environment Office, is to teach students how to produce vegetables.

A variety of vegetables, including beans, spinach, onions, and carrots, are sheltered in 40 vegetable boxes in the two 300 m² tunnels opposite the Welwitschia Residence on the Bloemfontein Campus. Not only is this initiative providing students with fresh produce that supplements the food parcels they receive from the Food Environment Office through the No Student Hungry Project. It also provides them with the opportunity to get involved on a voluntary basis in the food production process, including the planting and harvesting of the vegetables.

Food production is an important skill in growing one’s own food. Moreover, it is also a valuable skill for students to transfer to their communities back home.

From mid-August through to the end of October is planting season for a number of vegetables. Starting spring on a high note, the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, KovsieACT, and the Food Environment Office invited food security activist, Thabo Olivier, to address the university community and provide some valuable guidelines to grow your own food in innovative ways.

Date: Thursday 1 September 2022

Time: 13:00

Venue: Thakaneng Bridge

Invest in your future and join the event, which will include hands-on harvesting from the vegetables gardens as well as a food demonstration.

More information: Teddy Sibiya on SibiyaLT@ufs.ac.za at KovsieAct.

News Archive

Architecture rewards talent

2016-11-25

Description: "Architecture Corobrik Tags: Architecture Corobrik

Lana Bramley (winner), Petru du Toit (second place),
Sinjon Moffett (third place), and Nina Nel
(best use of brick in a design) were
winners at the Corobrik Architecture
Student of the Year competition.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

During the recent announcement of the Corobrik Architecture Student of the Year, Lana Bramley was named regional winner in the Free State. Bramley is currently a master’s degree student in the Department of Architecture at the University of the Free State (UFS).

For her dissertation, she examined the design of an art gallery as a liminal architectural intervention, questioning the rigid boundaries of the UFS Campus. Bramley obtained distinctions for her Architecture dissertation, Design dissertation, and for Construction.

Bramley will join Roodt Architects next year.

The following students were also named winners in this year’s regional competition:

Best use of brick in a design: Nina Nel
Second place in the Corobrik Architectural student of the year competition (regional): Petru du Toit
Third place in the Corobrik Architectural student of the year competition (regional): Sinjon Moffett

From the master’s class, a total of 27 students obtained distinctions (nine for Design dissertation, 12 for Construction and six for Architecture dissertation). Prof Jan Smit and Henry Pretorius, Head of the Department of Architecture, awarded two prizes respectively to the best Technical Design student, Janrie Haarhoff, and the best Architecture dissertation student, Petru du Toit.

Musa Shangase, Commercial Director of Corobrik, congratulated students on the quality of their work. It is the 30th year this competition has been presented by Corobrik, a company that is 114 years old, to encourage talent in this profession. The national winner is expected to be announced in May 2017.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept