Hi.  My name is Courtney Barends.  I am a first year student at UWC.  I was born in Cape Town but was raised in a little town called Vredenburg.  I matriculated at Weston High School.  I'm an easy going guy that loves sport and having a good time with friends and family. 

My hobbies are cricket, rugby, golf, going to the gym, eating and swimming.  Very few people know that I actualy loves nature and will do everything in my power to preserve it.  I love the beauty of it and that is why choose ESS to expand my knowledge of it and to inform my of what is happening in nature

I really admire the animals that are found in nature such as Tigers and Sharks.  I would like to change the way people are consuming products that is, in a way, hurting our planet. By taking this course, I hope to get a better understanding of why the Earth is "dying". 

Where I come from, there is a little appreciation for nature and I hope to change that. Even though we have a nature reserve, the West Coast Nature Reserve, I feel it is not being regarded as important for the people of the West Coast.

By completing my studies, I want to go back to th West Coast and make it more "green" and as in fact, a sancuary for nature lovers in South Africa.  My goal is to inform people of eco-living and to teach them hou to preserve nature.