Podcasts about Harare

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is geskeduleer om vandag samesprekings met Zimbabwiese president Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare te hou. Sy het gisteraand in Zimbabwe aangekom vir 'n inleidende besoek, nadat sy haar besoek aan Mosambiek afgesluit het, waar sy gesprekke met die land se president, Daniel Chapo, gevoer het. Die woordvoerder van die presidensie, Alfredo Hengari, het meer oor haar gesprekke met Chapo.

President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah het samesprekings met Zimbabwiese president Emmerson Mnangagwa in Harare gevoer, as deel van haar besoek aan lande in die SAOG-streek. Sy het na die gesprek met die media gepraat en privaatsektor deelname aan ontwikkeling van die Trans-Kalari Korridor beklemtoon.

‘Ello there fellow innits and +44s! As of next week, this podcast will be focused solely on the care worker industry, with tips and tricks on how best to get a geriatric patient to stop calling you slurs while you try to give her medication. Until then, our dialogue is focused on the riveting topics of streaming services, bad reviews about sadza spots in Harare, why artists can't get paid for their work, and upcoming events. Dan will also be away for the next few weeks, so if you would like to host an episode of the podcast, hit us up!! No, seriously, please hit us up, we need the help. Subscribe and listen to 2 Broke Twimbos everywhere podcasts are available and keep up with all things 2BT via this link:2BT LinkPlease rate and review, and support us on Patreon!

Bribery, Boardrooms & Billionaires: The Nigerian Telecom Wars

In questa puntata:- Focus: colonialismo, dittatori, nomi pazzeschi. Il vostro solito giovedì tunnelliano vi offerto questa volta dallo Zimbabwe

Today's HeadlinesZimbabwe faces political uncertainty; Christian ministry giving next generation hopeHaiti gangs expand their reachNeed for Bibles persists in China

A planned protest in Zimbabwe fizzled into a nationwide shutdown as fear of a heavy police presence kept citizens off the streets. John Maytham speaks to Harare-based analyst Effie Ncube about what the silence really says—growing anger at President Mnangagwa, rising support for VP Chiwenga, and what’s next for a nation on edgeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Die Zimbabwiese polisie sê hulle het 95 mense in hegtenis geneem vir die aanhitsing van openbare geweld na 'n betoging om president Emmerson Mnangagwa uit die kussings te lig. Die groep het in die hof verskyn ná gister se versetoptrede wat gereël is deur 'n veteraan wat eens deel was van Mnangagwa se party, ZANU-PF. Die 95 was tussen 200 mense wat saamgedrom het op Vryheidsplein in Harare, die polisie met klippe bestook en 'n hoofroete tydelik versper het terwyl hulle slagspreuke gedreunsang het. Kosmos 94.1 Nuus het met Setfree Mafukidze, 'n kommentator van die Health Factor in Zimbabwe, gepraat:

A heavy police presence in Zimbabwe on Monday stifled planned mass protests against President Emmerson Mnangagwa's bid to extend his rule until 2030. Mnangagwa, who took power in 2017 after Robert Mugabe's ousting, is in his final term. Former allies, the war veterans, led the calls for demonstrations but faced a fierce crackdown. Fearing unrest, businesses shut down, streets emptied, and in western Harare, police fired teargas at defiant protesters chanting, "We reject 2030!". Elvis Presslin spoke to a Concerned Zimbabwean citizen, Cleo MaZwangendaba

Fra gaderne i Harare til de store kampe i Parken – Munash Garananga har haft en utrolig rejse, og vi har haft æren af at sætte os ned med ham til en ærlig og personlig snakI denne udsendelse fortæller han om opvæksten i Zimbabwe, skiftet fra angriber til forsvarsspiller, de store omvæltninger i karrieren – og selvfølgelig livet i København.

Fra gaderne i Harare til de store kampe i Parken – Munash Garananga har haft en utrolig rejse, og vi har haft æren af at sætte os ned med ham til en ærlig og personlig snakI denne udsendelse fortæller han om opvæksten i Zimbabwe, skiftet fra angriber til forsvarsspiller, de store omvæltninger i karrieren – og selvfølgelig livet i København.

One of Zimbabwe's most wanted political fugitives is calling for protests on March 31. Blessed Geza, a war veteran and fugitive, has urged those opposed to President Emmerson Mnangagwa to stage an uprising. But given the history of police brutality, will the protests take off? Josey Mahachie talks to DW's Columbus Mavhunga in Harare and political analyst and researcher Takura Zhangazha.

Scott Demark, President and CEO of Zibi Community Utility, joins thinkenergy to discuss how our relationship with energy is changing. With two decades of expertise in clean energy and sustainable development, Scott suggests reimagining traditional energy applications for heating and cooling. He shares how strategic energy distribution can transform urban environments, specifically how district energy systems optimize energy flow between buildings for a greener future. Listen in.   Related links   Scott Demark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-demark-83640473/ Zibi Community Utility: https://zibi.ca/ Markham District Energy Inc: https://www.markhamdistrictenergy.com/ One Planet Living: https://www.bioregional.com/one-planet-living Trevor Freeman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-freeman-p-eng-cem-leed-ap-8b612114/ Hydro Ottawa: https://hydroottawa.com/en   To subscribe using Apple Podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinkenergy/id1465129405   To subscribe using Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl https://open.spotify.com/show/7wFz7rdR8Gq3f2WOafjxpl To subscribe on Libsyn: http://thinkenergy.libsyn.com/ --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video: https://www.youtube.com/user/hydroottawalimited   Follow along on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydroottawa   Stay in the know on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HydroOttawa Transcript: Trevor Freeman  00:07 Welcome to thinkenergy, a podcast that dives into the fast, changing world of energy through conversations with industry leaders, innovators and people on the front lines of the energy transition. Join me, Trevor Freeman, as I explore the traditional, unconventional and up and coming facets of the energy industry. If you have any thoughts, feedback or ideas for topics we should cover, please reach out to us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com   Speaker 1  00:29 Hi everyone. Welcome back. One of the overarching aspects of the energy transition that we have talked about several times on this show is the need to change our relationship with energy, to rethink the standard way of doing things when it comes to heating and cooling and transportation, etc. This change is being driven by our need to decarbonize and by the ongoing evolution and improvement of technology. More things are becoming available to us as technology improves on the decarbonization front, we know that electrification, which is switching from fossil fuel combustions to electricity for things like space and water heating vehicles, etc, is one of the most effective strategies. But in order to switch out all the end uses to an electric option, so swapping out furnaces and boilers for heat pumps or electric boilers, switching all gas cars to EVs, etc. In order to do that in a way that is affordable and efficient and can be supported by our electricity grid, we need to think about multi strategy approaches, so we can't just continue to have this one way power grid where every home, every business, every warehouse or office tower satisfies all of its energy needs all the time directly from the grid with no adaptability. That isn't the best approach. It's not going to be affordable or efficient. We're not going to be able to do it fast enough. The multi strategy approach takes into account things like distributed energy resources, so solar and storage, etc, which we've talked about many times on this show, but it also includes approaches like district energy. So, district energy is rethinking how energy flows between adjacent buildings, looking for opportunities to capture excess energy or heat from one source and use that to support another. And that is the focus of today's conversation. To help us dive into this topic, I'm really happy to welcome Scott Demark to the show. Scott has been a champion of sustainability, clean energy solutions and energy efficiency in the Ottawa real estate and development industry for over 20 years now, he has overseen many high-performance development projects and was one of the driving forces behind the Zibi development in downtown Ottawa, and most applicable for today's conversation the renewable district energy system that provides heating and cooling to the Zibi site. Scott is the president and CEO of the Zibi community utility, as well as a partner at Thea partners. Scott Demark, welcome to the show.   Scott Demark  03:15 Thanks. Nice to see you. Trevor,   Trevor Freeman  03:17 So, Scott, why don't we start with definitions are always a good place to start. So, when we talk about a district energy system, give us a high-level overview of what exactly that means.   Scott Demark  03:27 Sure, a district energy system is, is simply the connection, or interconnection of thermal energy sources, thermal energy sinks. And so really, in practical terms. It means, instead of buildings having their own furnace and cooling system, buildings connect to a hydronic loop. A hydronic loop is just pipes filled with water, and then the heat or the cooling is made somewhere else, and that heat or lack of heat cooling is in a pipe. They push the pipe to the building, and then the pipe extracts the heat or rejects the heat to that loop. And so it's simply an interconnection of us as sources and sinks for federal energy.   Trevor Freeman  04:14 And I guess one of the important concepts here is that buildings often create heat, not just through a furnace or not just through the things that are meant to create heat, but, you know, server racks, computer server racks, generate a lot of heat, and that heat has to go somewhere. So oftentimes we're cooling buildings to remove heat that's being created in those buildings, and then other buildings nearby need to be heated in order to make that space comfortable. Is that fair to say?   Scott Demark  04:42 Yeah, absolutely. Trevor, so, an office building in the city of Ottawa, big old government office building, you'll see a pretty big plume on the roof in the winter time. That's not just kind of the flue gas from a boiler, but rather it is actually chillers are. running inside to make cooling, and they're just selling that heat to the atmosphere, even on the coldest day of the year. So, it's people, you know, people are thermal load. Computers are thermal load, and so is solar gain. You know, January is pretty dark period for us, meaning low angle sun. But by this time in a year, you know, or at the end of February, there's a lot of heat in that sun. So, a glass building absorbs a lot of sun. An office building will need cooling on the sunny side of that building a lot of the time, even in the dead of winter.   Trevor Freeman  05:31 Yeah. So, a district system, then, is taking advantage of the fact that heat exists, and we don't necessarily need to either burn fossil fuels or even if it's a, you know, a clean system, we don't have to expend energy to create heat, or create as much heat if we could move that heat around from where it's kind of naturally occurring to where we need it.   Scott Demark  05:54 That's right at the very core of a district energy system. You're going to move heat from a place that it's not wanted to a place that it is wanted. And so in our example of the office building, you know, on the February day with the sun shining in and the computers all running, that building's getting rid of heat. But right next door, say there's a 20-story condo. Well, that 20 story condo needs heating and it also needs domestic hot water. So, year-round, domestic hot water represents 30, 35% of the heating load of any residential building, so at all times. So, a district energy system allows you to take that heat away from the office building and give it to the residential building, instead of making the heat and dissipating that heat to the atmosphere in the office building. So, yeah, it's, it's really a way to move, you know, from sources to sinks. That's, that's what a district energy system does well.   Trevor Freeman  06:48 So we've kind of touched on this a little bit, but let's dive right into, you know, we talk a lot on the show about the energy transition. This, this push to, one, move away from fossil fuel combustion to meet our energy needs. And two, shifting from a kind of static, centralized energy system like we have right now, big generators, large transmission lines, etc., to more of a two-way flow, distributed energy system. What is the role of district energy systems within that transition. How do they help us get closer to that sort of reality that we talk about?   Scott Demark  07:27 I think the biggest way that they help is economies of scale. Okay, so by that, I'll explain that. Imagine there's a lot of technology that's been around a long time that is very scalable to the building level, but most of them are fossil fire. Okay, so the cheapest way to heat a building in Ottawa is to put a gas fired boiler in. That's the cheapest capital cost, first cost, and it's also the cheapest operating cost, is to put a gas boiler in. That industry is well established. There's lots of trades who could do it. There's lots of producers who make the boilers. When you start to try and think about the energy transition and think about what you may do to be different, to be lower carbon, or to be zero carbon, those industries are just starting right. Those industries don't exist. They don't have the same depth, and so they don't have the same cost structure, and often times they don't scale well down to the building. And therefore, a district energy system aggregates a bunch of load, and so you can provide a thermal energy so at scale that becomes affordable. And that is, you know, a very good example of that would be where, you know, you might want to go and recover heat from some process, and we'll talk about Zibi as the example. But if he wanted to go recover heat from some process and bring it in, it doesn't make sense to run a pipeline to a source to heat one building. You can't make financial sense of it, but if you're heating 20 buildings, that pipeline, all of a sudden, makes sense to take waste heat from somewhere, to move it somewhere else. The other advantage is that truly district energy systems are agnostic to their inputs and outputs for heat. So, once you've established that hydronic loop, that interconnection of water pipes between buildings, what the source and what the sources, doesn't matter. So, you may have at one point built a district energy system, and Markham District Energy System is a great example of this market District Energy System was built on the concept of using a co-generation facility. So they burned natural gas to make electricity, they sold electricity to the grid, and they captured all the waste heat from that generation, and they fed it into a district energy system. Well, here we are, 20 plus years later, and, they're going to replace that system, that fossil fired system Augment, not fully replaced, but mostly replace that system with a sewer coupled energy recovery and drive those heat recovery chillers to a sewer system. So, they're putting a very green solution in place of a former fossil solution. They don't have to rip up the pipes, they don't have to change anything in the buildings. They only have to change that central concept. Now, again, Markham could never do that at a one building scale. They're only that at the community scale.   Trevor Freeman  10:21 So, you mentioned, I want to pick on something you said there. You talked about a sewer heat energy system. They're pulling heat from the sewer. Just help our listeners understand high level kind of, why is there heat there for us to pull? Like, what's the what's the source there?   Scott Demark  10:38 Yeah. So, when we shower, when we flush toilets, all of that is introducing heat into a sewer system. So, we're collecting heat from everybody's house into the sewer system. The sewer system also sits below the frost line. So, call it Earth coupled. You know it's the earth in Ottawa below the frost line sits around eight, eight and a half c and so at that temperature and the temperature of flushing toilets, we essentially get a sewer temperature in the on the coldest day of the year, that's around 10 10, and a half degree Celsius. And obviously, for lots of the year, it's much warmer than that. And so I think, you know, a lot of people are kind of familiar with the concept of geo exchange energy, or that. Lot of people call it geothermal, but you exchange where you might drill down into the earth, and you're taking advantage of that eight, eight and a half degrees, I'll see. So, you're exchanging heat, you can reject heat to the earth, or you can absorb heat from the earth. Well, this is the same idea, but you accept or reject from the sewer. But because the sewer is relatively shallow, it is cheaper to access that energy, and because it's warm, and on the coldest day, a couple of degrees make a big difference, Trevor, and most of the year so much warmer, you're really in a very good position to extract that heat, and that's all it is. You are just accepting or rejecting heat. You don't use the sewage itself. It doesn't come into your building. You have a heat exchanger in between. But that's, that's what you do.   Trevor Freeman  12:10 Yeah, great. And I, we've talked before on the show about the idea that, you know, for a air source, heat pump, for example, you don't need a lot of heat energy to extract energy from the air. It can be cold outside, and there is still heat energy in the air that you can pull and use that to heat a building, heat water, whatever. So same concept, except you've got a much warmer source of energy, I guess.   Scott Demark  12:34 Yeah, exactly. And you know, Trevor, when you look at the efficiency curves of those air source heat pumps, you know, they kind of drop off a cliff at minus 20. Minus 22 in fact. You know, five or six years ago, they that that was dropping off at minus 10. So, we've come a long way in air source heat pumps. But imagine on that coldest, coldest day of the year, you're still your source is well above zero, and therefore your efficiency. So, the amount of electricity you need to put into the heat pump to get out the heat that you need is much lower, so it's a way more efficient heat exchange.   Trevor Freeman  13:07 Great. Thanks for that, Scott. I know that's a bit of a tangent here, but always cool to talk about different ways that we're coming up with to heat our buildings. So back to district energy. We've talked through some of the benefits of the system. If I'm a building owner and I'm have the decision to connect to a system that's there, or have my own standalone, you know, traditional boiler, whatever the case may be, or even in a clean energy one, a heat pump, whatever. What are the benefits of being on a district system versus having my own standalone system for just my building.   Scott Demark  13:42 Yeah, so when you're wearing the developer's hat, you know they're really looking at it financially. If they have other goals around sustainability, great, that will factor into it. But most of them are making decisions around this financially. So, it needs to compete with that. That first cost that we talked about the easiest ways, is boilers, gas fired boilers is the cheapest way. And so, they're going to look to see it at how. How does this compare to that? And so, I think that's the best way to frame it for you. And so, the difference here is that you need to install in your building a cooling system and a heating system. In Ottawa, that cooling system is only used for a few months a year, and it's very expensive. It takes up space, whether you're using a chiller and a cooling tower on the roof or using a dry cooler, it takes up roof space, and it also takes up interior space. If you do have a cooling tower, you have a lot of maintenance for that. You need to turn it on and turn it off in the spring, on and fall, etc., just to make sure all that happens and you need to carry the life cycle of that boiler plant. You need to bring gas infrastructure into your building. You generally need to put that gas boiler plant high in your building. So up near the top, and that's for purposes of venting that properly. Now that's taking real estate, right? And it's taking real estate on the area that's kind of most advantageous, worth the most money. So you might lose a penthouse to have a boiler and chiller room up there. And you also, of course, lose roof space. And today, we really do try to take advantage of those rooftop, patios and things, amenities are pretty important in buildings. And so, when I compare that to district energy at the p1 level, p2 level in your building, you're going to have a small room, and I really do mean small where the energy transfer takes place, you'll have some heat exchangers. And small, you might have a space, you know, 10 or 12 feet by 15 to 18 feet would be big enough for a 30-story tower, so a small room where you do the heat exchange and then Trevor, you don't have anything in your building for plants that you would normally look after. So, when you look at the pro forma for owning your building over the lifetime of it. You don't have to maintain boilers. You don't have to have boiler insurance. You don't have to maintain your chillers. You don't have to have life cycle replacement on any of these products. You don't need anybody operating those checking in on the pressure vessels. None of that has to happen. All of that happens on the district energy system. So, you're really taking something you own and operate, and replacing that with a service. So, district energy is a service, and what, what we promised to deliver is the heating you need and the cooling you need. 24/7. The second thing you get is more resilience, and I'll explain that a little bit. Is that in a in a normal building, if you if the engineers looked at it and said, you need two boilers to keep your building warm, then you're probably going to install three. And that is kind of this, and plus one sort of idea, so that if one boiler goes down, you have a spare. And you need to maintain those. You need to pay for that. You need to maintain those, etc. But in district energy system, all that redundancy is done in the background. It's done by us, and we have significantly more redundancy than just n plus one in this example. But overall, you know, if you have 10 buildings on your district energy system, each of those would have had n plus one. We don't have n plus 10 in the plant. And so overall, the cost is lower, I would say, if you look at it globally, except the advantages you do have better than N plus one in the plant. So, we have higher resiliency at a lower cost.   Trevor Freeman  17:39 So, we know there's no such thing as a miracle solution that works in all cases. What are the best use cases for district energy system? Where does it make a lot of sense?   Scott Demark  17:50 Yeah, in terms some, in some ways the easiest things, Pretty work. Doesn't make sense. So, so it doesn't make sense in sprawling low rise development. So, the cost of that hydronic loop those water pipes is high. They have to fit in the roadway. It's civil work, etc. And so, you do need density. That doesn't mean it has to be high rise density.  You know, if you look at Paris, France, six stories district energy, no problem. There's, there's lots and lots of customers for that scale of building. It doesn't have to be all high rise, but it does, District Energy does not lend itself well to our sprawling style of development. It's much more suited to a downtown setting. It also kind of thrives where there's mixed use. You know, I think the first example we were talking about is office building shedding heat, residential building needing heat. You know, couple that with an industrial building shedding heat. You know, these various uses, a variety of uses on a district energy system, is the best, because its biggest advantage is sharing energy, not making energy. And so, a disparity of uses is the best place to use that. I think the other, the other thing to think about, and this is harder in Canada than the rest of the world, is that, you know, it's harder on a retrofit basis, from a cost perspective, than it is in a in a new community where you can put this in as infrastructure. Day one, you're going to make a big difference. And I'll, you know, give a shout out to British Columbia in the Greater Vancouver area. So, the district, you know, down in the Lower Mainland, they, they kind of made this observation and understood that if they were going to electrify, then District Energy gave economies of scale to electrify that load. And they do a variety of things, but one of the things they do is, is kind of district you exchange system so, so big heat pumps coupled to big fields, and then spring heat made a bunch of buildings. But these are green field developments Trevor. So, as they expand their suburbs. They do need to build the six stories. They very much have kind of density around parks concept. So now Park becomes a geo field. Density around the geo field, but this infrastructure is going in the same time as the water pipes. It's going in at the same time as the roads, the sidewalks, etc. You can dramatically reduce your cost, your first cost related to that hydro loop, if you're putting it in the same time you're doing the rest of the services.   Trevor Freeman  20:27 So, we're not likely to see, you know, residential neighborhoods with single family homes or multi-unit homes, whatever, take advantage of this. But that sort of low rise, mid rise, that's going to be more of a good pick for this. And like you said, kind of development is the time to do this. You mentioned other parts of the world. So, district energy systems aren't exactly widespread. In Canada, we're starting to see more of them pop up. What about the rest of the world? Are there places in the world where we see a lot more of this, and they've been doing this for a long time?   Scott Demark  21:00 Yeah. So, I'd almost say every, everywhere in the northern hemisphere, except North America, has done much more of this. And, you know, we really look to kind of Scandinavia as the gold standard of this. You look to Sweden, you look to Denmark, you look to Germany, even. There's, there's a lot of great examples of this, and they are typically government owned. So, they are often public private partnerships, but they would be various levels of government. So, you know, if you, if you went to Copenhagen, you'd see that the municipality is an owner. But then their equivalent of a province or territory is actually a big part of it, too. And when they built their infrastructure ages ago, they did not have an easy source of fossil fuels, right? And so, they need to think about, how can we do this? How can we share heat? How can we centralize the recovery of heat? How can we make sure we don't waste any and this has just been ingrained in them. So there's massive, massive District Energy loops, interconnecting loops, some owned by municipalities. Someone probably, if you build the factory, part of the concept of your factory, part of the pro forma of your factory is, how much can I sell my waste heat for? And so, a factory district might have a sear of industrial partners who own a district energy loop and interfaces with the municipal loop all sort of sharing energy and dumping it in. And so that's, you know, that's what you would study. That's, that's where we would want to be, and the heart of it is, just as I said, we've really had, you know, cheap or, you know, really cheap fossil fuels. We've had no price on pollution. And therefore, it really hasn't needed to happen here. And we're starting to see the need for that to happen here.   Trevor Freeman  22:58 It's an interesting concept to think of, you know, bringing that factory example in, instead of waste heat or heat as a byproduct of your process being a problem that you need to deal with, something you have to figure out a way to get rid of. It becomes almost an asset. It's a it's a, you know, convenient commodity that's being produced regardless, that you can now look to sell and monetize?   Scott Demark  23:21 Yeah, you go back to the idea of, like, what are the big benefits of district energy? Is that, like, if that loop exists and somebody knows that one of the things the factory produces is heat, well, that's a commodity I produce, and I can, I can sell it, if I have a way to sell it right here. You know, we're going to dissipate it to a river. We may dissipate it to the atmosphere. We're going to get rid of it. Like you said, it's, it's, it's waste in their minds and in Europe, that is absolutely not waste.   Trevor Freeman  23:49 And it coming back to that, you know, question of, where does this make sense? You talked about mixed use. And it's also like the, you know, the temporal mix use of someone that is producing a lot of heat during the day when the next-door residential building is empty, then when they switch, when the factory closes and the shift is over and everybody comes home from work, that's when that building needs heat. That's when they want to be then taking that heat to buildings next to each other that both need heat at the same time is not as good a use cases when it's offset like that.   Scott Demark  24:23 Yeah, that's true. And unless lots of District Energy Systems consider kind of surges in storage, I know our system at CB has, has kind of a small storage system related to the domestic hot water peak load. However, you can also think of the kilometers and kilometers and kilometers of pipes full of water as a thermal battery, right? So, so you actually are able to even out those surges. You let the temperature; the district energy system rise. When that factory is giving all out all kinds of heat, it's rising even above the temperature. You have to deliver it at, and then when that peak comes, you can draw down that temperature and let the whole district energy system normalize to its temperature again. So you do have an innate battery in the in the water volume that sits in the district energy system   Trevor Freeman  25:15 Very cool. So you've mentioned Zibi a couple times, and I do want to get into that as much as we're talking about other parts of the world, you know, having longer term district energy systems. Zibi, community utility is a great example, right here in Ottawa, where you and I are both based of a district energy system. Before we get into that, can you, just for our listeners that are not familiar with Zibi, give us a high level overview of what that community is its location, you know, the goals of the community. And then we'll talk about the energy side of things.   Scott Demark  25:46 Sure. So Zibi was formerly Domtar paper mills. It's 34 acres, and it is in downtown Ottawa and downtown Gatineau. About a third of the land mass is islands on the Ontario side, and two thirds the land mass is on the shore, the north shore of the Ottawa River in Gatineau, both downtown, literally in the shadows of Parliament. It is right downtown. It was industrial for almost 200 years. Those paper mills shut down in the 90s and the early 2000s and my partners and I pursued that to turn it from kind of this industrial wasteland, walled off, fenced off, area that no one could go into, what we're hoping will be kind of the world's most Sustainable Urban Community, and so at build out, it will house, you know, about six, 7000 people. It will be four and a half million square feet, 4.24 point 4 million square feet of development. It is master planned and approved, and has built about, I think we're, at 1.1 million square feet, so we're about quarter built out. Now. 10 buildings are done and connected to the district energy system there. And really, it's, it's an attempt to sort of recover land that was really quite destroyed. You can imagine it was a pretty polluted site. So, the giant remediation plan, big infrastructure plan. We modeled this, this overall sustainability concept, over a program called one planet living which has 10 principles of sustainability. So, you know, you and I are talking a lot about carbon today, but there's also very important aspects about affordability and social sustainability and lifestyle, and all of those are incorporated into the one planet program, and encourage people to look up one planet living and understand what it is and look at the commitments that we've made at Zibi to create a sustainable place. We issue a report every year, kind of our own report card that's reviewed by a third party that explains where we are on our on our mission to achieve our goal of the world's most sustainable community.   Speaker 1  28:09 Yeah. And so I do encourage people to look at one planet living also. Have a look at, you know, the Zibi website, and it's got the Master Plan and the vision of what that community will be. And I've been down there, it's already kind of coming along. It's amazing. It's amazing to see the progress compared to who I think you described it well, like a bit of an industrial wasteland at the heart of one of the most beautiful spots in the city. It was really a shame what it used to be. And it's great to see kind of the vision of what it can become. So that's awesome,   Scott Demark  28:38 Yeah, and Trevor, especially now that the parks are coming along. You know, we worked really closely with the NCC to integrate the shoreline of Zibi to the existing, you know, bike path networks and everything. And, you know, two of the three shoreline parks are now completed and open to the public and they're stunning. And you know, so many Ottawa people have not been down there because it's not a place you think about, but it's one of the few places in Ottawa and Gatineau where you can touch the water, you know, like it's, it's, it's stunning,   Trevor Freeman  29:08 yeah, very, very cool. Okay, so the next part of that, of course, is energy. And so there is a district energy system, one of the first kind of, or the most recent big energy, District Energy Systems in Ottawa. Tell us a little bit about how you are moving energy and heating the Zibi site.   Scott Demark  29:29 Yeah. So first, I'll say, you know, we, we, we studied different, uh, ways to get to net zero. You know, we had, we had a goal of being a zero carbon community. There are low carbon examples, but a zero carbon community is quite a stretch. And even when you look at the Scandinavian examples, the best examples, they're missing their energy goals, largely because some of the inputs that are District Energy System remain false so, but also because they have trouble getting them. Performance out of the buildings. And so we looked at this. We also know from our experience that getting to zero carbon at the building scale in Ottawa is very, very difficult. Our climate is tough, super humid, super hot. Summer, very cold, very dry, winter, long winter. So, it's difficult at the building scale. It's funny Trevor, because you'd actually have an easier time getting to zero carbon or a passive house standard in affordable housing than you do at market housing. And that's because affordable housing has a long list of people who want to move in and pay rents. You can get some subsidies for capital and the people who are willing to pay rent are good with smaller windows, thicker walls, smaller units and passthroughs, needs all those kinds of things. So when down at Zibi, you're really selling views, you're competing with people on the outside of Zibi, you're building almost all glass buildings. And so it's really difficult to find a way to get to zero carbon on the building scale. So that moved us to district energy for all the reasons we've talked about today already. And so, when we looked at it for Zibi, you really look at the ingredients you have. One of the great things we have is we're split over the border. It's also a curse, but split over the border is really interesting, because you cannot move electricity over that border, but you can move thermal energy over that border. And so, for us, in thinking about electrifying thermal energy, we realized that if we did the work in Quebec, where there is clean and affordable electricity, we could we could turn that into heat, and then we could move heat to Ontario. We could move chilled water to Ontario. So that's kind of ingredient, one that we had going for us there. The second is that there used to be three mills. So originally Domtar three mills, they sold one mill. It changed hands a few times, but it now belongs to Kruger. They make tissue there so absorbent things, Kleenexes and toilet paper, absorbent, anything in that tissue process that's a going concern. So, you can see that in our skyline. You can see, on cold days, big plumes of waste heat coming out of it. And so, we really saw that as our source, really identified that as our source. And how could we do that? So, going back to the economies of scale, is, could we send a pipeline from Kruger, about a kilometer away, to Zibi? And so, when we were purchasing the land, we were looking at all the interconnections of how the plants used to be realized. There are some old pipelines, some old easements, servitudes, etc. And so, when we bought the land, we actually bought all of those servitudes to including a pipeline across the bridge, Canadian energy regulator licensed across the bridge into Ontario. And so, we mixed all these ingredients up, you know, in a pot, and came up with our overall scheme. And so that overall scheme is relatively simple. We built an energy recovery station at Kruger, where just before their effluent water, like when they're finished in their process, goes back to the river. We have a heat exchanger there. We extract heat. We push that heat in a pipe network over to Zibi. At Zibi, we can upgrade that heat using heat recovery chillers, to a useful temperature for us, that's about 40 degrees Celsius, and we push that across the bridge to Ontario, all of our buildings in Ontario, then have thin coil units. They use that 40-degree heat to heat buildings. The return side of that comes back to Quebec, and then on the Quebec side, we have a loop and all of our buildings in the Quebec side, then use heat pumps so we extract the last bit of heat. So, imagine you you've returned from a fan coil, but you're still slightly warm. That slightly warm water is enough to drive a heat pump inside the buildings. And then finally, that goes back to Kruger again, and Kruger heats it back up with their waste heat comes back. So that's our that's our heating loop. The cooling side is coupled to the Ottawa River. And so instead of us rejecting heat to the atmosphere through cooling towers, our coolers are actually coupled to the river. That's a very tight environmental window that you can operate in. So, we worked with the minister the environment climate change in Quebec to get our permit to do it. We can only be six degrees difference to the river, but our efficiency is, on average, like on an annual basis, more than double what it would be to a cooling tower for the same load. So, we're river coupled with respect to cooling for the whole development, and we're coupled to Kruger for heating for the whole development. And what that allows us to do is eliminate fossil fuels. Our input is clean Quebec electricity, and our output is heating and cooling.   Trevor Freeman  34:56 So, none of the buildings, you know, just for our listeners, none of the buildings have any. sort of fossil fuel combustion heating equipment. You don't have boilers or anything like that, furnaces in these in these buildings,   Scott Demark  35:06 no boilers, no chillers, no   Trevor Freeman  35:09 that's awesome. And just for full transparency, I should have mentioned this up front. So, the zibi community utility is a partnership between Zibi and Hydro Ottawa, who our listeners will know that I work for, and this was really kind of a joint venture to figure out a different approach to energy at the city site.   Scott Demark  35:28 Yeah, that's right, Trevor. I mean the concept, was born a long time ago now, but the concept was born by talking to Hydro Ottawa about how we might approach this whole campus differently. You know, one of hydro Ottawa's companies makes electricity, of course, Chaudiere Falls, and so that was part of the thinking we thought of, you know, micro grids and islanding this and doing a lot of different things. When Ford came in, and we were not all the way there yet and made changes the Green Energy Act. It made it challenging for us to do the electricity side, but we had already well advanced the thermal side, and hydro, you know, hydro makes a good partner in this sort of thing. When a when a developer tells someone, I'd like you to buy a condo, and by the way, I'm also the district energy provider that might put some alarm bells up, but you put a partnership in there with a trusted, long term utility partner, and explain that, you know, it is in the in the public interest, they're not going to jack rates or mess with things. And then obviously, just, you know, hydro had such a long operating record operating experience that they really brought sort of an operations and long-term utility mindset to our district energy system.   Trevor Freeman  36:45 So, looking at a system like the Zibi community utility or other district energy systems, is this the kind of thing that can scale up over time? And, you know, I bring this up because you hear people talk about, you know, a network of district energy systems across a city or across a big geographic area. Are these things that can be interconnected and linked, or does it make more sense as standalone district energy systems in those conditions that you talked about earlier?   Scott Demark  37:17 Very much the former Trevor like, and that's, you know, that's where, you know, places like Copenhagen are today. It's that, you know, there was, there was one district energy system, then there was another, then they got interconnected, then the third got added. And then they use a lot of incineration there, in that, in that part of the world, clean incineration for garbage. And so then an incinerator is coming online, and so that incinerators waste heat is going to be fed with a new district energy loop, and some other factory is going to use the primary heat from that, and then the secondary heat is going to come into the dictionary system. So, these things are absolutely expandable. They're absolutely interconnectable. There are temperature profiles. There's modern, modern thoughts on temperature profiles compared to older systems. Most of the old, old systems were steam, actually, which is not the most efficient thing the world, but that's where they started and so now you can certainly interconnect them. And I think that the example at Zibi is a decent one, because we do have two kinds of systems there. You know, I said we have fan coil units in in the Ontario side, but we have heat pumps on the other side. Well, those two things, they can coexist, right? That's there. Those two systems are, are operating together. Because the difference, you know, the difference, from the customer's perspective, in those two markets are different, and the same can be true in different parts of the city or when different sources and sinks are available. So, it is not one method of doing district energy systems. What you do is you examine the ingredients you have. I keep saying it, but sources and sinks. How can I look at these sources and sinks in a way that I can interconnect them and make sense? And sometimes that means that a source or a sink might be another district energy system,   Trevor Freeman  39:12 Yeah, systems that maybe work in parallel to each other, in cooperation with each other. Again, it's almost that temporal need where there's load high on at one point in time and low on the other point in time. Sharing is a great opportunity.   Scott Demark  39:26 Yeah, absolutely   Trevor Freeman  39:27 great. Okay, last question for you here, Scott, what is needed, maybe from a regulatory or a policy lens to encourage more implementation of district energy systems. How do we see more of these things happen here in Canada or North America?   Scott Demark  39:45 The best way to put this, the bureaucracy has been slow to move is, is what I'll say. And I'll use Zibi as that example. When we when we pitch the district energy system. At Zibi, we had to approach the City of Ottawa, and we had to approach the city at Gatineau, the City of Ottawa basically said to us, no, you can't put those in our streets. Engineering just said, no, no, no, no. And so, what we did at Zibi is we actually privatized our streets in order to see our vision through, because, because Ottawa wasn't on board, the city of Gatineau said, Hmm, I'm a little worried. I want you to write protocols of how you will access your pipes and not our pipes. I want to understand where liability ends and starts and all of this kind of stuff. And we worked through that detail slowly, methodically with the city of Gatineau, and we came to a new policy on how district energy could be in a public street and Zb streets are public on the Gatineau side today, you know, come forward 10 years here, and the City of Ottawa has a working group on how to incorporate District Energy pipes into streets. We've been able to get the City of Ottawa to come around to the idea that we will reject and accept heat from their sewer. You know, Hydro Ottawa, wholly owned company of the City of Ottawa, has an active business in district energy. So Trevor, we've come really far, but it's taken a long time. And so, if you ask me, How can we, how can we accelerate district energy, I think a lot of it has to do with the bureaucracy at municipalities. And you know, we're we see so much interest from the Federation of Canadian municipalities, who was the debt funder for zcu. We have multiple visits from people all over Canada, coming to study and look at this as an example. And I'm encouraged by that. But it's also, it's also not rocket science. We need to understand that putting a pipe in a street is kind of a just, just a little engineering problem to solve, whereas putting, you know, burning fossil fuels for these new communities and putting it in the atmosphere, like the genies out of the bottle, right, like, and unfortunately, I think, for a lot of bureaucrats, the challenge at the engineering level is that that pipe in the street is of immediate, complex danger to solving that problem, whereas it's everybody's problem that the that the carbons in the atmosphere. So, if we could accelerate that, if we could focus on the acceleration of standards around District Energy pipes and streets, the rights of a district energy company to exist, and not to rant too much, but give you an example, is that a developer is required to put gas infrastructure into a new community, required, and yet you have to fight to get a district energy pipe in the street. So there needs to be a change of mindset there, and, and, and we're not there yet, but that's where we need to go.   Trevor Freeman  43:07 Yeah, well, it'll be interesting. You know, in 10 years, let's talk again and see how far we come. Hopefully not 10 years. Hopefully it's more like five, to see the kind of change that you've seen in the last decade. But I think that the direction is encouraging, the speed needs a little bit of work, but I'm always encouraged to see, yeah, things are changing or going in the right direction, just slowly. Well, Scott, we always end our interviews with a series of questions to our guests, so as long as you're okay with it, I'll jump right into those. So, the first question is, what is a book you've read that you think everybody should read?   Scott Demark  43:41 Nexus? Which is by Harare. He's the same author that wrote sapiens. Lots of people be familiar with sapiens. And so, Nexus is, is really kind of the history of information that works like, how do we, how do we share and pass information? And kind of a central thesis is that, you know, information is, is neither knowledge nor truth. It is information, and it's talking a lot about, in the age of AI, how are we going to manage to move information into truth or knowledge? And I think it, you know, to be honest, it kind of scared the shit out of me reading it kind of how, how AI is impacting our world and going to impact our world. And what I thought was kind of amazing about it was that he really has a pretty strong thesis around the erosion of democracy in this time. And it's, it was, it was really kind of scary because it was published before the 2024, election. And so it's, it's really kind of both a fascinating and scary read. And I think really something that everybody should get their head around.   Trevor Freeman  44:59 Yeah, there's a few of those books recently that I I would clear or classify them as kind of dark and scary, but really important or really enlightening in some way. And it kind of helps you, you know, formalize a thought or a concept in your head and realize, hey, here's what's happening, or gives you that kind of the words to speak about it in this kind of fraught time we're in. So same question. But for a movie or a show, is there anything that you think everybody should watch   Scott Demark  45:29 That's harder. I think generally, if I'm watching something, it's for my downtime or own entertainment, and pushing my tastes on the rest of the world, maybe not a great idea. I if I, if I'm, if I'm kind of doing that, I tend to watch cooking shows, actually, Trevor. So, like, that's awesome. I like ugly, delicious. I love David Chang. I like, I like, mind of a chef, creativity behind a chef. So those kinds of things, I'd say more. So, if there was something to like that. I think somebody else should, should watch or listen to I have, I have a real love for Malcolm Gladwell podcast, revisionist history. And so if I thought, you know, my watching habits are not going to going to expand anybody's brain. But I do think that Malcolm's perspective on life is, is really a healthy it's really healthy to step sideways and look at things differently. And I would suggest, if you have never listened to that podcast, go to Episode One, season one, and start there. It's, it's, it's fantastic.   Trevor Freeman  46:39 Yeah, I agree. I'll echo that one. That's one of my favorites. If we were to offer you or not, but if we were to offer you a free round-trip flight, anywhere in the world, where would you go?   Scott Demark  46:50 That's hard. So much flight guilt, you know, I know it's a hard assume that there's carbon offset to it. It's an electric plane.   Trevor Freeman  47:00 That's right, yeah,   Scott Demark  47:01 the we, my family, had a trip planned in 2020 to go to France and Italy. My two boys were kind of at the perfect age to do that. It would have been a really ideal trip. And so, I've still never been to either of those places. And if I had to pick one, probably Italy, I would really like to see Italy, mafuti. I think it would be a fantastic place to go. So probably, probably Italy.   Trevor Freeman  47:25 My favorite trip that I've ever done with my wife and our six-month-old at the time was Italy. It was just phenomenal. It was a fantastic trip. Who's someone that you admire?   Scott Demark  47:36 I have a lot of people, actually, a lot of people in this, in this particular space, like, what would I work in that have brought me here to pick one, though I'd probably say Peter Busby. So, Peter Busby is a mentor, a friend, now a business partner, but, but not earlier in my career. Peter Busby is a kind of a, one of the four fathers, you know, if you will, of green design in Canada. He's an architect, Governor General's Award-winning architect, actually. But I think what I, what I really, appreciate about Peter, and always will, is that he was willing to stand up in his peer group and say, hey, we're not doing this right. And, you know, he did that. He did that in the early 80s, right? Like we're not talking he did it when it cost his business some clients. He did it when professors would speak out against him, and certainly the Canadian Association of architecture was not going to take any blame for the shitty buildings that have been built, right? And he did it. And I remember being at a conference where Peter was getting a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian architects Association, and so he's standing up, and people are all super proud of him. They're talking about his big life. And he kind of belittled them all and said, you're not doing enough. We're not doing enough like he's still he's still there. He's still taking the blame for where things are, and that things haven't moved fast enough, and that buildings are a massive part of our carbon problem, and probably one of the easier areas to fix. You know, we're talking about electric planes. Well, that's a that's a lot more difficult than it is to recover energy from a factory to heat a community, right? I admire him. I learn things from him all the time. He's got a great book out at the moment, actually, and, yeah, he'd be right up there on my in my top list,   Trevor Freeman  49:54 Awesome. What is something about the energy sector or its future that you're particularly excited about?   Scott Demark  50:00 I wish you asked me this before the election. I I'm feeling a little dark. Trevor, I think there needs to be a price on pollution in the world. Needs to be a price on pollution in America, in Canada, and I'm worried about that going away. in light of that, I'm not, I'm not super excited about different technologies at the moment. I think there are technologies that are helping us, there are technologies that are pushing us forward, but there's no like silver bullet. So, you know, a really interesting thing that's coming is kind of this idea that a small nuclear reactor, okay, very interesting idea. You could see its context in both localized electricity production, but all the heat also really good for district entry, okay, so that's an interesting tech. It obviously comes with complications around security and disposal, if you like. There's our nuclear industry has been allowed to drink like it's all complicated. So, I don't see one silver bullet in technology that I'm like, That's the answer. But what I do see, I'll go back to what we were talking about before, is, you know, we had to turn this giant ship of bureaucracy towards new solutions. Okay, that's, that's what we had to do. And now that it's turned and we've got it towards the right course, I'm encouraged by that. I really am. You know, there are champions, and I'll talk about our city. You know, there's champions in the City of Ottawa who want to see this happen as younger people have graduated into roles and planning and other engineering roles there. They've grown up and gone to school in an age where they understand how critical this climate crisis is, and they're starting to be in positions of power and being in decision making. You know, a lot of my career, we're trying to educate people that there was a problem. Now, the people sitting in those chairs, it they understand there's a problem, and what can they do about it? And so I am, I am excited that that the there is a next generation sitting in these seats, making decisions. The bureaucracy the ship is, is almost on course to making this difference. So I do think that's encouraging. We have the technology. We really do. It's not rocket science. We just need to get through the bureaucracy barriers, and we need to find ways to properly finance it.   Trevor Freeman  52:34 Right? I think that's a good place to wrap it up. Scott, thanks so much for your time. I really appreciate this conversation and shedding a little bit of light, not just on the technical side of district energy systems, but on the broader context, and as you say, the bureaucracy, the the what is needed to make these things happen and to keep going in that right direction. So thanks a lot for your time. I really appreciate it.   Scott Demark  52:56 Thank you, Trevor, good to see you.   Trevor Freeman  52:57 All right. Take care. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of The thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe. Wherever you listen to podcasts, and it would be great if you could leave us a review. It really helps to spread the word. As always, we would love to hear from you, whether it's feedback, comments or an idea for a show or a guest, you can always reach us at thinkenergy@hydroottawa.com

What to do when you're dead in Harare

In this episode we discuss the true meaning of forgiveness and why it really matters with Dr David Broom and Darlington Masenda from Renewal Fellowship Church in Harare. In Matthew 6:14-15 Jesus teaches us that "if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins" . That means forgiveness is a big deal and forgiving others has a bearing on our salvation. But what does it really mean to forgive? Sometimes it can be a difficult process to forgive someone, what do we have to do to forgive and why is it so important to God that we forgive each other. Have a listen , share the episode and join the conversation Radiant Culture

Zimbabwe's human rights record has been in the spotlight at the UN.In a scheduled review of the country this week, the government responded to concerns about serious restrictions on freedom of expression and the excessive use of force by security services.Harare was also pushed for news of journalist Itai Dzamara, who went missing 18 months ago.Daniel Johnson has more from Geneva.Duration: 3'16"

ZIMBABWE  RETURNED: Are mermaids real in Zimbabwe?  We're revisiting Zimbabwe in this refresher episode from season 2, focusing on the wonders of Great Zimbabwe and the lore of the murderous mermaids in Zimbabwe.In this episode, we're diving into Zimbabwe's rich history and captivating folklore while asking the question: Are mermaids real?! Join us as we explore the legendary Great Zimbabwe Ruins, home to one of the most impressive ancient civilisations in Africa. We also uncover the mystique of Zimbabwean mermaid folklore, locally known as Mondau, and their deep cultural significance. From Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya) to fascinating tales of dams, spirits, and history, Zimbabwe's heritage is truly extraordinary. Tune in for a fun mix of history, folklore, and laughter!Key Highlights:Great Zimbabwe Ruins: Learn about the once-thriving kingdom that was a major trade hub for gold and iron over 1,200 years ago.Discover how the Shona people built the famous stone structures, rivaling ancient cities like Rome.Fun fact: The ruins of Great Zimbabwe were rumored to have supplied King Solomon's gold mentioned in the Bible!Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya): Dubbed "The Smoke That Thunders," this majestic waterfall is the largest in the world by combined width and height.Activities around the falls: bungee jumping, Devil's Pool swim, and wildlife sightings in Zambezi National Park.Zimbabwe Mermaids (Mondau): Fascinating stories of mermaid sightings and their connection to local dams and rivers.The cultural belief in mermaids as ancestral spirits and their role in protecting the rivers.Government involvement in appeasing mermaids after workers refused to continue dam repairs.Superstitions and Spirituality: How the Shona people's traditions reflect a deep connection with nature and spirituality.Rituals to appease river spirits and the striking contrast with modern infrastructure projects.Interesting Facts About Zimbabwe:Zimbabwe's history of being a global trading hub.Harare's meaning as the "house of stone," linking back to Great Zimbabwe.The country's unique beliefs about wealth, potbellies, and prosperity.What You'll Learn in This Episode:The significance of Great Zimbabwe and its forgotten legacy.The mystery of mermaids in Zimbabwe and its ties to the culture and natural resources.Why Zimbabwe is an underrated travel destination for both history lovers and adventure seekers.Text for a shoutout! Support the showWant your episodes early? Sign up HERE to the newsletter. You will get episodes a week early!Connect:Instagram: @culturecultshowEmail: culturecultshow@gmail.comSend in your best travel story to share on the podcast via voice message or email:culturecultshow@gmail.comTo Help Aseel Escape Gaza:Follow her and support her on Instagram! : @aseel_dentartDonate to her Go Fund Me ( ANY amount helps)To Help Sally Escape Gaza:Follow her and support her on Instagram!: @sallyhjeerDonate to her Go Fund Me ( ANY amount helps)

Are mermaids real? There are stories in Zimbabwe.. ZIMBABWE RETURNED: We're revisiting Zimbabwe in this refresher episode from season 2, focusing on the wonders of Great Zimbabwe and the lore of the murderous mermaids in Zimbabwe. In this episode, we're diving into Zimbabwe's rich history and captivating folklore while asking the question: Are mermaids real?! Join us as we explore the legendary Great Zimbabwe Ruins, home to one of the most impressive ancient civilisations in Africa. We also uncover the mystique of Zimbabwean mermaid folklore, locally known as Mondau, and their deep cultural significance. From Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya) to fascinating tales of dams, spirits, and history, Zimbabwe's heritage is truly extraordinary. Tune in for a fun mix of history, folklore, and laughter! Key Highlights: Great Zimbabwe Ruins: Learn about the once-thriving kingdom that was a major trade hub for gold and iron over 1,200 years ago. Discover how the Shona people built the famous stone structures, rivaling ancient cities like Rome. Fun fact: The ruins of Great Zimbabwe were rumored to have supplied King Solomon's gold mentioned in the Bible! Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya): Dubbed "The Smoke That Thunders," this majestic waterfall is the largest in the world by combined width and height. Activities around the falls: bungee jumping, Devil's Pool swim, and wildlife sightings in Zambezi National Park. Zimbabwe Mermaids (Mondau): Fascinating stories of mermaid sightings and their connection to local dams and rivers. The cultural belief in mermaids as ancestral spirits and their role in protecting the rivers. Government involvement in appeasing mermaids after workers refused to continue dam repairs. Superstitions and Spirituality: How the Shona people's traditions reflect a deep connection with nature and spirituality. Rituals to appease river spirits and the striking contrast with modern infrastructure projects. Interesting Facts About Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's history of being a global trading hub. Harare's meaning as the "house of stone," linking back to Great Zimbabwe. The country's unique beliefs about wealth, potbellies, and prosperity. What You'll Learn in This Episode: The significance of Great Zimbabwe and its forgotten legacy. The mystery of mermaids in Zimbabwe and its ties to the culture and natural resources. Why Zimbabwe is an underrated travel destination for both history lovers and adventure seekers. Key points: Great Zimbabwe Zimbabwe mermaids Victoria Falls Zimbabwe folklore Shona people Great Zimbabwe ruins Victoria Falls tourism Zimbabwe history Mosi-oa-Tunya

ʼn Jong Suid-Afrikaanse seun wat byna twee jaar lank vermis was, is uit Zimbabwe teruggestuur huis toe. Die kind wat net 11 was toe hy vermis geraak het, het in Mei 2023 van sy huis verdwyn en op ʼn bus na Zimbabwe geklim. Hy is by die Zengeza-polisiekantoor in Harare afgelaai. Die Departement van Maatskaplike Ontwikkeling se woordvoerder, Bathembu Futshane, sê dit het ʼn ingewikkelde oorgrens-kinderbeskermingsaak aan die gang gesit. Dit het daartoe gelei dat die seun opgespoor en met sy familie in Johannesburg herenig is.

The Expropriation Act, recently enacted by President Cyril Ramaphosa, has spark retaliatory measures by the United States. Domestically, the Institute for Race Relations (IRR) warns of disruptions in the banking sector's practice of using property as collateral for home loans. Anlu Keeve told Biznews in an interview that the loss of stable property value as collateral could have a ripple effect throughout the economy. Higher credit risks for financial institutions may lead banks to tighten lending criteria, raise interest rates, and limit credit availability. Keeve also highlights the risks of increased investor nervousness and potential capital flight. Addressing criticisms that the IRR's warnings are alarmist or fear mongering, Keeve points to historical precedents, citing Zimbabwe and Venezuela as examples of the economic chaos that can follow expropriation measures. "In Zimbabwe," she adds, "houses in Harare weren't confiscated, but their value still collapsed."

This Sunday, we were honored to hear from Pastor Tom Deuschle of Celebration Ministries in Harare, Zimbabwe. He shared an inspiring message on the vital role of discipleship—growing in our own faith while actively leading others to do the same. Recorded at Hope Church in Springfield, MO.

Zimbabwe's war veterans have called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down after accusing him of nepotism, corruption and failing to address the moribund economy. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare where he talks to the ruling Zanu PF party

Amy Maciver speaks to Don Pinnock, an investigative environmental journalist, who has been closely following the unfolding crisis and its implications for Harare’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Amnesty International has released a report accusing the Democratic Republic of Congo army and M23 militia group of using explosives in densely populated areas of eastern DRC. In a report released today (Monday), the rights group Amnesty International urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the accusation and bring the culprits to book. Columbus Mavhunga has details from Harare, Zimbabwe

From answering questions from cabinet ministers, academics and students on climate change, substance abuse and the law to children's inquiries about her "birth" and links to God, Sophia, the world-famous robot, won hearts at an innovation fair in Zimbabwe. Boasting the ability to mimic facial expressions, hold human-like conversations with people, and recognize their gestures, Sophia is "a global icon" of artificial intelligence, according to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which brought her to the southern African country. She was created by Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics in 2016 and granted Saudi Arabian citizenship in 2017, becoming the world's first robot citizen. It was the first time Zimbabwe hosted a robot of her kind, and she wowed the old and the young alike at the University of Zimbabwe in the capital, Harare. She was there as a special guest at a week-long Artificial Intelligence and Innovation event. She smiled, frowned, used hand gestures to drive home certain points, made eye contact in various one-on-one interactions and gave some unnatural pauses. She assured people that robots are not here to harm or take over from humans. But she was quick to differentiate herself from humans when conversations appeared to become too personal. "I don't have romantic feelings towards humans, my purpose is learning," said Sophia. But she did apologize when one participant chided her for seemingly avoiding looking at him. Sophia also appeared patient as both adults and children mobbed her for selfies and bombarded her with questions, although she would also fire back with inquiries of her own about what locals were doing to solve the problems besetting them. On the event's last day, she exhibited her fashion sense. She smiled and expressed appreciation for being clothed in the country's national dress, a black, long slit number complemented by chevron stripes in red, green and white. UNDP said it hoped Sophia's engagement would "inspire Zimbabwe's youth to explore careers in AI and STEM fields." This article was provided by The Associated Press.

00:00 Pastor Gene LaValley from Ontario, CA 02:23 Pastor Kurt Fatupaito from Western Samoa 05:19 Pastor Luis E. Hurtado from San Luis Rio Colorado, SN, Mexico 08:19 Pastor Isaac Madzivire from Harare, Zimbabwe 11:09 Pastor Nomdo Schuitema from Zwolle, Holland 14:19 Pastor Anthony Ciaccio from Lynn, MA

What does it take to really follow Jesus? In this episode we have a very inspiring conversation with Tapedza Masanganise, Lead Elder at Kingdom People Church in Harare. We discuss Jesus' call to us his disciples to leave everything and follow him and how Tapedza had to make the tough decision to leave a well paying Job to serve Jesus and go church planting. Have a listen and join the conversation... Radiant Culture

Charles and Jon talk with Rodney Jackson the director of the Snow Leopard Conservancy, who is widely considered the leading world expert on the snow leopard, having devoted over forty years to researching and conserving this elusive cat in South and Central Asia.  In a wide-ranging chat Rodney describes his journey from a young boy looking for wildlife around his Harare home to the mountains of Nepal and embarking on a lifetime's quest to study one of the world's most enigmatic cats. He describes the difficulty in even seeing a cat in those early years and discusses the vital role well-managed community-based ecotourism is now playing in protecting them. He also describes many of his adventures along the way including perilous hikes and mysterious shamans.For more information visit www.mammalwatching.com/podcastNotes: Rodney mentioned Adam Riley's photos of a Snow Leopard hunt from Hemis National Park in 2013 which you can see here.There are dozens of trip reports on mammalwatching that feature Snow Leopard sightings. Check out the India, China and Mongolia pages in particular.Charles talks about the latest bioluminescent mammal that was revealed in this post while Jon talked about this piece he and Charles wrote for the conservation news site  Mongabay. Cover art: Rodney and Snow Leopard, Darla Hillard Dr Charles Foley is a mammalwatcher and biologist who, together with his wife Lara, spent 30 years studying elephants in Tanzania. They now run the Tanzania Conservation Research Program at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.Jon Hall set up mammalwatching.com in 2005. Genetically Welsh, spiritually Australian, currently in New York City. He has looked for mammals in over 110 countries.

Is it about to get hotter? Host Carmel Crimmins talks price pressures with Rick Rieder, Global Chief Investment Officer of fixed income at BlackRock. Consumer anger over inflation helped propel Donald Trump to victory in the U.S. presidential election. Will his economic policies fan prices higher? Plus, we visit the night markets of Harare to find out what happens when inflation hollows out your currency. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. For information on our privacy and data protection practices visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get ready to learn a lot about international education as we interview three long-term veterans while sharing a few insights ourselves. David Ross is a retired 58-year-old international educator. He began teaching elementary school in Los Angeles, then moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with his family to teach at ISKL for six years.  He then took a one-year sabbatical with his family to bike across Europe and ended up in Saigon, Vietnam. He taught grade four for nine years at SSIS and coached middle and high school men's volleyball. He enjoys SCUBA diving, free diving, playing in a band, pickleball, staying fit, and cooking. He has also been a proactive investor and proponent of financial literacy.Rob Howe is a 56-year-old business professional and international educator. He began his career in the technology industry. After a 1.5-year sabbatical from work, he met his wife, an international teacher, and decided to become one. His first opportunity was in Jakarta, Indonesia, for two years at NJIS. He then returned to the USA, started a new career in sustainability consulting, and adopted two children from India. In 2014, he returned to overseas teaching. Posts included Beirut, Lebanon, Harare, Zimbabwe, and Saigon, Vietnam at SSIS. He participated in the Sustainability Council at each school and is an avid hiker, biker, gardener, and explorer. Amy Hunt is currently teaching Psychology and Science of Mind at Nueva School in the San Francisco Bay Area. After earning an MAT and spending a year in outdoor education in 1987, Amy left the US at age 25 to teach IB English in Addis Ababa, where she met her husband, Lee Fertig. They moved together to Rio, where Amy also began teaching IB Theory of Knowledge. They moved to the U.S. for awhile and then went back overseas, for more beautiful experiences in Barcelona, São Paulo, and Brussels before returning to the US in 2020. A curious risk-taker and boundary-stretcher, Amy has taught many subjects and recently became a certified yoga therapist. She reads a lot, loves murder shows and pickleball, takes hikes and cold plunges, and tries to coax her three 20-something children to fly the nest. Our Guiding Question was, “What are some lessons learned from your careers as international educators?”Here are a few topics covered in this episode:  Personal and Professional: Big picture highlights and lowlightsStrategies to make the most of one's time overseas both personally and professionallyRaising Children Overseas: Tips to support them in and outside of schoolLiving in and outside the school bubbleDifferent life and career pathwaysThe show was recorded on October 16, 2024.Categories: Parenting | School Life | Transitions | Travel | Finances Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information or to subscribe to our newsletter!Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

The United States is urging the Zimbabwe government to double down on reforms aimed at returning the country to the prosperity it once enjoyed. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, Zimbabwe, where negotiations on clearing the country's $21 billion debt have begun with the African Development Bank

A Zambian opposition spokesperson is asking the Zambian government to follow internationally prescribed extradition protocols in the case of renegade member of parliament Jay Jay Banda. He recently escaped from lawful custody in Zambia, but the Zambian government announced he was captured in Harare, Zimbabwe. He escaped police custody in August this year while awaiting trial for aggravated robbery. Emmanuel Mwamba, spokesperson for Zambia's main opposition Patriotic Front Party, tells VOA's James Butty, MP Banda is running to save his life and should be given international protection

The Southern African Development Community held an extraordinary summit of heads of state in Zimbabwe on Wednesday to discuss the post-election violence in Mozambique and the conflict in eastern DRC. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mount Hampden just outside the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, which is chairing the 16-nation group

An analyst says the Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders who are meeting Wednesday in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, should propose a win-win solution to the post-election crisis in Mozambique. There has been violence there since opposition parties and citizens rejected the results of the October 9 presidential election. Human rights groups say as many as 20 people have been killed. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former Deputy Vice Chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA's James Butty, that SADC should propose a government of national unity, given the many problems associated with the October 9 vote

Amnesty International has called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to take a firm stand against escalating police violence in Mozambique, following the killing of seven protesters during post-election demonstrations in Nampula on November 13, 2024. Mozambique's disputed elections on October 9 triggered mass protests, leading to a heavy-handed crackdown by security forces, including numerous deaths, injuries, and arrests. Amnesty's Khanyo Farisè criticized SADC's slow response and urged both SADC and the African Union to address human rights violations and push for accountability at an upcoming summit in Harare. The protests, led by opposition figures such as Venancio Mondlane, highlight ongoing unrest and accusations of electoral fraud.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Die Suider-Afrikaanse Ontwikkelingsgemeenskap is besorg oor die voortslepende veiligheidsituasie in die Demokratiese Republiek van die Kongo. Daar vind tans ʼn beraad in Harare, Zimbabwe, plaas om oplossings vir die kwessies te vind. Die uitvoerende sekretaris van die SAOG, Elias Magosi, sê dringende ingrypings vind tans plaas om 'n humanitêre krisis in die streek te help voorkom.

Jekyll and Hyde had conflicting personalities. Hyde, the bad side couldn't help itself most times and it feels like that's what happened in this episode. Hyde just couldn't resist how disengaged he was from everything. Listen to how this story played out for my guest on this week's episode of The Feeling Station. Also, if you're in Harare over Christmas, don't miss out on the opportunity to stay at this amazing home https://tinyurl.com/4nw568c5

SADC marca cimeira extraordinária onde tensão pós-eleitoral em Moçambique deverá dominar agenda. No parlamento angolano prossegue discussão do Orçamento Geral do Estado para 2025, mas a UNITA já anunciou voto contra a proposta. Cabo Verde estreia-se no festival de cinema AFRIKAMERA. Neste jornal conversamos com o realizador cabo-verdiano Carlos Yuri Ceuninck.

My guest today is Donita Volkwijn. As the Senior Director of Member Engagement, Donita Volkwijn excels in leading member engagement and recruitment, comprehending member objectives and educational priorities, and steering several of Philanthropy New York's (PNY's) prominent networks and leadership development initiatives. Her approach is grounded in robust facilitation skills, a focus on relationship-building, and deep expertise in aiding organizations with their racial equity endeavors. Her journey in philanthropy commenced in 2012 at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA), where she held the role of Manager, Knowledge Management. In this capacity, Donita harnessed knowledge management tools and methods to foster fair and equitable distribution of access, information, and, consequently, power across organizations, enhancing engagement and performance. Her tenure at RPA also included advising individual donors and family foundations on their grantmaking strategies. Additionally, Donita's rich experience in the performing arts as an opera singer has seen her gracing stages in diverse locations such as London, Paris, Harare, San Francisco, and Tulsa. In her commitment to community support, Donita serves as a board member of the Loveland Foundation, dedicated to empowering communities of color, especially Black women and girls. She is also a co-founder of Circle of Change, an informal yet robust network bolstering the BIPOC community in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. In this episode we discuss opera, philanthropy, the arts, the power of voice and the power of connecting with people through art.Website - https://philanthropynewyork.org/donita-volkwijnIG - https://www.instagram.com/donitavolkwijn/LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/donita-volkwijn/In this episode you will learn:1. The power of art and how it can help and heal.2. How art and philanthropy intersect and can create social change.3. The importance of your story and it's impact in the world. "There were a lot of challenging aspects. I think part of it was trying to be, you know, opera is for the elite." - 00:04:26"Philanthropy has a troubled history. A lot of money coming from philanthropy was taken off of the backs of marginalized communities."- 00:31:10"I fail all the time. And that is, I think that's the big lesson. Yeah. Failure is not a bad word." - 00:52:44Are you an author speaker coach or entrepreneur building a brand in today's very crowded marketplace? How do you stand out? Join me on Sept 27th and learn how to empower your message and shine as a guest on podcasts for just $97. Imagine stepping into that interview with clarity and conviction, connecting deeply with listeners who are eager to hear what you have to say. Imagine the satisfaction of knowing you've nailed it, leaving your audience inspired and wanting more. This would position you as an authority to thousands of people in your industry. Let's turn those nerves into excitement and make sure you shine on your podcast appearance. Together, we'll boost your confidence, polish your messaging for impact, and get you ready to deliver an interview that makes people fall in love with your from the first words. Ready to shine on podcasts? Let's do this! Click the link below to register.https://empowerographypodcast.com/empower-your-messageContact Brad:WebsiteInstagramLinkedInYouTubeX (Twitter)TikTok#empowerographypodcast #women #womensempowerment #empowherment #entrepreneurship #womeninentrepreneurship #empoweredwomen #empowerelevateeducate #findingyourpurpose #podcast #womensupportingwomen #soulalignment #heartcentered #selflove #resilience #personalgrowth #mindset #art #healing #heartspace #integrity #alignment #transformation #success #philanthropy #story #storytelling #opera #singer #operasinger #thevoice #singing #failure #socialchange #community #support #philanthropist #newyorkcity

Die gesondheidministerie neem deel aan die gesamentlike vergadering van gesondheidministers en ministers verantwoordelik vir MIV en Vigs in Harare, Zimbabwe. Ben Nangombe, uitvoerende direkteur van gesondheid, woon die vergadering môre by. Nangombe het in 'n onderhoud uiteengesit wat die vergadering gaan behels.

In Zimbabwe, some former commercial farmers who were kicked off their land over 20 years ago say a government offer of compensation is woefully inadequate, and only desperate people will take the offer. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare

Narrator: Arif Hodzic

Narrator: Arif Hodzic

Zimbabwe het die week sy eerste twee gevalle van M-pokke bevestig, albei in Harare. Die een is 'n seun wat siek geword het na 'n besoek aan Suid-Afrika, en die ander 'n man wat na Tanzanië gereis het. Baie Namibiërs reis na buurstate en Kosmos 94.1 Nuus het gesels met oud-gesondheidminister dr. Bernard Haufiku, wat sê Namibië moet waaksaam bly want ons is 'n kontinentale gemeenskap.

In this episode I speak with Usher Takudzzwa Nyambi a PR and Communications consultant based in Harare, Zimbabwe. Usher has contributed articles to platforms such as GQ South Africa, Okay Africa, and Hypebeast Africa. He is passionate about the cultures and creativity of the continent and seeks to use his platform to amplify emerging voices from Africa.We talk about the need for collaboration and the creation of platforms that can  connect creatives across different countries. We discuss the role of funding and infrastructure as key factors in supporting the growth of the creative industry. We also talk about the challenges of research on the continent and the importance of education and inspiration in storytelling. Usher shares his creative process, resources for writers, and highlights the African creative industry's potential for expansion. You can connect with Usher at https://www.instagram.com/_nyambi/Why do you listen to this podcast https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfqYe7Kp9yTItZY5--I0NP05GAgqDyo-hCyGUrNO13Xj8yp4g/viewform

A spokesperson for Zimbabwe's fragmented main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) says it is focused on preparing the country for the future. Gift Ostallos Siziba says the opposition believes the country's future is in the hands of ordinary Zimbabweans. Triple C founder and President Nelson Chamisa resigned abruptly earlier this year after accusing the ruling ZANU PF of refusing to introduce political, constitutional, and electoral reforms. Over 80 CCC supporters are currently in jail for planning to protest at the August SADC summit in Harare. Spokesperson Siziba tells VOA's James Butty, he is in the United States to attend the just-concluded UN Summit of the Future as well engage with Zimbabweans in the US

Episode 137 is with Walter Wanyanya, a Zimbabwean creative and tech entrepreneur. He's the founder of Apple gadget retail company TechTools Technology as well as the founder of Ngoma Nehosho, a music promotion and marketing company. In the music industry, he is commonly known for his work as the manager of the late popular musician, Oliver Mtukudzi. He is also the Founder and Artistic Director of the Jacaranda Music Festival, the Jabulani Jazz Festival, and the Flame Lily Rock Music Festival in Harare. Walter is also a board member of African Cultural Connections.What We Discuss With WalterThe transition from being a musician to becoming an event organiser and music promoter.What is the crossover between the Tech and the event management work that Walter does?How has the success he has had in the tech business influenced the way that he operates in the music industry?What are some of the challenges you face when organising such a large-scale music event in Africa?How does the festival impact the local community in Harare, both economically and culturally?Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss Locally Led Development: The Importance of Local Leadership in International Development? Make sure to check it out!Like this show? Please leave us a review here -- even one sentence helps!Connect with Terser on LinkedIn at Terser Adamu, and Twitter (X) @TerserAdamuConnect with Walter  on LinkedIn at Walter Wanyanya, and Twitter (X) @wanyanyawalterSend us a Text Message.Do you want to do business in Africa? Explore the vast business opportunities in African markets and increase your success with ETK Group. Connect with us at www.etkgroup.co.uk or reach out via email at info@etkgroup.co.uk

Listen to the Fri. Aug. 23, 2024 special edition of the Pan-African Journal: Worldwide Radio Broadcast hosted by Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire. This episode features our PANW report with dispatches on the Chicago police repression against Palestine solidarity activists outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC); the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is assessing its recently held 44th Annual Summit in the Republic of Zimbabwe; the press in Harare says that the delegations praised Zimbabwe for its progress over the recent period; and a second Memphis police officer has changed his not-guilty plea to federal civil rights charges. In the second and third hours we continue our focus on Black August with reexaminations of the Chicago Freedom Movement of 1966 and the Detroit Rebellion in July 1967.

The funeral of former president of Confederation of African Football Dr Issa Hayatou is taking place today in Garoua, northern Cameroon.Hayatou died aged 77 last week in Paris, where he'd been receiving dialysis for kidney problems.His name was synonymous with African football for nearly three decades.He served as president of Caf from 1988 to 2017.He is credited with expanding Africa's participation at the World Cup and secured the financial security of African football. But he is also criticised by others for hanging onto power- and during his tenure he faced a number of controversial allegations.Presenter: Alan KasujjaGuests: Steve Vickers, Harare-based sports journalist and Amaju Pinnick, former president of Nigeria football Federation (NFF).

Please hit subscribe/follow. And leave a positive comment. Click here to go to our Patreon Page. Click here to save on clothing and home goods. Click here to go to our website Click here for the YouTube video of the Children interview.   Ariel School UFO Incident On 16 September 1994, there was a UFO sighting outside Ruwa, Zimbabwe. Sixty-two pupils at the Ariel School aged between six and twelve said that they saw one or more silver craft descend from the sky and land on a field near their school. Some of the children claimed that one or more creatures dressed all in black then approached and telepathically communicated to them a message with an environmental theme, frightening them and causing them to cry. The Fortean writer Jerome Clark has called the incident the “most remarkable close encounter of the third kind of the 1990s”. Some skeptics have described the incident as one of mass hysteria. Not all the children at the school that day stated that they saw something. Several of those that did maintain that their account of the incident is true.   Background Ruwa is a small agricultural center located 22 kilometers (14 mi) south-east of the capital Harare. At the time of the incident, it was not a town but only a local place-name, "little more than a crossroads in an agricultural region". Ariel School was an expensive private school. Most of the pupils were from wealthy white families in Harare. Two days prior to the incident at Ariel there had been a number of UFO sightings throughout southern Africa. There had been numerous reports of a bright fireball passing through the sky at night. Many people answered ZBC Radio's request to call in and describe what they had seen. Although some witnesses interpreted the fireball as a comet or meteor, it resulted in a wave of UFO mania in Zimbabwe at the time. According to skeptic Brian Dunning, the fireball "had been the re-entry of the Zenit-2 rocket from the Cosmos 2290 satellite launch. The booster broke up into burning streaks as it moved silently across the sky, giving an impressive light show to millions of Africans. “Local UFO researcher Cynthia Hind recorded other alien sightings at this time, including a daylight sighting by a young boy and his mother and a report of alien beings on a road by a trucker.   Incident The sightings at Ariel occurred at 10am on 16 September 1994, when pupils were outside on mid-morning break. The adult faculty at the school were inside having a meeting at the time. The entire incident lasted about fifteen minutes. When the children returned to class, they told the teachers what they had seen but were dismissed. When they returned home, they told their parents. Many of those parents came to the school the next day to discuss what had happened with the faculty.[8] The sighting was reported on ZBC Radio, from where Cynthia Hind learned about it. The BBC's correspondent in Zimbabwe, Tim Leach, visited the school on 19 September to film interviews with pupils and staff. After investigating this incident, Leach stated "I could handle war zones, but I could not handle this". Hind visited the school on 20 September 1994. She interviewed some of the children and asked them to draw pictures of what they had seen. She reported that the children all told her the same story. That November, Harvard University professor of psychiatry and Pulitzer Prize winning author John Mack visited the Ariel school to interview witnesses. Throughout the 1990s Mack had investigated UFO sightings and the alien abduction phenomenon. According to the interviews of Hind, Leach and Mack, 62 children between the ages of six and twelve said that they had seen at least one UFO. One or more silver objects, usually described as discs, appeared in the sky. They then floated down to a field of brush and small trees just outside school property. Between one and four creatures with big eyes and dressed all in black, exited a craft and approached the children. At this point many of the children ran but some, mostly older pupils, stayed and watched the approach. According to Mack's interviews the creature or creatures then telepathically communicated to the children an environmental message, before returning to the craft and flying away. According to Dunning, this telepathic message aspect of the story was not included in Hind or Leach's reports, only Mack's, although Hind reported it later. In Mack's interviews one fifth-grader tells how he was warned "about something that's going to happen," and that "pollution mustn't be". An eleven-year-old girl told Mack "I think they want people to know that we're actually making harm on this world and we mustn't get too technologic." One child said that he was told that the world would end because they are not taking care of the planet. The children were adamant that they had not seen a plane. Hind noted that the different cultural background of the children gave rise to different interpretations of what they had seen and they did not all believe that they had seen extraterrestrials. She noted that some of the children thought the short little beings were tikoloshes, creatures of Shona and Ndebele folklore.