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Intsika Garden to encourage engagement and sustainability

17 January 2025 | Story Lunga Luthuli | Photo Supplied

Intsika Food Garden — The newly redeveloped Intsika Garden on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, designed to promote accessibility, sustainability, and community engagement. The garden's flexible spaces offer opportunities for students to relax, collaborate, and connect with one another.

The UFS Qwaqwa Campus is transforming its landscape to provide more than just a physical connection between buildings. The redevelopment of the garden in front of the Intsika Building marks a shift towards integrating communal spaces that support interaction, inclusivity, and sustainability.

According to Nico Janse van Rensburg, Senior Director: Facilities Planning at University Estates, the primary aim of the redevelopment is to celebrate the diversity of the university as its ‘greatest asset’ by creating spaces that promote community engagement. “Previously, the garden was underutilised and did not connect properly to the rest of the campus’ circulation network. We identified an opportunity to develop it into a social space where academia and visitors can connect,” Van Rensburg explained.

Accessibility and sustainability

The Intsika Garden redevelopment aligns with the broader strategic goals of the institution, particularly in infrastructure planning. The project focuses on making the space universally accessible, ensuring that it caters for people with disabilities while improving overall circulation on the campus. “The development strives to improve the accessibility to different functions on the campus by making the space and circulation routes universally accessible,” said Van Rensburg.

This initiative is also embedded in the university’s commitment to sustainability, as waterwise plants, artificial grass, and low maintenance finishes have been carefully selected to reduce the environmental footprint. “Artificial grass was used in combination with natural vegetation, which requires minimal water and maintenance,” he added.

In addition to accessibility, sustainability plays a central role in the redevelopment. The project is designed to contribute to the university’s goal of reducing its carbon footprint by promoting pedestrian-friendly spaces and minimising the reliance on fossil-fuel-driven vehicles.

Van Rensburg highlighted the efficiency gains in the management of green spaces, noting that the design will reduce the frequency of maintenance, which in turn reduces carbon emissions and energy consumption. “By promoting pedestrian circulation and integration with public transport, the use of vehicles using fossil fuels is minimised,” he said. Walking, he added, is not only a more environmentally friendly option, but also promotes the health and well-being of the campus community.

Social spaces for collaboration

The redevelopment introduces six new social nodes across the campus, each offering unique opportunities for student engagement and collaboration. “Smaller pockets have been created, which form part of the larger public space, resulting in a microclimate where people can relax and socialise,” Van Rensburg explained.

The spaces are designed with flexibility in mind, featuring various seating arrangements, including spaces for meetings and group collaborations. Among the new additions is an amphitheatre, which provides a multifunctional space for lectures, performances, and other activities. “Flexible communal spaces were created for recreational opportunities, resulting in a balanced campus lifestyle,” Van Rensburg added.

Recognising the increasing reliance on technology, the redevelopment also incorporates features such as charging stations and Wi-Fi connectivity. The spaces are envisioned as ‘information zones’, providing students and staff with convenient access to online resources while they relax or connect outdoors. “With Wi-Fi connectivity, the spaces function as an extension to traditional libraries,” noted Van Rensburg.

While the Intsika Garden redevelopment is a significant step forward, plans are already underway for further infrastructure and green initiatives. “The soft landscaping and signage contracts were awarded for the Intsika Garden,” Van Rensburg confirmed. He also revealed that much-needed renovations to the front of the Intsika Building are in the pipeline, with a contractor soon to be appointed for the construction work. The planned upgrade will align with the garden’s aesthetics by drawing inspiration from indigenous art and culture, creating a cohesive identity for the campus.

As these developments progress into 2025, the Qwaqwa Campus will continue to evolve, offering students and staff spaces that not only enhance their academic experience, but also contribute to a more sustainable and connected environment.

News Archive

Fight against Ebola virus requires more research

2014-10-22

Dr Abdon Atangana
Photo: Ifa Tshishonge

Dr Abdon Atangana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Institute for Groundwater Studies at the University of the Free State (UFS), wrote an article related to the Ebola virus: Modelling the Ebola haemorrhagic fever with the beta-derivative: Deathly infection disease in West African countries.

“The filoviruses belong to a virus family named filoviridae. This virus can cause unembellished haemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman monkeys. In literature, only two members of this virus family have been mentioned, namely the Marburg virus and the Ebola virus. However, so far only five species of the Ebola virus have been identified, including: Ivory Coast, Sudan, Zaire, Reston and Bundibugyo.

“Among these families, the Ebola virus is the only member of the Zaire Ebola virus species and also the most dangerous, being responsible for the largest number of outbreaks.

“Ebola is an unusual, but fatal virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body. As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes the blood-clotting levels in cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.

Since all physical problems can be modelled via mathematical equation, Dr Atangana aimed in his research (the paper was published in BioMed Research International with impact factor 2.701) to analyse the spread of this deadly disease using mathematical equations. We shall propose a model underpinning the spread of this disease in a given Sub-Saharan African country,” he said.

The mathematical equations are used to predict the future behaviour of the disease, especially the spread of the disease among the targeted population. These mathematical equations are called differential equation and are only using the concept of rate of change over time.

However, there is several definitions for derivative, and the choice of the derivative used for such a model is very important, because the more accurate the model, the better results will be obtained. The classical derivative describes the change of rate, but it is an approximation of the real velocity of the object under study. The beta derivative is the modification of the classical derivative that takes into account the time scale and also has a new parameter that can be considered as the fractional order.

“I have used the beta derivative to model the spread of the fatal disease called Ebola, which has killed many people in the West African countries, including Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, since December 2013,” he said.

The constructed mathematical equations were called Atangana’s Beta Ebola System of Equations (ABESE). “We did the investigation of the stable endemic points and presented the Eigen-Values using the Jacobian method. The homotopy decomposition method was used to solve the resulted system of equations. The convergence of the method was presented and some numerical simulations were done for different values of beta.

“The simulations showed that our model is more realistic for all betas less than 0.5. The model revealed that, if there were no recovery precaution for a given population in a West African country, the entire population of that country would all die in a very short period of time, even if the total number of the infected population is very small. In simple terms, the prediction revealed a fast spread of the virus among the targeted population. These results can be used to educate and inform people about the rapid spread of the deadly disease,” he said.

The spread of Ebola among people only occurs through direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person after symptoms have developed. Body fluid that may contain the Ebola virus includes saliva, mucus, vomit, faeces, sweat, tears, breast milk, urine and semen. Entry points include the nose, mouth, eyes, open wounds, cuts and abrasions. Note should be taken that contact with objects contaminated by the virus, particularly needles and syringes, may also transmit the infection.

“Based on the predictions in this paper, we are calling on more research regarding this disease; in particular, we are calling on researchers to pay attention to finding an efficient cure or more effective prevention, to reduce the risk of contamination,” Dr Atangana said.

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