VALUE YOUR ENVIRONMENT — THERE IS NO PLANET B!

Wilma Ernst
@_wilhelmina_ernstig_

Newspapers were transformed into dazzling dresses, and plastic bags were refashioned into bold statement pieces. At this year’s Value Your Environment Week, creativity met sustainability as environmental issues took center stage.

 

Value Your Environment Week is an annual campus event where the North West University’s (NWU) Transformation and Diversity (TAD) office works hand in hand with residences and the Green Team Society to raise awareness of environmental issues facing our planet.

 

This week kicked off with the Environmental Elegance Fashion Show on Monday. At this event, residences and Student Academic Chapters (SAC) showed their creativity by fashioning outfits from recyclable materials. Atang Swartbooi, who acted as MC, entertained the crowd with jokes and had them on their feet multiple times as he announced guest artists and group vocalists.

 

Mihlali Puzi, TAD House Committee (HC) member of Minjonet Ladies Residence, commented that making and showing these outfits was a fun activity and that she enjoyed seeing what the other residences came up with, “People showed off their creativity most beautifully and as entertainingly as possible.” Together with Heimat Men’s Town Residence, they collaborated to create two striking pieces: a fairy and a woodcutter, symbolizing the delicate beauty of nature and the devastating consequences of human greed.

 

Heide Ladies’ Residence and De Wilgers Men’s Residence created two stunning outfits. Although they were made predominantly from newspapers and plastic, these pieces could have been on the cover of Vogue Magazine. In their Instagram post, Heide Ladies’ Residence wrote that the outfits were “inspired by the elements of fire and resilience” and that they symbolize the balance between human innovation and environmental responsibility.

While explaining the idea behind their fashion pieces to the crowd, Suzanne Ferreira, Wag-’n-Bietjie Ladies’ Residence’s TAD HC, reiterated the need for the RAG event to become more sustainable. This annual event makes use of thousands of plastic sheets and polystyrene, which often gets discarded after the event. Wag-’n-Bietjie’s model wore a beautiful floor-length gown made from reused RAG flowers.

 

Other residences also made statements with their sustainable designs by using plastic bottle caps, tin cans and reused jeans. Olwam Madikizela, TAD HC of Dinki Day Ladies’ Residence, thanked her TAD committee,“Having a functioning committee that truly shaped (up) and pulled through helped so much.”

 

 

Although the first event of the week was enjoyable for most, some individuals anonymously told Wapad that they felt the week’s schedule was rushed and that the residences and HC’s didn’t have enough time for planning, “The fashion show was a great initiative to contribute towards the theme, however I think it would have been best if it was not on Monday.” Residents and some private students also complained that the Fashion Show was dragged out and didn’t need to take so much time.

 

The week went on, however, with the ‘Guardians of Green’ stalls being set up in Loverslane on Wednesday. These interactive stalls allowed students to learn more about ways they can live more eco-friendly.

 

Jonathan Gouws, TAD HC of Ratau Lebone Men’s Residence, shared that their stall had various games students could play based on the information given at the stall. “It is always a pleasure to engage with other students,” Gouws added.

 

Puzi explained the importance of Value Your Environment Week, “This week, it is essential to highlight how important the environment is and the different issues we need to focus on regarding the environment.”

 

Madikizela shared some tips to encourage students in the pursuit of environmental sustainability, “Students can value their environment by reducing, reusing, recycling, conserving energy and water, and by using public transport or carpooling.” She also reiterated that it is important to educate ourselves and others on crucial environmental issues, reminding us that small actions today can make a significant difference for a sustainable tomorrow!

 

As this year’s Value Your Environment Week, although with some difficulties, came to a close, one message remained clear—our environment needs us, and the time to act is now. From bold fashion statements to thought-provoking discussions, students once again demonstrated that change starts with us.

 

The question now is, how will we continue this momentum beyond just one week? After all, there is no Planet B.

 

Photos by Zoë Deyzel.