Goratileone Oepeng is a man on a mission: he is determined to spark a sense of curiosity about the planet among students and learners, teach them about climate change and ultimately inspire them to embark on careers in the earth sciences.
The Sol Plaatje University (SPU) alumnus is the Northern Cape representative for the Applied Centre for Climate and Earth Systems Science’s (ACCESS) Habitable Planet Undergraduate Workshop Programme, a series of 10-day workshops that introduce third- and fourth-years to the emerging discipline of earth system sciences from a Southern African perspective. “I became involved with the ACCESS programme in my first year when they were offering an online course on climate change which shared many similarities with the modules I was doing at the time,” says Oepeng, who holds a BSc degree in Biological Sciences from SPU and an honours degree in Entomology obtained from the University of Pretoria.
As a provincial representative for ACCESS HPW, Oepeng is tasked with recruiting students from the Northern Cape to the programme. He is also one of the programme’s top core lecturers, having achieved an unsurpassed grade when he graduated as a lecturer. The lectures explain why Earth is habitable, and take a multidisciplinary approach to do so, bringing biological, evolutionary and paleontological perspectives into the discussion. Additionally, the programme offers participants an understanding of social science and politics, thus encouraging them to think across the humanities-science divide. Oepeng is focused on ensuring that SPU students and other students from the province apply. “The workshops are not career or course specific, so anyone studying anything can apply,” he says.
Participants can expect peer-to-peer learning as well as field trips, which complement the lectures. Food, accommodation and transport (including flights) are included in the programme. Despite this, Oepeng concedes that it takes some work to get students to commit.
“The challenge is getting young students to participate,” he says. “In many cases, they say they will apply but never do, no matter how much I try to convince them.” Still, he is far from being dissuaded from performing the task at hand, because he is well aware of the benefits of the HPW and the difference it can make. “I am more than willing to make this a success and ensure that the province is well represented, not only by SPU students but by high school learners as well,” he says.
The programme also offers a mini-schools programme that is facilitated by postgraduate students or ACCESS alumni who are trained by the organisation to conduct workshops for high school learners. “Candidates can apply for funding, which is used to run a Habitable Planet Workshop for school learners,” Oepeng explains. “My friends and I were recipients of this funding in 2020; however, because of COVID-19 restrictions, the workshops could not be held.” They intend to apply again and if they succeed, they plan to work with a few schools in the province. “We need to ensure that the programme runs, but for that, we might need financial support from SPU or any other supporting institution. Kids in the Northern Cape are often left out of many opportunities; there is no support from governmen institutions or the schools themselves”.
We have no doubt that Mr Oepeng will work to correct that by bringing his passion for the planet to the province.
