Parks and People 2013: Full Circle

Part of the 2013 Parks and People group in the field. Photo credit Jan Venter.

Flashback to March 2010, I was 20 years old and about to return to the States after a life-changing experience. Me and 12 other Penn State students traveled to South Africa on a study abroad program called Parks and People. We focused on the interactions between the local communities and the nature reserves. By traveling through South Africa, we had numerous case studies to sink our teeth into. However, the majority of our trip was based at Dwesa/Cwebe in the Eastern Cape Province, in the region know as the former Transkei.

The dominate land use of the former Transkei is substance agriculture and the majority ethic group are the AmaXhosa. How they interact with the protected land is quite complicated. As a undergrad in Wildlife and Fishery Science, I was of the ecology perspective. In real life conservation, one must attempt to balance the biology with the social side. In South Africa, this includes the complex system of land ownership, race dynamics, and the underlying political agenda! So can you can see how Parks and People is still attracting interested students from a variety of majors, three years later!

This year, the students spent two weeks at Mazeppa Bay in the Eastern Cape. One of their case studies was the Manubi Forest. This is a patch of old growth forest with large Yellow wood trees (Podocarpus latifolius). These patches can be compared to islands, as the surrounding matrix is grassland. There are plans in the works to make this forest a nature reserve, and bring in African Buffalo (Syncerus caffer). Some of these animals will be owned by the community, and they would be able to sell the buffalo. One buffalo was recently sold for over 1 million US dollars!

I was brought in with a group of biologists to conduct surveys in the purposed area. We were tasked to do a complete inventory of the frog, dragonfly, snake, skink, mammal, fish, and birds in the area. The information gathered will be used as a baseline data. Three years down the line, these surveys can be repeated and changes can be detected.

Needless to say I had so much fun birding all day for 9 days straight! I did six point counts a day on different transects. I was up at the crack of dawn and soon learned all of the forest robin calls by heart! That Olive Woodpecker call did mix me up at first! I had my bird calls in hand, and my new portable speaker. After the 10 minutes of uninterrupted listening, I would play the bird calls to make sure I had the ID right.

Each trip, I had one or two Penn State students with me, along with two rangers. Everyone was very enthusiastic! One trip we did get lost, but that is what happens when you go bundu bashing through the thick bush with a crappy GPS!

Some highlights from the trip: my first Mangrove Kingfisher, Sanderlings, and the endangered Kloof Frog. This is the furthest south record for this endangered frog, so as a team we witnessed the range expansion of a species! And guess who caught the adult specimens? Yep that was me!

Sanderlings running in and out of the surf.

I also got to literally hang onto a boat during a surf launch. As I sat upfront of this 'rubber duck' holding on to the bars behind my back, I felt like I was being sacrificed to the ocean that was raging before me. I did not fall off, and have gained a great appreciation for ocean vessels!

It was quite sad to leave the group, as I really enjoyed my time with them! I hope that the students soak up this experience and keep that gusto for learning! And who knows, you may find your way back to this amazing place called South Africa!

Cape Longclaw

Sandwich Tern

Kloof Frog. Photo credit Werner Conradie.

Mangrove Kingfisher