A group of our honours students visited the Strandfontein Birding Area (also known as the Strandfontein Sewage Works) and Rondevlei Nature Reserve. From the Sacred Ibis surviving on human microbes to the fluidity of movement across the nature reserve’s fence, it was an extraordinary experience observing the entanglement of “society” and “nature.” There is a poetic picture of people entering and exiting the reserve, birds crossing its borders for breeding and then migrating, animals “escaping” and human waste “breaking in.”

In the spirit of our adventure, we ended the trip at the Muizenberg Kitchen for a delicious plant-based meal with a spontaneous detour for ice cream. The field trip was an excellent conclusion for an elective that tackles the complexity of nature-culture debates in times of planetary crisis.