Both Rhodes University and the South African Journal of Science celebrate their 120th anniversary in 2024, marking their significant contributions to the scholarly community. Questions about who is involved in scientific research, and who the research is for, come into sharp focus as South Africa also celebrates its 30th year of democracy. Although ‘science engagement’ often refers to how the public learns about and interacts with scientific research, ‘engaged science’ is about how communities can become involved in crafting the agenda and development of scientific research itself. This becomes ever more important in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), where the nexus between people and nature is central to creating meaningful and long-lasting change for the health of communities and the planet.