From our editor
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Welcome to Issue 3 of Grassroots
for 2020.
The GSSA recently held its 55th and
first virtual congress. The organising
team did a fantastic job of ensuring
that the quality of the congress
remained intact and that the virtual
platform allowed for great conversation
and debate. In this issue, Debbie
Jewitt and her team share some
of the "curveballs" thrown their way
and give a few pointers on organising
a virtual event. Grassroots also
welcomes the new president, vicepresident
and council members of
the GSSA. Congratulations to all the
award winners and those rising to
the challenge of participating in a
virtual congress! Let’s keep on finding
innovative ways of sharing
our research amidst a global
pandemic.
Highlights of this issue
In a preliminary study,
Rina Grant asks an interesting
question on
whether thicket patches
in the Eastern Cape
have any value. Richard
Gill gives us some
great insights on underground
trees of the
Highveld. We learn
more about the recent
deaths of
more than
350 elephants in Botswana, and a
new study showed that painting eyes
on the backsides of livestock can
protect them from being attacked by
carnivores.
Grassroots introduces a special series
of articles on the history of South
Africa’s research stations. The first of
this series is a lovely piece by Trevor
Dugmore on the Cedara research
station. He shares many photos taken
around 1912 and it is amazing to
see how times have changed (and
how researchers used to wear suits or
dresses whilst working in the field!).
Lastly, we have a new Grassroots
team. I have taken over from Janet
Taylor as Publications Editor
and we welcome Charné
Viljoen to the team
as Sub-Editor. Janet
stood in as Sub-Editor
for this issue to
help make the transition
smoother.
Thanks for all your
guidance and
support, Janet!
Enjoy the read!
Best regards
Malissa
Editorial Committee
Editor
Malissa Murphy
Sub-Editors
Charné Viljoen
Janet Taylor
Layout and Design
J.C. Aucamp
Administration
Erica Joubert
Contact us
If you have any feedback,
comments, or suggestions,
feel free to contact us at:
[email protected]
@GrasslandSocietyofSouthernAfrica
Despite the care and attention that we devote to the structure of this newsletter and the information it contains,
the Grassroots Editorial Team cannot guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the data. The opinion expressed in
each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial team.
Grassroots Vol 20 No 3 September 2020
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