Undergraduate and postgraduate students from the North-West University’s (NWU’s) School of Biological Sciences recently undertook the annual Estuarine and Nearshore Marine Ecology Living Lab excursion. This year saw participants visit the Tsitsikamma National Park.

The excursion was presented by several academic staff members of the School of Biological Sciences: Prof Victor Wepener, Prof Nico Smit and Dr Wynand Malherbe. Students from the NWU were joined by their national peers from the University of Johannesburg as well as international students and experts from the University of Hong Kong and Arkansas State University.

During the six-day excursion the students engaged each other in different aspects of intertidal marine and estuarine ecology – under the guidance of the academics from the four participating universities.

The living lab initiative is not only about learning from international marine experts but also about interacting with students from different backgrounds and cultures. This unique marine living lab remains one of the flagship courses in the BScHons programme in environmental sciences.

Tsitsikamma Marine Living Lab Class of 2018