For the next few days they would rise with the sun, and curl up in sleep long after it had set. Yet sandwiched in between they would experience the mental stimulation of problem solving;the excitement of team competition;the creativity ofacting, writing and de bating;and the exhilarating rewardsoffulfilling their tasks. And each boy would come to some understanding of his mental and physical capabilities; would grasp the power ful cohesiveness ofteam work,the creativity ofindividu als, the camaraderie of friendship and develop an appre ciation of the ecology. As one pupil wryly wrote after he had been stretched to the limit:"Man had been tormenting nature for so long. Now it's nature's turn to strike back." The Coleford experience was an important link in a pu pil's chain ofself-knowledge. R. CANDOTTI THEENVIRONMENTACTION GROUP These are Kearney's environmental watchdogs! A dedi cated group ofboys who often spend hours labouring away at removing some unwanted alien flora without much re ward.It has been afairly active yearfor this club and much has been achieved. Firstly, the fauna group has been working steadily on a booklet summarising the fauna found in and around the Kearsney campus. We have a magnificent campus, and some pristine grasslands to our west.This bookletis a most worthwhile but enormous task which the group hopes to complete in 1994. The Birdwatching group has been on a few trips-one to ShongweniDam and one to Darville Sewerage Works near Pietermaritzburg, and numerous down into the Umhlatuzana Valley below the school.In addition to these. ¥ 'Hr"—t * i s *■ ■X Form 3 Water Studies : Boys taking notes Outdoor andEnvironmental GIANT'S CUPTRAIL (29 June to 3 July 1993) During the first week of the July holidays six Kearsney 5th formers (B.Hulett, K.Kim,A.Mowatt, S. Rutherford, R. Steel andG.Uren) accompaniedbyMr J.B.McMichael walked the Giant's Cup Trail from CobhamForestry Sta tion to Bushman's Nek in idyllic but icy winter weather. The hike went off very well and the boys involved en joyed themselves and were particularly entertained by GavinUren's budding genius as a card sharp. Not adverse to the physical challenges of outdoor life, the intrepidhik ers proved their faithfulness to the Kearsney motto "Carpe Diem" by burning an entire tree trunk at Groot Winterhoek camp after findingno firewoord whatsoever within akilo metre's radius of the huts. The trip was greatly aided by absolutely perfect weather, with literally no clouds visible during the entireperiod of the hike. Themorning tempera tures were, however, very cold indeed with thick frost and ice in all the valleys, but the cold was no deterrent to the hikers' good spirits. J.B. McMICHAEL they have constructedbird feeding trays for various mem bers of staff. The projects group have continued to remove unwanted exotics from the school campus. Often a very frustrating pastime as these weeds grow at an unbelievable rate up here in the Kearsney mist. Their efforts are certainly ap preciated. The whole club has assisted in the construction of a dam behind theBiology laboratory. This has involved digging, concreting and sealing - many hours of rewarding toil. Already Pembroke has beenblessed withnightly choruses of frog calls - directing many dreams to faraway wild places! (We won't mention the mosquitoes!) We congratulate Ronan Bordier in 5th form for receiving the 'Conservationist of the Year' award for his dedica ted efforts. We also thank some sixth formers, namely Duncan Hipkin, Jay Asran, Greg Mullins, J.J. Smit and BrendonMachanik, formany years of commitment to this club! R. DE VILLIERS 47
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