After some sad farewells to Nelishka, Mulatedzi and Matome over the last few weeks, it was great to welcome a new face to the team this week! Ruth Moeti is a new Groen Sebenza intern who has stepped in to fill the post left vacant by Nelishka’s early departure to pursue her teaching aspirations. Ruth came out as top candidate from a pool of exceptionally strong applications WWF-SA interviewed for the post, and we look forward to seeing her embrace the opportunity her at the Nature’s Valley Trust. Ruth joins Mark, Babalwa and Kellyn on the NVT research team, but will also work with Cindy, Yanga and Yola on the Conservation Education programs from time to time. We wish her well for the duration of her internship! Below is a brief introduction from Ruth about herself.
Ruth Moeti, NVT’s new Groen Sebenza Research Intern
My name is Ruth Moeti, I am an Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Ocean and Atmosphere Sciences BSc graduate from the University of Cape Town. I grew up in Limpopo at a very small rural area where knowledge on the environment is very limited, that is why I pursued environmental sciences as my field of study. I became more interested in the environment when we had to make a science project in grade 12 with the aim of it being something that can in turn benefit the community. We decided on a vegetable gardening project which was a success. The garden was organic as we used recycled products and food thrown into the bins to make compost. We also went to livestock farmers to ask for manure. When we saw the success of the project we decided we should involve the whole community as we have lot of unemployed women. The municipality agreed to sponsor the project by supplying space and seeds, the local hardware store provided tools. Even today the garden produces vegetables for the community and the women working there get food and a small income from what they sell. I am proud of what it has become as it helped me decide that I wanted to study the environment more and have as much knowledge on it as I can while conserving it.
I am very glad to be part of the Nature’s Valley Trust as I have always been interested in environmental studies and I believe NVT will help me nurture this passion. I was a Physical Oceanography intern at the Department of Environmental Affairs before coming to NVT and I believe DEA has given me a good start into the environmental sector. What I like more about what I would be doing at NVT is that I am going to be more exposed into the ecological side of the environment which is what I am more interested in. I have experiences from DEA that I will forever treasure with the highlight of going to Gough Islands in the Southern Ocean to do scientific work such as collecting samples and deploying oceanographic equipment.
I believe Nature’s Valley Trust is going to help me fulfill my environmental conservation/management passion because of the work that they do. I am looking forward to learning more and enjoying each experience. From what I have researched on the organisation, I know it’s a very reputable organisation which will help me grow professionally and prepare me for the work field. I love how the organisation is involved in different sections like research, environmental education and working with the communities because I love field work and working with communities. I feel fulfilled knowing my work is making a difference. As someone who wants to further their studies, I think NVT will help/guide me decide on the field I want to follow. I love the exposure NVT give to their interns which is another reason why I applied to join the organisation.