23/10/2026
A group of 11 staff and students from our department attended the annual Wetlands Indaba held in Langebaan this year. Prof Suzanne Grenfell and Dr Kenwinn Wiener contributed to the Local Organising Committee which resulted in the Western Cape Wetlands Forum hosting ~200 delegates, including academics, practitioners, consultants and government officials, from across the country. We are tremendously proud of our students, who participated enthusiastically in discussions, workshops and fieldtrips.
This year saw the introduction of flash talks, where delegates presented their work and ideas in 3 minutes using just 3 slides. Presented over multiple parallel sessions, Tippi Swales won an award for best flash talk in her session, while Jessica Stuart and Andile Nxumalo were awarded runner up prizes in their respective sessions. Megan Pons narrowly missed out on placement in her competitive session. Nancy Job, Ayabonga Gangathele, Faeeza Fortune, Bernardus Bosman and Erin Cameron presented their work as oral presentations over the following days.
At the Gala Event held on Wednesday evening, our Honours student Tippi Swales received an award from the WRC for the best student flash talk overall, while Masters student Erin Cameron received the runner up award from the Society of Wetland Science for student oral presentations.
While winning prizes is awesome, what we'll most remember is the opportunity to meet and engage with South Africa's top wetland scientists, meet fellow students and be inspired by the passionate key note speakers.
