Blog #39 – Calm Before the Storm

After yesterday’s adventures, I decided it might be best for me to walk into work. It was an early start to the day, considering Sunday was normally the day I slept in. We were doing some last minutes preparation and organizing for the training of the Conservation Coaches – the USC volunteer students. Keith was going to be doing the bulk of the training, but the rest of us had our parts and also had arranged different resources for them to read and learn from. I was happy with myself as I had finished all my work previously and was just putting everything together and helping out the others.

The students rolled in around 11 o’clock and we got right into the training. I got to finally hear the official talk of the BPCT – the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust – and all of the amazingly cool things that they are doing. It was really cool hearing Tico talk about all of the different projects and the way that things have changed since he first started here in the bush twenty years ago. One of the coolest projects to me is the BioBoundary project, which is a long term project looking at using semiochemicals (the natural communication chemicals of animals) to control where they go and where they don’t go – basically chemical scent fences. This would drastically reduce the amount of conflict between wildlife and livestock (but most importantly between wildlife and the gun of the livestock’s owner).

After I did my presentation and handed out my resources I was pretty much free for the day. I stepped in and out to hear a little more of what was going on and answer questions when they had them. It was really exciting to have other students my age here and involved with the program. It was really easy to connect with them and understand where they were coming from. It definitely was building my excitement for the program – which kicked off tomorrow!

Ash, of Ashley’s Soccer Camp USA, arrived at midday. He has been helping with the program since it’s beginning – and has been providing professional soccer coaches from the USA and UK to run the skills development aspect of the program since then. It was nice to meet all of the football coaches and the rest of his family that he had brought along for the experience. For the first time since we moved offices, there was a LOT of activity going on. We had close to three dozen people in the office and it was really REALLY energizing!

After eating lunch and then wrapping up the training shortly afterwards, we made a plan to have everyone meet at the Stadium. It gave a little bit of time off for the USC students and some time for the coaches to unpack and settle into their accommodations. We spent from late afternoon up until the sunset learning and practicing all of the different activities that we had planned for the week as well as getting to know everyone a bit better. It was invigorating to get onto the soccer field and I was getting giddy with excitement. This was what my summer was all about, this is what all of my school visits and logistics planning was for – it was so close and I couldn’t wait!

For the week’s program there would be three conservation facilitators – Keith, Carley and me. We would be the one’s responsible for all of the conservation curriculum and activities – with each of us working with 6 schools per day. To try and get on the same page and develop a strategy for the week, now that we knew more about the people we had with us, we decided to have dinner together.

Lesley had us over to her house – the first time I have ever been there. She lives surprisingly close to the stadium in a house that Tico and her had built themselves four or five years ago. Tico had made dinner for everyone while we had stayed late at the Stadium. It was very family-isque, sitting down together for a meal and conversation. After dinner we talked all about the program, assigned the coaches to school and planned out the seemingly never-end list of logistical to-dos for tomorrow morning. It took a good chunk of time, and we were going to have a early morning, but everything seemed to be well planned for and taken care of, so we got to enjoy the final sets of the Wimbledon tennis men’s final – it was funny to be watching the sporting event here in Maun, Botswana of all places. Oh, but by far my favourite part of the evening was that Lesley’s baked fresh delicious peanut butter brownies – nothing like chocolate and peanut butter to end an amazing day!

I can’t wait for tomorrow – it feels like Christmas Eve as a child. Hey, who I am I kidding - It just feels like Christmas Eve.