This winter, students from UW-Madison’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be traveling to Johannesburg, Elliot, and Kumanzimdaka with Michael Bell and Valerie Stull of the LAND Project. Between late December early January, 2017, students will learn first-hand about the history and society of South Africa, the basics of agroecology and environmental health, and the multifactorial determinants of health for urban and rural populations in the South Africa & Lesotho. Students will learn about urban agriculture initiatives in Johannesburg, and lead an agricultural education camp for children near Elliot in the rural Eastern Cape. Throughout the trip, students will be encouraged to observe urban and rural farming and healthcare.
Students from a prior UW student-learning course pose with their fellow workers in the school garden
Students will also participate in several service learning activities: possibly the construction of rainwater harvesting systems systems and the design and set-up of a composting system for a food garden at the Manzimdanka Primary School. In Johanesburg, students will work at the Ratang Bana urban garden Service learning work will be completed in partnership with the LAND Project’s collaborator, the non-profit organization Kidlinks World Inc. These two service-learning projects have been selected through a longstanding relationship between Kidlinks and the local community. Service learning provides an opportunity for students in this course to work with community members, local students, and leaders to plan and implement two health related initiatives. It will also provide an opportunity for learning exchange and growth between students and community members.
Students are selected for this trip from a pool of applicants and prepare throughout the fall semester through readings and discussions. Click here to find more information about our student collaborative trips.
The LAND project 