In nature, there is no magic water factory – the water on the earth now is the same water that has been here since the beginning of time. Whether in the Karoo or the forests of the Congo, the basics of the water cycle are the same: Water falls on the land as rain, snow, sleet, hail and mist, runs into our rivers, fills our dams and underground aquifers, and flows out to the oceans. The sun evaporates this water, clouds form and some of it falls again on the land. This is the water that we all use. Only 3% of the water on our planet is freshwater (as opposed to saline) and only 1% is available for our use.
South Africa is a water scarce, semi-arid country, and unfortunately, even the little water we do have is often badly managed, used wastefully and polluted. It seems crazy then that hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which uses a lot of water AND contaminates water, should even be considered an option to boost our energy resources! A number of technical cooperation permits have been issued in the Midlands and Berg foothills, which give the holders rights to research the area as a desktop exercise with a view to fracking. In order to verify the amount of shale gas present and its viability as an energy source, prospecting or exploration as it is termed in the oil and gas sector, will need to take place. This activity has the potential to affect groundwater quality as it uses hydraulic fracturing techniques.
The KZN Midlands is a National Freshwater Ecosystem Priority Area. The role of the Drakensberg and foothills as the 'water factories' of Kwa Zulu Natal cannot be underestimated. Intact grasslands are important for storing rainwater in wetlands or as ground water which is gradually released throughout the year. It is vitally important to protect these areas which sustain the flow of clean water, supporting the lives and livelihoods of nearly 6 million people downstream. Other free ecosystem services provided by these Midlands grasslands include pollination, soil production, flood water attenuation, carbon storage, cultural and recreational amenities and support to subsistence livelihoods. The uMngeni River catchment supplies 1000 million litres per day of potable water to a vast area including Howick, Hilton, Edendale, Wartburg, Vulindlela, most of Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
The Midlands Conservancy Forum (MCF) opposes, on ecological, social and economic grounds, the use of fracking to recover natural shale gas. Specifically, the MCF believes that the risk of contamination of groundwater in an already water-stressed environment is simply unacceptable. Despite assurances from potential extractors that the technique is safe, evidence of failed safety measures and resultant contamination is increasingly common in areas where fracking has been undertaken, even under first world conditions. We can't drink gas! Want to be better informed about this issue?
Learn more here: http://www.midlandsconservancies.org.za/prpagefracking.php
Sne Nzimande and Jordan Fourie, both in Grade 8 at Howick High School, received 1st place awards in the Standard and Latin Ballroom dancing sections of the KZN World Dance Trials held on 25 April 2015. They have been dance partners for three years and we congratulate them on their wonderful achievement.
On Monday, 11 May, 
We have had a good start to the merry month of May with a lot of interest shown in the game of bowls by local residents. Most have gained from coaching, some have applied for membership and have enjoyed a game or two on our greens. We welcome all these prospective members.
Howick – Former race winner Max Knox returned to the top step of the podium of the 60km Sappi Karkloof Marathon on Sunday as he blitzed the rest of the powerful elite men's field while mom of two Jeannie Dreyer added to her Mother's Day celebrations when she notched up her second win in the past three years.
You might wonder what intimacy has to do with business.
BOOKINGS ARE NOW OPEN FOR THE STEAM TRAIN EXCURSION. 
It's confirmed – the date for this year's SPCA 1000 Paws Walk is Sunday 12 July 2015. This annual fundraiser sees the three SPCA KZN Midlands branches, namely the Pietermaritzburg, 
We had a good week with our monthly Halfway Toyota competition. The winners were Brian Ellison, Chantal d'Hotman and Jo Boonzaier. The plate winners were Hilary Williams, Mabel Tully and Dave Riall. A good time was had by all.
Howick – It was the turn of the enduro riders on the second day of the 2015 Sappi Karkloof MTB Festival as the STIHL Enduro took centre stage with a large number of riders braving the most adrenalin producing sections of the Karkloof MTB trails with familiar faces Tiaan Odendall and Kim Westbrook making it consecutive wins in the men's and women's race respectively on Saturday.
On Thursday, 30 April, a group of Grade 11 Howick High School pupils participated in The SAPS Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign at the Mandela Capture site. The experience was enlightening and educational and we thank the SAPS and NGO's for all that they are doing to create awareness of the dangers and signs leading to Human Trafficking.
As part of a recent educational trip to Gauteng, a group of 
In this day and age, nobody is exempt from the scourge of crime. FreeMe's beloved bakkie was stolen on the 4th May from outside Hopewell Supplies in Harvard Street just after 13h15 in the afternoon, right in front of the car guard. It takes an amazing amount of cheek to steal a vehicle that everybody knows and with such distinctive signage and drive it away in broad daylight. All the vendors at the Falls saw it and happily informed us that it was driving towards Main Road, but the police could not find it. It is particularly distressing, as we had spent a great deal of hard earned donations fixing it and getting it sorted out, including a new engine, new shocks and brakes, and a new battery. To add insult to injury, we had just put in R 500's worth of diesel. Unfortunately, this severely hampers our efforts to rescue our patients. We are now reduced to only one vehicle again and with no bakkie, we cannot load anything bigger than a duiker, and while it was insured, we are not going to get anything like what it was worth to us. If anyone has an older second hand vehicle that they are thinking of getting rid of, please let us know and we can see if we can afford it. While we would prefer a bakkie, at this point we would just be happy to have anything to enable us to go on more than one call out at a time. We have very helpful mechanics that will fix things for us, so we are happy to do some work on it. Also everyone be vigilant with your own vehicles, and don't assume that because there are people around, that they are safe. Finally, if you would like to help, FreeMe will be running a huge raffle over the next six months, with wonderful prizes such as a Big Boy Scooter, trips to a game reserve, five tablets, 7 x Samsung TV's and 15 x R500 shopping vouchers. Tickets are R10 each, so please buy one or, even better, contact us and take a book to sell or a few for your business - you get one free ticket per book sold, and your kids can earn community service hours for fund raising. If you only enter one raffle this year, please let it be the FreeMe one.
Howick – For 21 years the Sappi Karkloof MTB Festival has provided riders with exhilarating mountain bike track with varying elements that appeal to all riders and whilst previous years have been successful, course designer and builder Hylton Turvey continues to revamp, reshape and reinvent the courses at the Karkloof MTB Club and the 2015 three-day, 8-10 May, festival will be no different.