Here it is, June 1! It’s hard to believe we’ve been here for almost a month. We have been keeping busy, both with our own projects and other things. Today is a national holiday, so things are pretty quiet at the center as all of the staff have the day off.
Some highlights from the last week:
Bird ringing at Gede Ruins: We set up the nets on last Wednesday night, and then woke up at 4:30 for the next two mornings to see if we could record any Spotted Ground Thrushes, which are highly endangered in this area. We finished up around 11am both days. Unfortunately, we didn’t get any Spotted Ground Thrushes, but we got some other cool birds (everything is so much more colourful here!) as well as a Little Sparrow Hawk, which is quite unusual. No one wanted to get near those claws!
Blogging! Not just this one, I have started working with Bimbo, a fellow who works full-time with ASSETS, to start updating their blog, which was sorely neglected! ASSETS is a really cool program, recognizing that since most of the forest damage had been occurring when people would make charcoal to pay for their children’s school fees, it made sense to start an eco-tourism scheme that would allow children to go to school as a result of conserving cool habitats. Feel free to check out the blog: http://assets.wildlifedirect.org/ which also has links to the main ASSETS website.
Nature Trail: This has been Dave’s main project, and I’ve been helping: monitoring 15 species of indigenous trees along an interpretive trail here. He’s also been working to get some more information put together for people who come to visit, as well as upgrading the benches and amenities—in this climate, wood begins to rot almost instantly.
It’s definitely interesting working as a volunteer, as there is always so much that needs doing, yet we have a lot of flexibility if we want it.
Things I’m looking forward to:
Safari! We are going on an overnight safari with Nat and Laura, two of the other volunteers here, this weekend. It should be pretty amazing, we are going to Tsavo East Park and I am hoping we will see lots of animals that I have only ever seen in pictures! Our guide will be Albert, an A Rocha employee who has a guiding business on the side. He knows so much about the natural world around here, so I am really glad we can go with someone we know!
Our first anniversary is on June 12th, which is coming up soon! Hopefully we can get out for a nice meal or something J
Well, its 10am and already quite warm today, so I think I’m going to head out for a swim!
Hannah
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