April 2024

The Nelson Mandela University is in a game reserve with different animals and plants. Leading to the observing of Arbor Day which translates to “tree planting”. This holiday is celebrated on the last Friday of April, when in 2023 the Sol Plaatje residence helped plant trees around the residence area. The act was a full presentation of environmental stewardship and giving to the earth.

The water scarcity issue has been a burning issue in Nelson Mandela Bay as it has been close to experiencing day zero in 2022.  This raised the importance of saving water awareness, the Sol Plaatje hosted the water saving day where students were informed of different ways of saving water.

Getting senior students out of their rooms to attend a residence-based event has been challenging for years, with different work and academic commitments and excuses. However, the 2023 fun day was different; student attendance was impressive based on social media and physical engagements. The management noted that students get engulfed in being students and forgetting to care for their mental health.

Integrating underdeveloped and developing countries is essential to research and information exchange. The Sol Plaatje Residence was selected for the Michigan State University representative's tour. The tour focused on understanding the contribution of student accommodation to academic excellence, and the on-camp residence was ideal for the tour.

The Sol Plaatje Residence started observing Earth Day in 2023. It started by addressing the fundamental issue of unhygienic environments found in public residence constitutions. The public residence constitution entities contributed about 45% of waste, which is by led the manufacturing industries. This has been a challenge for years, as in some parts of Africa, campaigns and projects have been initiated to clean up water sources.