Twenty-one fourth-year Environmental Health students from Nelson Mandela University accompanied by lecturer Tshepo Phakisi spent a week in Kouga Local Municipality, taking their learning beyond the classroom and into the communities, facilities and environments where Environmental Health comes to life.
KOUGA - Twenty-one fourth-year Environmental Health students from Nelson Mandela University accompanied by lecturer Tshepo Phakisi spent a week in Kouga Local Municipality, taking their learning beyond the classroom and into the communities, facilities and environments where Environmental Health comes to life.
From 14 to 18 September 2026, the students embarked on an educational tour designed to give them practical insight into the wide-ranging responsibilities of Environmental Health Services.
Their five-day programme began at the Kouga Local Municipality Main Office in Jeffreys Bay, where they were welcomed and introduced to Municipal Health Services within the context of Kouga Local Municipality.
From there, the students have been getting an up-close look at the many aspects of Environmental Health – from compliance and waste management to water quality, sanitation, food safety and environmental awareness.
Their visits included Kouga Funeral Undertakers, where they are learning about inspection and compliance requirements for funeral undertaker premises; and the Humansdorp Landfill Site, where the focus is on waste disposal practices and minimising environmental impact.
The learning continued at the St Francis Bay Sewerage Works, where students explored wastewater treatment, safe sewage disposal and pollution control. At Balobi Seafood Processes, they are gaining insight into seafood preparation, processing and packaging for export in accordance with food safety regulations.
At the Jeffreys Bay Water Treatment Works, the students were introduced to the processes involved in purifying water and ensuring that it is safe for use.
Food safety and hygiene formed another important part of the tour. Visits to ECDC: Noah’s Ark, Pick n Pay at Fountains Mall and the Jeffreys Bay Distillery provided practical exposure to health and hygiene requirements for food premises and the transportation of food.
Visits to a strawberry farm in Hankey, local spaza shops in Humansdorp and a dairy farm milking shed, helped them to gain an appreciation of the role Environmental Health plays across different stages of the food supply chain – from production to processing, transportation and sale.
The tour concluded with a visit to the Jeffreys Bay Labyrinth, where environmental awareness and climate change formed part of the learning experience.
For the students, the tour offered an opportunity to connect theory with the realities of professional Environmental Health practice. For Kouga Local Municipality, it is also an opportunity to share knowledge and give future practitioners a closer look at the work that takes place every day to protect public health, promote safe environments and support healthy communities.
It is learning beyond the classroom – and a reminder that Environmental Health is about far more than inspections. It is about the places where people live, work, eat, learn and grow.
