The Western Cape agricultural sector faces up to a billion rand in flood damage following two weeks of heavy downpours. Among the disaster risk management crew finding solutions for the sector is an award-winning provincial employee and CST student, Jody Wentzel.
Jody Wentzel receiving the award from the Premier of the Western Cape, Alan Winde
Congratulations to Jody Wentzel who is being celebrated for outstanding public service in the province! Jody is a current student in the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development at the Centre for Sustainability Transitions, and in her professional life, she is the Disaster Risk Reduction Manager at the Western Cape Department of Agriculture.
She received a bronze award in the Best Frontline Service Delivery Employee category at the Western Cape Government Service Excellence Awards (SEA) in May 2023.
The award celebrates individuals who proactively solve complex service delivery problems within their field and who utilise their agency to bring about change within communities.
Jody reflected on this recognition by saying,
“for me, it’s a big thing. This award is for one out of 87,000 employees in the Western Cape. And to receive something like the Best Frontline Service Award, even though it was a Bronze category, was a great achievement. It felt like all the effort, late nights and time away from my family that I put into my work was really recognised and rewarded.”
Jody has 10 years of experience in the agricultural disaster and sustainable resource management sector. In her role at the provincial government, she is responsible for overseeing the implementation of ecological infrastructure projects that enable disaster risk reduction and mitigation efforts, as opposed to only focusing on post-disaster risk support and recovery. Her current focus is working with farmers and other key role players to build a more resilient sector. Both Jody’s professional experience and aspirations for continuing in this critical sector motivated her to apply for the PGDip Sustainable Development in 2022.
Not only a motivated and impactful employee, but Jody is also reaping the benefits of being a student in the Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development programme:
“The reason why the PGDip in Sustainable Development course appealed to me is that I didn’t just want to have a better understanding of how we manage our existing resources, but I wanted to have an outlook on possible scenarios for the ever-changing environment and a more resilient future. That is exactly what the course has done for me. It’s given me a way of looking at and exploring different ways of thinking about development, sustainability and climate change. It has also helped to strengthen my role as a change maker working in the public sector and equipped me for different spaces I might be in in the future. I’m a hundred percent inspired by the course, and I think it aligned with exactly what I was looking for”.
In her work, Jody draws on lessons around systems thinking and collaborative governance that she’s explored through the PGDip. Her commitment to finding sustainable solutions comes at a grave time for the Western Cape agricultural sector that faces up to a billion rand in flood damage. Two weeks of torrential rain has flooded winter crop and fruit tree lands, damaged irrigation and caused massive erosion along riverbanks and water courses. Mitigating risk in uncertain times requires skill, planning and leadership that appreciates complexity.
Equipped with deeper sustainability insight, Jody aims to graduate at the end of 2023. Her experience in the programme and her insights into how it has deepened her professional experience is an inspiration to current and prospective students hoping to contribute to positive change within their communities and professional environments. Congratulations, Jody for this outstanding achievement!