The Significance of Green Space in the Living Environment: A Case Study of the Bekkersdal Community, Westonaria, South Africa

There is increasing evidence for a positive relation between the amount of green space in the living environment, people’s health and their well-being. The Bekkersdal Township was founded in 1945 as a mining community. As the mines in the area closed down, unemployment grew and a new informal township was established with the concomitant health, other socio-economic issues and a lack of green space in the immediate environment. This article addresses the following question: ‘Do green spaces matter in this specific socio-economic environment?’ The participants consisted of 520 residents of the informal settlement section of Bekkersdal who completed a questionnaire with the assistance of trained fieldworkers. The results revealed that although the residents generally have positive feelings concerning their natural environment, in particular with regard to the vegetable gardens and open areas, environmental risks, i.e. dust, noise, litter and polluted water sources affect them considerably. Vegetable gardens are popular as they also serve as a food source in this underprivileged environment. The participants also showed a great affinity for natural features i.e. trees and open areas. Research from similar surroundings suggested various positive effects thereof on the residents. This study suggests that Bekkersdal, although impoverished and plagued with many adversities, has the potential to add value to the living conditions of residents by exploring and cultivating the existing green spaces.This includes incentive-driven organised environmental activities and initiatives such as clean-up operations, recycling, communal food- and medicinal gardens, and training to establish and maintain such initiatives

AN EXPLORATION OF TOURIST GUIDES' COMPETENCIES TO CREATE MEMORABLE TOURIST EXPERIENCES

Tourist guiding in South Africa is a sector of the tourism industry that is subject to regulation to acquire competence and skills to meet the guiding standards and to provide quality services to tourists. The rese arch aims to explore the skill sets perceived by tourist guides as the most important in their professional practice to create a memorable tourist experience to ensure that skills perceived to be most important are considered during the guiding training co urse for present and future tourist guides to prepare them for both employment, long-life learning and enhance their performance to attain the highest level of customer satisfaction. This study made use of a descriptive quantitative research approach throu gh an online survey research design to collect data. A non-random sample of 320 tourist guides was selected to participate in the study. Data from the online survey was coded into numerical representations and captured in Microsoft Excel. Descriptive statistics together with a confirmatory factor analysis were used to analyse and interpret the results. The results showed various skill sets perceived as the most important from the tourist guides' perspective, including honesty and reliability, ethical skills, time management, customer care skills, health and safety skills and communication skills

A narrative interpretation of the cultural impressions on water of the communities along the Vaal River, Parys, Free State

This article is about the significance of the Vaal River for the communities inhabiting the area. Using the interpretation of narratives and rituals, the extent of the connection or disconnection between the communities and the aquatic environment is described. Traditional rituals, religious practices and beliefs associated with the river form an important part of the lives of people living in the area. Results show that industrial development and urbanisation have direct implications not only on the environment but also on the cultural lives and practices of the communities in the areas where these occur. Because of its impact on the environment, development has a direct impact on the people who depend on the environment for both their physical and spiritual well-being. Any form of sustainable development needs to put these factors into consideration for development to truly be sustainable. In addition to forming a part of Environmental Impact Assessment prior to any development, the infringement of the cultural significance and the meanings that local communities have attached to aquatic landscapes should come with stringent legal consequences.Significance of work: Over the past years, the cultural connection between communities in Parys and the Vaal River area has been influenced by the effects of industrialisation, urbanisation and other anthropogenic factors that stem from these. This study found that there is a range of cultural rituals and beliefs that form part of the everyday lives of many residents of the communities in Parys. The significance of this study lies in recognising the importance of aquatic environments for the cultural health of communities and that, prior to development, developers who aim for sustainable development need to adhere to the National Heritage Resources Act, Act No. 25 of 1999. The Act includes the protection of sites of cultural significance to a community, and this involves the Vaal River. In addition to forming a part of the Environmental Impact Assessment prior to any development, infringement of the cultural significance and the meanings that local communities attach to aquatic landscapes should come with stringent legal consequences. The study also emphasises that it is important to realise that one cannot continue to isolate natural science from social science in debating what is sustainable

Staff perceptions on pigeon control strategies on the University of South Africa’s Muckleneuk campus

Pigeons are often considered a nuisance in urban environments, leading to the attempted control or eradication of their populations. This study explored the perceptions of 246 staff members employed on the University of South Africa’s Muckleneuk campus to ascertain the extent and nature of the perceived pigeon problem, suggested control methodologies and their anticipated results. The study found that the majority of staff do not consider the pigeons to pose a problem on the campus and that, should control be imposed, humane, non-lethal measures were preferred over eradication. The isolated pigeon-related complaints revealed that the management’s negative perceptions of the pigeons were not representative of staff members in general. The study concludes that a comprehensive public participation process is a necessary and integral part of the development and implementation of a sustainable and efficient pigeon control plan

Artisanal fisheries in the Ndumo area of the Lower Phongolo River floodplain, South Africa

The aim of this study was to investigate the status of artisanal fisheries in the lower Phongolo River floodplain in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A cross-sectional quantitative survey design was used that included the development of a questionnaire and a systematic survey among the five villages bordering the Ndumo Game Reserve. Data were collected over a 5-day period by a group of 16 fieldworkers and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 21. The results revealed that fish was the third most consumed protein in the area, that people consumed fish on average twice a week, that at least six fish species (and one recently introduced crayfish species) were consumed regularly, and that most fish were obtained from local vendors, who in turn bought it from local fishermen and -women. Fishing activities also appeared to occur predominantly along the river system and targeted mainly red-breasted tilapia (Tilapia rendalli) and Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and, to a slightly lesser extent, African sharptooth catfish (Clarias gariepinus) and brown squeaker (Synodontis zambezensis