Associate Professor Zarina Patel, a leading scholar in urban sustainability and environmental governance at the University of Cape Town (UCT), has been elected to the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf). She joins 45 of the country’s most distinguished researchers in the 2025 intake, with UCT contributing 20% of this year’s cohort.
Associate Professor Patel’s induction recognises her significant scholarly contributions and commitment to using research to strengthen society. Reflecting on the milestone, she said, “The academy has historically been a challenging space for scholars like me, who cross divides between science and social science, and who work at the interface of…
Sustainable Practices: Efforts to promote sustainable practices include recycling
initiatives, community gardens, and conservation programs.
Cooger
Fun South African Fact: It’s believed that Cape Town’s iconic Table Mountain is one of the oldest mountains in the world. Table mountain is approximately 260 million years old; it’s also home to thousands of species of plant life, including species unique to the Cape Floral Region. The glorious mountain is one of the world’s 7 New Natural Wonders. It is also apparently one of 12 main energy centres on the planet emitting spiritual, magnetic, and electric energies. It’s an idyllic and very popular hiking destination with hundreds of routes to explore.
Mule Skinner
A baby was born in South Africa. The village was very poor, and the makeshift hospital didn\’t have some necessary equipment.. such as scales.
The father however, was desperate to know the newborn baby\’s weight. After quite a bit of asking around, the hospital\’s chairman came up with an idea.
\”Five miles west, there\’s a butcher shop. The owner deals with meat, he should have a rather precise scale. You could just put your baby on the meat scale, and the weight reading you\’ll get should be pretty accurate.\”
And so the father departed westward. After much walking, with his newborn child cardled safely in his arms, he finally arrived at the butcher shop. He explained his dilemma to the shop owner, to witch the latter replied:
\”Don\’t worry, friend. It\’s not even a problem, I\’ll check it for you, free of charge.\” And so he took the child to the back, where the scale was located.
The father heard rumbling noises, and some scraping.. About a minute later the butcher came back.
\”About three pounds boneless\” He said.