Table of contents for Issue 305 2022 in The Big Issue

Every month we get an opportunity to discuss issues facing our vendors in a workshop setting. Difficulties discussed include various issues they face as individuals, as families and in the communities that they live in. We tackle different topics on a multitude of levels. Examples of these are alcoholism, entrepreneurship, anger and stress management, gender stereotypes, parenting skills and many others. The first topic of the year was personal development. What is personal development? It’s a lifelong process, in which an individual must assess their qualities and skills, identify areas where they want to grow, and plan ways in which they can grow themselves. This is a very important activity and people should be awarded space to think about their growth. Ideally, everyone should be creating personal development plans for…

HOW DO YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR TIME? I am currently based in the little town of Hoedspruit, situated close to the Kruger National Park, where I spend most of my time either on safari or working on books. I was born in South Africa (1993) but then moved to Australia in 2002 where I completed my schooling and afterwards started working in a gymnasium. When my family moved back to SA in 2012, I decided to visit, and it was a trip to the Kruger Park that re-sparked my passion for African wildlife and photography. This would eventually lead me back to live out my dream as a photographic safari guide, photographer and author. I spend approximately 300 days a year in the field, between the Greater Kruger region,…

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Africa and the University of Pretoria’s (UP) Mammal Research Institute (MRI) Whale Unit is supporting research on the southern right whale. Up until about a decade ago, these marine mammals had made a remarkable recovery from commercial whaling. Now, they face a new threat, with the heavy impact of a warming climate on their food supply. As a result, the number of southern rights visiting South African shores is reportedly declining. UP’s MRI Whale Unit has been monitoring southern right whale populations since 1969. Their research, using photo-identification images and annual surveys, forms one of the longest continuous datasets for any marine mammal in the world, making it extremely valuable by national and international standards. Research Manager at the MRI Whale Unit,…

CROSSWORD Across 7 Make known (6) 8 Out of the country (6) 9 Temporary traffic marker (4) 10 Ride inside a skyscraper (8) 11 Unfamiliar or foreign (7) 13 Small character part in a film, played by a distinguished actor (5) 15 Stand-up kind of guy? (5) 16 Wood shop residue (7) 18 Road marker (8) 19 Action intended to trick (4) 21 Act appropriately (6) 22 Snow-removing tool (6) Down 1 Love, in tennis (4) 2 Parent-child disconnect (10,3) 3 Hypersensitivity to pollen, e.g. (7) 4 Dense bread roll in the shape of a ring (5) 5 Process of experimenting until one finds the most successful method (5,3,5) 6 Blades that can be attached to the muzzle of a rifle (8) 12 Unfaithful spouse (3-5) 14 Imaginative fiction genre…

“My love for the natural world started as a child. Growing up in England’s rural Yorkshire county, I had the run of the countryside, which allowed me to experience wildlife up close. This passion was only fuelled when I moved to South Africa with my parents as a teen, so it was the natural next step for me to study Wildlife Ecology at university. Early on, my work took me to then the Cape Province, surveying carnivores; to the Namib Desert, on a three-year study in biodiversity; and to Grahamstown in 1982, where I undertook curatorship of Albany Museum’s mammal collection. It was in Grahamstown where Tilde and I met by chance in 1983. She had just returned from completing her medical studies in Innsbruck, Austria and, as soon as…

The Mail & Guardian reports: there are wide-ranging concerns about the environmental impacts of “cofferdam mining” on the 330km Northern Cape coastline, where state-owned Alexkor and West Coast Resources – in which billionaire businessman Christo Wiese holds a significant stake – make up a duopoly. Alexkor CEO is Lemogang Pitsoe. The company chose not to respond to the publication’s requests for discussion. For further details about this story visit www.mg.co.za The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has laid criminal charges against Alexkor for its operations on the Northern Cape coast. The Department says the construction of ‘cofferdams’ to hold back the ocean has caused serious damage. The Director of Public Prosecutions is assessing the docket. Last year, Port Nolloth fishers added their voices to those of small-scale…

Five lucky South African Grade 12 learners recently flew to Mauritius after winning the Matrics in Antarctica (MIA) competition. This is an initiative supported by the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and several sponsors who understand the need to educate young local learners about conservation. The competition is open to every single matric learner in South Africa and entries for 2022 opened last year in August where, to enter, the matrics were required to submit an essay on environmental issues. This year, due to Covid restrictions, the five winners had to freeze their plans shortly before departure. A decision was made by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP) to prioritise the safety of scientists and the crew who stay behind…

EARLYBIRDS HURRY! MERAKI SHOW TICKETS UP FOR GRABS The first five TBI readers to enter will win a set of double tickets each to see Meraki. Winners must be available to attend shows in Cape Town between 24 and 26 March 2022. Email Bradley.boult@mikatkeomedia.co.za by 23 March 2022. T&Cs apply*. *Terms and conditions apply: competition closes on 23 March 2021. The winners will be randomly selected from the correct email entries received before 11:59pm on the closing date. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The prize/s cannot be transferred or sold. The competition is not open to Mikateko Media, The Big Issue employees, or their family members.…

March marks the end of southern Africa’s 2021/2022 summer wet-season. Since its onset in October, most summer rainfall zone regions have experienced wetter than normal conditions. Wetter conditions are positive for southern Africa’s rainfed agricultural activities and water reservoirs, but excessive rainfall has caused widespread flooding. This is in addition to flooding caused by tropical storm Ana, which made landfall in late January. And there is more to come: flooding will likely occur when tropical cyclone Batsirai – currently affecting the southern Indian Ocean – makes landfall. These unusually wet conditions are the result of a weak La Niña event since December 2021. This weather pattern typically brings above-average summer rainfall across southern Africa. A La Niña event is one of three phases of a climate cycle called the El…

The troupe at Jazzart Dance Theatre promises a glittering performance that’ll set the stage alight. Directed by Dane Hurst and Shaun Oelf, Meraki represents the dancers’ and teachers’ collective artistic souls, artfully combined into a lithe, unified movement that speaks to their journey and professional growth over the past three years. During 2020, Dane worked remotely with the Jazzart dancers, choreographing the performance with the assistance of Shaun. Meraki is best described as a contemporary dance programme that is a vibrant expression of the energy, exuberance, and powerful urgency of youth. Duane says, “The combination of three unique works, from alternate perspectives, captures the poignancy, chaos, and confusion of the recent times we’ve been living through. Kweyama’s work Solid sensitively interlaces individual stories that progress through life’s intricate journey through…

Art classes are offered to The Big Issue vendors by Elaine Millin, our process art facilitator. Support a vendor and buy one of their artworks on this page. Visit www.bigissue.org.za for more info.…