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UFS launches Greener SA: planting the seeds of a sustainable future

17 September 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Martinette Brits and Kaleidoscope Studios

The University of the Free State (UFS) launched Greener SA, a five-year initiative to plant 400 000 trees across South Africa, at the Paradys Experimental Farm on Friday 12 September 2025. Backed by the Mastercard Foundation through the TAGDev 2.0 programme and RUFORUM, the project brings together government, industry, students, and academics around a shared commitment to sustainability and food security. The launch was marked by the planting of the first 100 trees, a symbolic act that set the tone for the years ahead.

Prof Jan-Willem Swanepoel, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, reminded the audience that the UFS is one of 12 African universities entrusted with a $100 million investment in agricultural transformation. “This project is not a hit-and-run – it’s about sustainability, inclusivity, and building value chains that empower farmers and entrepreneurs,” he said. He ended with a parable of a farmhand who could ‘sleep when the wind blows,’ urging everyone to be proactive in preparing for inevitable challenges.

Responsibility and partnerships

That call for responsibility was echoed by Elzabe Rockman, Free State MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, who linked Greener SA to the presidential One Million Trees Programme. She cautioned that planting without accountability leads to wasted effort. “If we plant trees, we want to be sure someone takes responsibility for them,” she said, highlighting the need for fire-resistant species, fruit trees in community gardens, and natural borders to replace vulnerable fencing. Looking at the students from Kovsie ACT who joined the launch, she added: “Jobs are not going to fall from the sky. They will come from agriculture and the environment. Harnessing youth energy is the way forward.”

Industry also pledged its support. Representing Empact Group – the sponsor of the trees – Helena Prinsloo described tree planting as an investment in legacy. “At Empact Group, we believe that doing right by our community and our planet is not just a responsibility. It’s a value that defines who we are and how we lead,” she said. Quoting the proverb that societies grow great when people plant trees whose shade they will never sit in, she added: “Today we are sowing seeds of hope, resilience, and opportunities for generations to come.”

Science, vision, and practice

Prof Corli Witthuhn from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences placed the launch in a global context, pointing to conflict, inequality, and climate change – and the sobering United Nations report showing that only 20% of the sustainability goals have been achieved. For her, the Greener SA project is a response to urgent global challenges. “We want our students to be globally work-ready,” she said. “That means beyond textbooks, and this farm represents exactly that. We don’t want to produce graduates with degrees, we want to produce graduates who can walk into a lab, into a policy meeting, into a business anywhere in the world and make an impact.”

Her message was supported by expert voices. Guest speaker Prof Ben du Toit from Stellenbosch University explained that agroforestry systems can simultaneously provide timber, food, biodiversity, and resilience. “Agroforestry is not planting trees over here and grazing over there – it’s about integration, so that benefits reinforce each other,” he said.

At the Paradys Experimental Farm, this integration is already underway. Johan Barnard, Farm Manager and Junior Lecturer, described how shaded tree pockets will improve grazing fields and protect water resources, while fruit trees planted in partnership with Kovsie ACT will contribute to student nutrition and new food value chains. “We’re capturing value chains and taking it to the next level so that our students have research opportunities and the farm delivers real outputs,” he explained.

The launch of Greener SA showed that tree planting is about much more than beautification. It is a collective commitment – to resilience in the face of global challenges, to science applied in practice, and to building partnerships that prepare the next generation to make an impact.

News Archive

UFS Council votes on top appointments

2003-11-24

The Council of the University of the Free State (UFS) today voted on the filling of four senior vacancies, including three posts at Vice-Rector level and one at the level of Dean.

The Council voted as follows:
- Prof Magda Fourie will be offered the post of Vice-Rector: Academic Planning
- Dr Ezekiel Moraka will be offered the post of Vice-Rector: Student Affairs
- Prof Teuns Verschoor will be offered the post of Vice-Rector: Academic Operations
- Prof Letticia Moja will be offered the post of Dean: Faculty of Health Sciences

Two of the candidates, Prof Teuns Verschoor and Prof Magda Fourie, are currently acting Vice-Rectors at the UFS. Prof Verschoor is acting Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Prof Fourie is acting Vice-Rector for Academic Planning. Dr Moraka is currently Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Pretoria (UP). Prof Moja is currently the acting Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the UFS.

According to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, Prof Frederick Fourie, the filling of these senior vacancies comes after one of the most thorough search and selection processes ever at the UFS.

“It is wonderful that we are able to celebrate the outcome of this process that has brought forward such excellent candidates who reflect our country’s diversity. It shows that we can achieve the goals of quality and diversity at the same time,” Prof Fourie said.

Prof Magda Fourie (49) received her Ph D on Institutional governance of higher education in transition: a South African perspective from the UFS in 1996. She joined the UFS in 1998, later becoming Director of the Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development and Professor in Higher Education Studies. She said in her declaration of intent her aspiration is to contribute to making the UFS the excellent university it foresees in its vision and mission. Academic planning should position the UFS with regard to its core activities strategically as an institution of excellence that will meet the future from a strong basis of academic integrity and credibility.

Dr Moraka (45) received his Ph D in Education Management on Management of change and conflict resolution by student affairs officers at historically white universities in South Africa from the UP in 2002. He is Dean of Students at the UP since 2001. Before that he was Head of Student Support and Student Social Services at the UP for six years. He was also, among others, a lecturer at a college of education and a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa. He said in his declaration of intent that diversity can become so greatly emphasised that people can be driven further apart. Focus should be on moulding a student community where everyone can feel at home, a community which lives together and works together without destroying what is unique to each individual.

Prof Verschoor (53) received his LL D in 1980 at the University of Pretoria on The criminal responsibility of psychopaths and similar figures. He was professor in and Head of the Department of Criminal Law and Medical Law at the UFS for 17 years before becoming Dean of Students in 1994. He said in his declaration of intent that he dreams of the realisation of projects that are awaiting the enthusiastic support, bringing together and empowering of persons involved by a Vice-Rector that wants to see the UFS prosper in an era of continuing dynamic development. In this he would like to make a substantial contribution.

Prof Moja (46) received her MB ChB in 1982 from the University of Natal and her M.Med in Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1990 from the Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa). She became a full professor in 2003 at the UFS and has been acting as Dean of the UFS’s Faculty of Health Sciences since February 2003. She said in her declaration of intent that the challenge for her is to manage change with the ultimate aim of both achieving the vision of the UFS and satisfying the needs of the community. Some of the academic challenges include the training of more people from designated groups and rural areas. Careful planning and integration of the curriculum should be done to ensure that all students perform to their best.

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