Buying out the store at REI

It's so much fun to buy things for my expedition! Even though there are still a couple of months before my trip, I used birthday money a couple of weeks ago to go on a shopping spree at REI. Because I like doing outdoor activities like hiking and camping, I have a lot of the gear I'll need already, but there were somethings that I either need more of, need to replace, or need to buy for the first time. A month or so ago, I made an REI gift registry so that I could keep track of the things I wanted to buy. There isn't really a "wish list" option on REI.com, so the gift registry worked well, and then other people could see it, too. If you'd like to see the kinds of things that I need to take with me, you can check out the gift registry at here. Anyway, everything I ordered came in to the Hingham store (I ordered online and had it shipped to the store...I love that option!) on Thursday, and I was so excited to pick it all up. I bought a new daypack, which is a little smaller than I expected. That's probably a good thing; the L.L. Bean backpack that I have is large and heavy, and might be uncomfortable to lug around all day in Kenya. I also got a new pair of hiking pants; I'll need a couple of pairs of pants for field work, and these can convert to shorts when I'm back at the Earthwatch compound. I also bought a lot of small things, like a new Nalgene water bottle, a small tripod for my camera, a digital camera card, biodegradable soap, sunscreen to protect me from the Equatorial sun, bugspray to keep away the malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and a big sun hat. I also bought some new light hiking socks...I'm still not sure how comfortable wool socks will be in Kenya, but I need good socks if I'm going to wear my hiking boots all day to protect me from snakes. I can't wait to test out some of my new gear, like the daypack and pants, on the Adventure Club hiking trip in a couple of weeks! Maybe I'll bring along the pocket survival kit that my brother bought me, too; I think he's afraid I'm going to get lost in the savannah! In any case, I think it's a good thing that I will need to use some of my new purchases before July, because otherwise I would be tempted to start packing already, which would be just a bit ridiculous. :)

"Meeting" Fellow Travelers

I needed a break from grading World Tour rough drafts, so I thought I would write about how I have heard from some of my fellow travelers by email this week. I have had emails from 2 other Massachusetts teachers who will be on the trip with me in July. Liz Crane teaches high school biology in Brookline and Cheryl Sanderson teachers third grade in Lynnfield. It makes it a little less nervewracking to go into this having a bit of an acquaintance with some of the other people on the expedition, even though I'm usually pretty good at meeting new people. We're hoping to meet before we all head to Kenya, and we are making plans to eat at the famous Carnivore restaurant on the night that we return to Nairobi (the capital of Kenya) from Samburu. The Carnivore has been named one of the top 50 restaurants in the world, and it sounds really amazing. I have been wanting to eat there ever since I started researching Kenya in February. Actually, it was this picture that made me want to eat there:

I came across this on a travel website (http://www.world66.com/africa/kenya/nairobi/eatingout/carnivore) and thought it sounded like fun. I'm really glad that I won't have to be eating there alone! There is something about the idea of eating meat cut off of Maasai spears that just sounds really cool! You can see the official restaurant website at http://www.tamarind.co.ke/carnivore/index.php if you want more information. I'll let you know how it was when I come back...hopefully I'll have some interesting stories about trying meats like giraffe or crocodile!

Map

I can't help it, I'm a geography teacher! I have to include some maps of where I will be in Kenya.

Expedition Basics

Before I decided to do this as a blog, I started creating a website that I could use to share my experiences. I thought it might be useful to share some of the information from my draft of that website here, so that people can get an idea of what the whole thing is all about.

What is Earthwatch?

As a science-based organization operating in more than 50 countries worldwide, Earthwatch’s mission is to engage the public in scientific field research and education in order to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment. Earthwatch Institute is one of the largest private supporters of critical field research. Through Earthwatch, the public has an opportunity to become directly involved in the research process. It is hoped that this involvement will lead to a greater understanding of a need for conservation efforts around the world.

Earthwatch expeditions are lead by researchers who are highly respected scientists in their fields. Volunteers assist these researchers in the field in a variety of ways, depending on the project. Researchers and volunteers work and live together at field sites in some of the most amazing locations in the world.

For more information on Earthwatch Institute, visit the website at http://www.blogger.com/www.earthwatch.org.

What is the Kenya expedition?

The expedition I’ll be participating on is one of Earthwatch’s Conservation Research Initiatives. The program is called Samburu Wildlife and Communities. The goal of this project is to work with the local people of the Samburu- Laikipia region to assess the use of land and develop sustainable conservation strategies. Researchers study wildlife like Grevy’s zebras, carnivores like lions, water resources, and human land-use to find out where people and nature are in conflict. These studies can then help the local pastoralists better manage and protect the land and the incredible wildlife of the region. Earthwatch’s programs in the region work out of 2 locations: Wamba in the unprotected Samburu area and the protected area of Lewa.

I will be part of Team 13, which will be participating in 2 research programs at the Wamba site. The first is the Carnivores in Conflict program; the second is Communities, Water, and Wildlife. The Carnivores in Conflict program studies how large predators in the Samburu region interact with livestock and humans. By tracking animals with VHF collars and motion sensor cameras and surveying local communities about the killing of livestock by different predators, researchers hope to help local herders find ways to best protect their animals from predator attacks. The carnivores studied are mostly cheetahs, lions, leopards, and hyenas. The second program—Communities, Water, and Wildlife—studies the water resources in the Samburu region. Most of this region has an arid or semi-arid climate, so water is a limited resource. Humans, livestock, and wildlife are all in competition for this resource, which makes water the most important resource in the area. Researchers use GPS devices to map water sources, try to estimate the amount of water available at different times of the year, and test the water to find its chemical make up and how safe the water is for humans and animals to use.

For information about the Conservation Research Initiative in Samburu, click here.

How did I get involved?

I’d heard of Earthwatch before, because they were involved in research in Madagascar while I was in the Peace Corps there. However, I had no idea that Earthwatch provided opportunities to teachers until Mr. Wachtelhausen went to Iceland on an Earthwatch expedition last summer. He told me about the Education Fellowship program and encouraged me to look at the expeditions available. As luck would have it, there were a bunch of expeditions that seemed to fit the World Geography curriculum at HMS. I filled out an application (I had to write 2 essays and get letters of recommendation from Mr. Boddie and Mr. Kirkcaldy), and in February I found out that I had been awarded a fellowship. Through a grant from the Sheehan Family Foundation, Earthwatch is able to give me a fellowship that will cover the cost of the expedition to Kenya. In exchange, I will keep a journal, write a lesson plan, take pictures on the expedition, and write press releases before and after the expedition.

Introducing my students to Kenya

When I found out about my Earthwatch Education Fellowship in February, I immediately told all of my students, but it was only last week that I really had a chance to really show them all the kinds of things that I might see and do in Kenya. I had been able to talk to a few students about it on the last Science Explorers trip (we saw lots of stuffed animals at the museum), but I think quite a few of my students actually forgot about my big announcement between February and April. In order to remind them, I decided to borrow a video from the science department last week, because everyone needed a break from the World Tour project anyway. All of my classes except one have now seen the video "Africa: The Serengeti," which is an amazing IMAX film about the Serengeti, especially focused on the annual wildebeest migrations. The Serengeti isn't exactly where I'm going, but it's very close. The movie was amazing, and it really kicked up my excitement level again. With three months still to go before my trip, I was feeling a little bit in limbo and my excitement level was sort of in the background of everything else going on in my life. Watching this video with the students really helped me get excited again, because they were so excited by it. I now have lists of questions to try to answer and lists of animals that I must photograph for my students. Lions, zebras, and giraffes seem to top the list. I'll have to set up a photo site linked to this blog so that everyone can see my pictures when I come back. I hope to have some more time to talk to them all about Kenya between now and the end of the year, but at the very least, this blog should be a way for me to share with them some of what I have learned, since they will have moved on to 8th grade by the time I come back.
I bought a journal this weekend to take to Kenya with me (Earthwatch provides one that teachers are supposed to use, but I know that I will fill it up far too quickly!), so I will try to start writing in that and then transfer any relevant thoughts to this blog. I think that should work well as a way to share the experience.

Getting Ready for Kenya

As a 7th grade World Geography teacher at Hingham Middle School in Hingham, MA, I have been awarded a Education Fellowship from Earthwatch, so I get to go to Kenya this summer! I will be a volunteer with Earthwatch's Conservation Research Intiative in the Samburu region. What an adventure! As I prepare for my trip, I'll try to write about what I have to do before I leave so that I can share the experience with my students and with my friends and family. After my trip, I'll fill you all in on everything I did! I will, of course, include pictures as well, and I'm planning to set up an online photo album so that I can share all those photos I'm sure I will take. (After all, I already have orders from several students about what animals I MUST photograph for them!) Wish me luck!