When Dr Anthony Mapaura was a little boy, his father used to spend nights with him outdoors, trying to instil in him a love of the stars. His father was a keen astronomer, but that love did not become his son’s driving passion. “While he was looking at the stars, I was looking at the ground,” laughs Dr Mapaura, who went on to become a leading conservation biologist and plant ecologist.  

Dr Mapaura was part of a four-person team stationed at 3 300 feet above sea level in the Maloti-Drakensberg to study the impact of climate change on alpine plant ecology. His face lights up when he speaks about the research he is doing. “If you want to make money, start a business and be an entrepreneur – being a researcher is something that has to be inside of you,” he says. 

But Dr Mapaura also realised that what happens on the ground is connected to the heavens – largely through mountains, which have a direct impact on downstream communities such as water users in cities, farmers, tourism operators, and rural households, as well as shifting weather patterns. He realised that what happens at 3 300 feet above sea level shapes life far beyond Qwaqwa, where his research unit is based.

Dr Mapaura is a postdoctoral fellow affiliated with the University of the Free State (UFS) Afromontane Research Unit (ARU). Based on the UFS Qwaqwa Campus, the ARU is a specialised research entity focused on understanding, conserving, and restoring Southern Africa’s mountain and highland ecosystems – particularly the Afromontane biome.

The Afromontane biome refers to high-altitude forests and grasslands found in mountain regions across Africa. In Southern Africa, this includes areas such as the Maloti-Drakensberg system, which form critical water catchments and biodiversity hotspots.

These landscapes supply a significant portion of South Africa’s freshwater; support unique plant and animal species; and provide grazing, tourism, and ecosystem services to surrounding communities. The ARU works at the intersection of all of these.

Prof Ralph Clark, the Director of the ARU, says there are a number of study fields that could lead a student to the mountains outside Qwaqwa. 

“Someone who is interested in how societies interact with the mountains, or the opportunities for financial empowerment in these rural areas, could study humanities or economic and management sciences,” he points out. Other study pathways include pursuing a BSc in environmental sciences, geography, botany, or zoology, or exploring environmental management or natural resource management. 

Dr Mapaura chose botany and says he does not regret it for a moment. He speaks proudly of their small base camp on the mountain, laughs about washing in freezing-cold water, and is nonchalant about not having cellphone signal at one of the highest mountain peaks in Southern Africa. 

“This cellphone battery has lasted for a week – who would we want to call from there?” he asks with a twinkle in his eye. 

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, says the UFS’ research value offering is truly unique, especially in Qwaqwa, where the ARU is based. Prof Reddy says, “Mountains are more than majestic peaks. They are living laboratories that help us translate science that empowers societies to adapt to climate change while safeguarding ecosystems that sustain life far beyond their slopes.”

Prof Reddy speaks with the same passion as Dr Mapaura and says the university’s research is rooted in place while addressing global challenges. “Our proximity to the Maloti-Drakensberg system allows us to conduct research that is both deeply embedded and internationally relevant,” he says.

Prof Reddy believes that “from Qwaqwa’s mountains, we are building knowledge through interdisciplinary collaboration and strong postgraduate development that connects ecology, society, and innovation, ensuring sustainable futures that are both locally grounded and globally relevant”.

The ARU’s work demonstrates that mountain research in Qwaqwa is not conducted from afar; it is embedded in the very landscape it seeks to understand and safeguard.

As the UFS pursues research on national and regional resilience, water security, climate adaptation, rural livelihoods, and biodiversity protection, these studies are helping to shape resilient, sustainable societal futures – and the knowledge required to navigate them responsibly.

Dr Mapaura's choice to prioritise passion and impact over convenience also offers us clues about what living in the future could look like. In that future, as is the case now, not everyone wants a desk job – but even those who do depend on the mountains.