The SEACC Student Forum currently operates across Walter Sisulu University, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, the University of Forth Hare and Rhodes University and encourages students to get involved in developing projects aimed at embodying SEACC’s slogan of “sustainability through knowledge and action”. Through the partnerships that SEACC SF has developed with organisations such as the Sustainable Seas Trust, the Environmental Research and Learning Centre, various other NGOs , civil society and student organisations, SEACC SF offers a unique opportunity for students to get involved in projects that can make a meaningful difference and in doing so gain some real world experience in activities such as project leadership, fundraising, events organising, research and community engagement, green campus initiatives, public relations, marketing, general leadership and activism.

Having already won the Rhodes University Environmental Award in 2010 after less than a year running we are confident that 2011 will be a great year for SEACC SF. Throughout 2011 SEACC SF will be offering students a number of opportunities to get involved in a number of sustainability initiatives, as well as offering the room for students to develop their own projects. Below is a brief list of some of the projects that we will be getting involved in, for a more comprehensive list see the attachment at the bottom of this page:

• One of the really exciting opportunities that SEACC SF is offering this year is the opportunity for students to get involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties 17 (COP 17) taking place in Durban from the 28th of November. SEACC SF will be taking part in organising and developing both the civil society side of COP 17 as well as the youth side of COP 17, the Conference of the Youth (COY). SEACC SF will also be hosting a climate change lecture series aimed at building public awareness and understanding behind the importance of COP 17, which is immanently important for the future of our planet and has been described as being more important than the FIFA World Cup for South Africa.

• SEACC SF is helping develop a new aspect to the National Arts Festival, a sustainability commons offering: climate fluency exchange, lecture series, exhibitions, performances, workshops, films and more.

• SEACC SF offers students the opportunity to get involved and develop a national network of young environmentalists of which SEACC SF is a founding and driving member, as well as host its first national summit.

• SEACC SF has a number of green campus initiatives that it will be implementing with the help of their respective universities and partner student organisations. Green campus initiatives range from awareness raising film festivals, recycling, energy challenges, tree planting, fund raising for university green funds, ethical eating initiatives, developing lift sharing initiatives, invasive species removal, clean-ups, green technology installations, promoting ethical consumerism, and more.

• SEACC SF offers students the opportunity to get involved in one of the Sustainable Seas Trust’s flagship projects of developing SEAS Centres and SEA Pledges. Through this initiative as well as others SEACC SF will engage in a number of other related community development activities in order to assist some of the poorer rural communities of South Africa to lead sustainable lifestyles that can lift them out of poverty.

• SEACC SF offers students the opportunity to get involved in WildREACH, an exciting new student run conservation initiative, which aims to empower local communities in the Eastern Cape by using knowledge as a driving force to create an interest in wildlife conservation in the region while revealing the direct social and economic benefits of conserving wild areas. For more information do not hesitate to contact its founder Tim Kuiper @ seaccsf.ru.projectstaskteam1@gmail.com

• SEACC SF aims to engage with a number of critical issues of environmental importance and lend our voice in order to prevent the spread of environmental degradation. The first such issue we shall be tackling is the proposed hydraulic fracturing in the Karoo. For more information contact the project leader Patrick Curran (g06c0565@campus.ru.ac.za) or visit: http://www.thegreentimes.co.za/index.php?id=0&storyid=982&storyaction=viewstory&storytype=1

• During the National Science Festival (SciFest) SEACC SF, in partnership with the Environmental Learning Research Centre, will be constructing an electric bicycle in order to demonstrate the ease of alternative more environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Related Downloads:

• Projects and How To Get Involved (SEACC SF)