Students slow to join environmental activism trend

North-West University (NWU) students are yet to get onboard environmental activism such as the #fridaysforfuture movement despite growing global concern over problems such as pollution, a lack of renewable energy sources and sub-par environmental education.

Since activist Greta Thunberg started the #fridaysforfuture movement in Sweden it has inspired more than 13 million people across 7500 cities globally to stand up for the environment. Many South African schools and universities have also joined in to protest the lack of government action against environmental degradation.

But on the Potchefstroom campus Student Council Current Affairs chairperson Johan Nel said it was difficult to ensure that events to create environmental awareness translated into sustainable change since many students seemed unbothered by such issues, were too busy with their studies, or chose not to get involved.

One of the few environmental initiative on the Potchefstroom campus of the NWU was set up by  the education faculty. The NWU Green Team promotes environmental consciousness among students. Green Team chairperson for the Potchefstroom campus Leandri Wessels said that the team was established in 2014 with the aim to inspire students to adopt practical ways to be more environmentally conscious. The team is run by a committee of about 20 students. 

The Green Team hosts two events per semester linked to special environmental days such as “plant-a-tree day”, and Current Affairs annually hosts the “Value your environment week”. 

Earlier this year the Green Team launched an Eco-Bricks project on the Potchefstroom campus with the aim to inspire hostels to use Eco-Bricks as a way to recycle plastic.

 The NWU Green Team’s latest initiative is their social media honeybee campaign that creates awareness about “earth’s little pollinators”. Wessels encourages students to get involved by following the team’s social media, @nwugreen and applying to join the committee.

Recently the Green Team expanded to the NWU’s Vanderbijlpark  and Mahikeng sites. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, Wessels and her team had to cancel or postpone 90 percent of their planned events.

Rethabile Thamaha, NWU economics and risk management honours student on the Vanderbijlpark site, said students on this campus understood the importance of environmental sustainability but were often unaware of issues in the area such as the sewage crisis in the Vaal Triangle of Gauteng province. SAVE, a non-profit organisation dedicated to saving the Vaal Triangle environment states that Emfuleni Local Municipality hasn’t been able to resolve this issue in over two years. According to Thamaha, issues “aren’t stressed enough” and “have become the norm” due to municipal negligence.

In the town Parys, situated near Vanderbijlpark and Potchefstroom, the #fridaysforfuture movement has been attracting attention. Keabetwe Mpele, a small business owner in Parys started to join the weekly #fridaysforfuture assemblies in front of the town hall with the hope to see environmental improvement in her community so that it may be clean and safe for children to play outside again.“I am that person who wants to see change in my community,” Mpele said. 

Some students say they are reluctant to join the likes of Mpele and activities such as #fridaysforfuture due to time constraints and full schedules.

Shené Agenbag, a third-year forensic accountant student in Potchefstroom said, “My studies take a lot of my time.” Jacques Myburgh, a third-year information technology student said, “It’s not that I don’t want to be involved, I just haven’t really made an effort [to get involved].” 

Brandon Smith, a second-year education student tries to be environmentally conscious by using “eco-friendly” appliances and picking up trash where he goes but isn’t interested in joining a movement since he isn’t aware of specific projects in the area. 

Many students agree with Smith and say they try to do small things to be more “eco-friendly”, such as not littering, not flushing biohazardous compounds down the drain or using less plastic.

For the NWU’s Green Team and the Student Council’s Current Affairs these are practical ways for students to be part of environmental solutions. 

“Even small actions done by many people can lead to meaningful progress,” Wessels said. – Environmental desk