SAEON in the media

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The launch of South Africa’s BioEnergy Atlas project on 24 March 2017 resulted in media coverage on national television, national radio as well as in several online and print publications. Over and above the articles listed in the previous edition of SAEON eNews, it was also mentioned on page 3 of the online newsletter of the South African Spatial Data Infrastructure, together with a piece on SAEON’s involvement in SDI capacity building at the City of Johannesburg.

An article by Dr Jasper Slingsby, Vegetation Scientist at the SAEON Fynbos Node, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The article essentially finds the first evidence of a climate change impact on Fynbos biodiversity, but also highlights an interaction between fire and climate change that is concern for flammable ecosystems around the world (e.g. California's chaparral, Australia's kwongan, etc). Over and above the media coverage listed in the previous edition of SAEON eNews, the study gave rise to the following media articles:

• Study finds that climate change threatens fynbos in Daily Maverick
• Indigenous Fynbos in battle to survive climate change in Business Day
• Sensitivity to climate change threatens fynbos diversity in SANParks Times

The SAEON Fynbos Node’s research was highlighted in two media interviews with Dr Jasper Slingsby. The first was an interview on Cape Talk on Sunday 4 June, and the second on SABC3’s breakfast show Expresso on Thursday 15 June, which focused on climate change and land degradation.

An article on page 12 of the latest SANParks Research Report, Inspiring young scientists, gives an overview of  of the SAEON Ndlovu Node's science education programme. The article describes the programme as "unique" in that it focuses on in-depth engagement with secondary school learners to identify their personal interests, skills and goals in relation to their future career choices. During the programme learners are introduced to various careers in the environmental sector.

Yondela Nqadala, an intern at Renu-Karoo, has a knack for writing, and three of her articles on Tierberg LTER were published in Prince Albert Friend:

• When Wind Blows
  
• Is Prince Albert Getting Hotter? 
• Snakes in the Karoo
  

Asiphe Sahula, SAEON's Scientific Programme Officer, attended SASSCAL's WeatherNet workshop in Windhoek, Namibia in April this year. An article on the workshop was published in SASSCAL's online newsletter.