On 17 March, the University of Pretoria Campus Tours (UPCT) group of 2025 participated in a FLY@UP event to join the march across the finish line, spreading “greenness” in line with the UPCT theme for the year, “Going Green”.

This FLY@UP “activation event” offered “conversations” about student and academic support services, as well as mental health and well-being. UPCT of 2025 focused on ‘conversations on conservation’ by engaging students in games of “How well they know their campus in 30 seconds” and a 60-second game on “Guess the plant on campus”. This event allowed UPCT to get students to engage in the conversation on conservation by making them aware of the green environment around the Hatfield campus.

With the assistance of the curators of the University of Pretoria’s Manie van der Schyff Botanical Garden and the Giving Garden, Mr Jason Sampson and Mr Richard Hay, UPCT took the initiative by gifting the students who won the games “support plants” -“Spekbooms”. These plants are also known as Portulacaria Afra, which play an important role as carbon absorbers. Each student who got a plant from UPCT will now contribute to the reduction of air pollution. Small changes can create a great impact.

The collaboration between FLY@UP and UPCT  2025 offered students support and encouragement to study hard and stay green in an edutainable way. UPCT 2025 continues to celebrate the conservation measures taken by the University to ensure a sustainable environment in line with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13: Climate Action and 15: Life on Land. 

The UPCT Team at the event