Relationships with Light in Separate Cultures

By Lina Ware

I come from a society in which having light means a lot of things. Light means functionality in the early morning + the late night, security within stores + households, a sense of safety at the end of the day, and much more. At home there are lights in every room, lights on the exterior of my house, and at least 2 street lamps on every block. Not every home in America is like this, but there are always similarities in some shape or form; meaning that to a majority of people within American society, light is associated with security, safety, and efficiency. This relationship between us and light in America can serve both as a freeing aspect-allowing us to perform tasks once the sun’s light is no longer available- but also as a chain. In my lifetime I had never seen the milky way in the night sky with my naked eye due to my constant embrace with light, but now that has changed.

            I have recently spent 3 days and 2 nights living at a homestay with two classmates in a village called Gondeni. This homestay experience had a lot of anticipation surrounding it, as it was expected to be the largest leap from what us students are accustomed to in America; and a leap it was. The homestay in which I lived consisted of a small 3-room house, a kitchen hut, and a hut that serves as a guest room ( a rhondaval).Upon settling in, we realized that If we had not been instructed to bring our flashlights, our only source of light past the sun would’ve been two small lightbulbs -one inside the guest house, one outside- and the cooking fire lovingly tended to by Constance, our homestay mother. To us this was quite different from what we are used to at home, and this difference caused us to struggle with a few things. The lightbulb inside the rhondaval was so faint that it took a lot of rummaging around our luggage to find specific items-a decrease in the efficiency we are used to at home. During the night, we walked around and walked to the latrine in complete darkness (the moon was new during our time here); we knew we were safe in this area, but there were some moments in which I felt vulnerable and exposed in this darkness. This showed me how much I tie my sense of security to being able to constantly see my surroundings, especially with the dangers of being in darkness alone I’ve been taught to fear back at home.

            These “inconveniences” (if you can really call them that) by no means hindered our stay at the homestays, but they still had a minor psychological effect on us. It was when I noticed the comfort and lack of these fears within the children and adults who lived in this village that I realized that they had a very different concept on the necessity of light. In terms of their household metabolism, their efficiency rotates around the sun and their fires at night; at my homestay it is unlikely that you would find someone using artificial light late in the night for the purpose of continuing their work from the day. I respect this idea, once the sun is down and the fire is out, the day is done and work will continue tomorrow. I feel as though our society tries to squeeze out every hour of the day to get that last drop of productivity before going to sleep, many times we will choose productivity over sleeping; a behavior that has proved to be unhealthy for many of our mental states. The children especially have shown me a lack of fear or annoyance since the sun goes down, they will continue playing, talking, and eating until they can no longer see their hands, and that isn’t a negative thing to them. This shows to me the existence of a social connection that does not require the presence of sight, they can feel each other’s presence and share their comfort with each other without all six senses.

In the end, I do not feel that one society’s relationship with light is better than the others. There are complexities that arise in these relationships, both positive and negative, but I think that having lived and observed both of them I can embrace light with a new perspective and have the potential to change my livelihood for the better.

A picture of the ceiling of the rhondaval, door is open to allow outside sunlight.

A picture of the ceiling of a guest room within my house at home.

Changing Ecosystems

By Natalie McManus

Today we left the private game reserve and headed to Lekgalameetse! Being at the private game reserve was a wonderful luxury. I was able to get some of the best sleep there since the trip started and saw many animal interactions that would have been nearly impossible to see in other places. I really enjoyed my experience at the private game reserve, but I was excited to leave for Lekgalameetse. David told us that there was a big change in the ecosystems between the two locations, but I did not fully understand how strongly it changed. While being in and traveling around Kruger the major ecosystem was a savannah. There were grassy plains, short trees, and lots of shrubs. The majority of colors were very tan and brown. Since it is the dry season here in South Africa there is no shortage of dust and very little water. In Lekgalameetse this all changed drastically.

The two photos represent what the ecosystem looked like throughout the majority of the trip.

You can easily tell how dry it is and that a savannah is the dominate ecosystem.

The nature reserve we are staying in at Lekgalameetse is in the middle of tall, rocky mountains! I honestly had no idea that there were mountains like this in South Africa. They are different than the mountains that are in Colorado as there are many more trees and shrubs here which makes it very dense and hard to walk off of the path. It is very moist here and there is a river that is flowing through our camp which you can hear from our cabins. This results in a lot of ferns, mosses, and soggy ground. It kind of reminds me of a mix between the pacific northwest and Colorado!

This image was taken on our drive to Lekgalameetse. You can see the ecosystem start to change to have denser, greener vegetation.

This was taken from inside the nature reserve at Lekgalameetse. You can easily see the differences from being here to being in and around Kruger.

While at Lekgalameetse we have been given a fair amount of free time. This was a widely needed thing as we have been very active and busy for the past weeks. The first day I took this time to go on a walk by myself and journal as a way to recharge. The walk was magical, but the place I stopped to journal was even more stunning. I found a big, accessible rock in the middle of the river. It was surrounded by large rock cliffs that had lots of chemical weathering which resulted in orange, white, and green discolorations. There were vines, shrubs, and even trees growing out of the rocks. The sound of the rushing water and birds chirping gave me a sense of peace and tranquility that I had not felt in a while!

This was the location that I stopped to write in my journal. You can see part of the cliff, but it extended about another 100 meters into the sky with another cliff on the other side of the river.

South Africa in a Nutshell

By Haiven Furbush

6/11/19

Sunset Landing

Radiating light

Through the tiny plane window

The orange Joburg sky

-hsf

6/11/19

Above the Bush

Tall with long necked pride

It can see far beyond us

Tree tops, sun, and sky

-hsf

6/12/19

Jetlagged…

In my bunk I lay

Exhausted from the long day

Dreaming of what’s next

-hsf

6/13/19

Early Sunsets

As winter winds blow

Dust rises and brown leaves fall

Each day ending brief

-hsf

6/14/19

Research

Complex yet simple

Important and very useful

Rigorous with worth

-hsf

6/15/19

Clear Liquid Magnet

From boreholes to streams

Water is where they gather

For peace, strength, and life

-hsf

6/16/19

Sundowners

The light rays shine through

Catching the dust particles

As the sun settles

-hsf 

6/17/19

Bright Moon Reveal

The full moon rises

Exposing each predator

And each prey is safe

-hsf

6/19/19

Silently Loud

This place is quiet

I can hear more than before

Cow bells, birds, whispers

-hsf

6/23/19

Quiet Time in Dotha

Round huts with thatch roofs

Homemade pap with every meal

Bright stars and good nights

-hsf

6/24/19

Constant Opposition

It’s black and white here

Dirty hands or forks and knives

Poor or sickly rich

-hsf

6/26/19

African Forest

Rushing water falls

Tall trees, humid yet crisp air

Loud baboons calling

-hsf

6/27/19

Quick Transitions

From the dusty bush

To the humid forest

To the mountain peaks

-hsf

6/29/19

Black Mambas

Unarmed strong woman

Protecting the animals

For the sake of the youth

-hsf

6/31/19

Final Hours

Time here is ending

But friendships will travel home

Farewell (South) Africa

-hsf

Creepy Crawlers

By Natalie McManus

Today started off weird. I did not sleep well the night before, which made me tired and put me in an anti-social mood for the beginning of the day. Fortunately, by late afternoon my day started to get better, and I was able to get out of my funk. This was largely due to processionary caterpillars that I saw traveling and a termite lecture that was given while on a group walk.

This image shows all of the caterpillars traveling from one tree to the next. Though, since there are a lot of caterpillars in the line, it is almost impossible to see their silk trail.

The processionary caterpillars were traveling in a way that I have never seen caterpillars move. There were 25 of them, and they were crawling in a tight head-to-tail line. In addition to this, each caterpillar seemed to be secreting a silk string out of a glad near their behind. When I saw this, I figured that they were traveling to find food, but I was not sure why they were moving locations the way they were or the purpose of the silk. I perceived that the silk was so they could find their way back to their starting location and that their head-to-tail formation was to not get lost. Luckily, another student on the trip took a time-lapse video that turned out really well, so we were able to ask these questions to Nolan (our teaching assistant). He told us that they were traveling to a new tree to feed off some new leaves, which makes sense! He also told us that they were in a tight line so they looked more intimidating to predators, like birds, and the silk trail was there so that if one caterpillar got lost, they could find their way back to the rest of them. These caterpillars made my day. Right after seeing the caterpillars, we went on a walk where we were taught about termites and I never knew termites were so fascinating! We did not walk very far, maybe 1/3 of a mile, and we were able to see a variety of types of termite mounds including active and abandoned ones. Here are some of my favorite facts that I learned…

1.    The weight of termites in South Africa exceeds that of all the herbivores, including elephants!

2.    Termites are major decomposers and without them it is said that we would be neck deep in dead material… so thank you termites!

Here is an image of a large, active termite mound.

3.    Termites remove dead material and graze down plant material around their mounds, which prevents the mounds from burning during fires. Often there will be fire sensitive trees growing in them that will be protected by the termites.

4.    The way to tell if the termite mound is abandoned is if there are grasses growing on the mound and if there are lots of holes in the sides of the mound. This is because the termites are no longer there to upkeep their mound. 

5.    The inside of termite mounds is very warm and very humid. It reminded me of what summers in Texas felt like which is where I lived for almost 18 years!

These are two examples of abandoned termite mounds. This can be seen by the vegetation growing over the mound (left picture) and the holes going up the side of the mound (right picture).

“The Sixth Sense”

By Wes Wright

Landscapes change as we travel north from Wits Rural Research Facility through the Kruger Park. The scenery is beautiful. Savannahs filled with shrub mopane scattered throughout the landscape whose leaves resemble fall colors that remind me of the fall in Missouri. Beautiful grass that looks like golden wheat that lines the road, colorful birds and plenty of wildlife can be seen. Along the ride animals can be seen in the wild for the first time, time passes and is spent eating snacks, talking, laughing and most importantly, thinking. 

The wind blows through my hair in the back of the Game Drive Vehicle, BMW’s, Audis, Range Rovers, and other luxury vehicles pass by frequently. Realizing the outrageous costs of these vehicles, I become increasingly interested about the demographic of people inside. I quickly notice each luxury vehicle that passes is being driven primarily by white tourists. Occasionally, a “beat down” vehicle passes us. A vehicle that reminds me of my rural hometown of Troy, Missouri. My first vehicle, where I would cheer if it starts on those harsh winter mornings as I drove to school. Wondering if the vehicle would even make it to my destination.

As these vehicles pass, I notice that they are, what I think to be, the workers in the park. These workers are primarily of the black demographic. It seemed every one of them that passes smiles and greets us with kind gestures in passing. These workers are the heartbeat of Kruger, pumping the blood throughout the park so tourists can enjoy the costly experience. While also working incredibly hard for their families and own livelihoods. Contrast to the tourists in the luxury vehicles who often grant a smug smile with a subtle finger wave coming up off the steering wheel. 

I take a step back while we continue our drive north and realize I am a tourist. I saved up money for years to take this trip. I suddenly realize the amount of money I paid for this trip could be more than some of the workers make in an entire year. I also think this amount of money could save villages and some people from problems they endure that involve money: water, food, housing and other basic needs. How was I able to be born in the body suit I was given when I was granted life. My life could be so different.

We cross the northern border of Kruger and experience the villages directly outside of the park. I immediately notice the sharp contrast between social economic statuses, or who has more money. Some houses are brilliant. Often covered by a nice fence, nice shrubs and trees, combed dirt in the yard, vibrant colored, and most importantly finished. Directly next door you will see the frame of a house a quarter of the way done with a family sitting on the steps. Awaiting remittances or money from a different source to finish a basic need, shelter. Locals walk the road. The children smile with beautiful white teeth and wave, coincidentally asking for sweets. The luxury cars are gone. Even the beat down cars pass seldom now. The ones that do pass are often pickup trucks with locals standing crowded and uncomfortable in the back. 

This is my first real experience seeing what is in front of me. The very sharp contrast of the Kruger Park and the communities that lie outside the border. I think about what we take for granted in America. Most have access to food, water and shelter. Thus, allowing for us to have issues and debates on other things. Such as television shows or sports, but what if you had to worry about when you next meal was or when you would have access to clean water? How different would we be? 

I begin to think what is worse. Having everything and not realizing what you have or having nothing and realizing everything you have? One thing seems to dictate. Money. 

Conservation Champions

By Melissa McHale and David Bunn

The world needs conservation leaders that have expertise and skills to navigate the complex linkages between science and society. This past year, the Lincoln Park Zoo and Colorado State University entered into a unique partnership to provide students with this kind of training and experience.

As part of a study and research abroad program called Communities and Conservation, CSU students travelled to the border of Kruger National Park, South Africa, armed with wildlife cameras provided by the Lincoln Park Zoo (Figure 1). In this place we study how legacies of apartheid, poverty, urbanization, and severe water limitations intersect in a world-renowned biodiversity hot spot.

Figure 1 – Kruger National Park is located on the northeastern edge of South Africa, on the border of Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The Communities and Conservation Program travels in a big loop, from the University of the Witswatersrand’s rural research base (Wits Rural Facility), through Kruger, and stops in numerous communities while visiting a variety of game reserves, and conservation facilities.

Despite the daunting challenges presented by this place, its history, and its current socio-economic conditions, there is reason to believe that people and conservation can both thrive. In our work to date, we have found that people living in this region are committed to creating residential landscapes that provide numerous ecosystem services for their communities (Figure 2), while having a potentially positive impact on some local biodiversity (Figure 3). Local plots and gardens, in other words, are providing significant corridors linking biodiversity inside and outside protected areas.

Figure 2 – One of our graduate students, Scot Beck, mapped the tree cover in villages near Wits Rural Facility (the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality), and found that people are planting tree cover that would not otherwise exist in this area.

Figure 3 – Although people often rely on collecting firewood from local communal lands, they are also committed to planting and maintaining biodiversity in their landscapes.

There are many different land-uses in this region that could impact biodiversity and our students were determined to use the cameras for a preliminary analysis of biodiversity and urbanization in the Global South. These emerging conservation leaders set up cameras throughout their three-week journey, covering the world-renowned Kruger National Park, small private game reserves, rural and urbanizing villages, and a range of community-run parks and open spaces (Figure 4).

Figure 4 – CSU students setting up cameras in a game reserves and residential areas in the Greater Kruger National Park social-ecological system.

There were some surprises and trials as well. Our student teams had to negotiate thickets of one of Africa’s thorniest trees, Zizyphus mucronata ( the “wait-a-bit” tree), and of course we had to reposition cameras when we discovered that some of them were missing an entire parade of animals passing alongside down a dry river gully.

In some areas we mostly captured chickens and children – the “wild” life dominating many rural communities (Figure 5).

Figure 5 – Multiple camera shots from one residential yard showed a diversity of visitors, however, not the typical “wildlife” one hopes to capture in a biodiversity study. Yet, the quick and blurry image of an African wildcat passing by in the night was definitely a good catch.

In other places we were able to capture the slow process in which a Giraffe attempts to drink water from a small concrete water hole or the sneaky movements of one of the world’s most endangered species, the African wild dog (Figure 6).

Figure 6

Our wild dog images were especially exciting, because we knew of a breeding pack in the bush nearby but had been unable to see them. Lo and behold, our Bushnell trail cameras picked up evidence of the enigmatic dogs at night, secretly visiting an area right alongside some houses.

Although this first phase of the project may still lack the rigor associated with a tried and tested scientific study, our students came back to the US on a mission to bridge the gap between research and development. To their immense credit, they started a new non-profit at CSU called Pivotal Places. By focusing on increasing the quality of life for communities on the border of conservation areas, we have hope that we can have a positive impact on both people and the environment in a way that supports biodiversity.

Our future champions of conservation are already developing solutions that will benefit both nature and people. The Lincoln Park Zoo and CSU partnership will continue on with a whole new group of motivated students traveling to South Africa this summer. Keep up with our travels on our websites, facebook page and twitter feed – and look out for our next blog!

Acknowledgements – We are honored to work with a host of amazing partners in South Africa including South African National Parks, Wits Rural Facility Management Team, and Tshulu Trust to name a few. And of course, we are grateful to our hardworking students! The 2018 Communities and Conservation team continue to inspire us every day.

By far the most productive cameras were located at Wits Rural Facility – a small game reserve and rural research base for the University of the Witswatersrand. Daily and nightly these cameras received regular visitors. Below are just some of the fun photos we captured. Can you guess the species?

Walking Diamonds

By Lindsay Cocotis

We are a bit farther than halfway into the trip and a lot has been on my mind involving the issues of endangered species. I came here with the perception that elephants were the most rapidly decreasing species here and that they were the most vulnerable to poaching. I have now learned that that is not actually the case and I was very surprised to hear it is actually Rhino that are the most threatened species currently and that it is in fact not even a close comparison at all.

This brought up lots of thoughts and feelings for me, first being confusion for why there is a lack of accurate knowledge back where we live. I’d seen multiple documentaries of elephant poaching and the tusk exchange. However, I’d barely heard anything surrounding the industry for Rhino horns even when their horn has become the most valuable substance in the world?!?! Even before diamonds and cocaine!! That is so crazy to me and not only terrifies me for their existence and how little time the species may have to survive but also for the sanity and perceptions of our modern societies as the reasoning for this is entirely false.

It angers me so much that a Rhino horn is considered such a precious commodity while all the reasoning for its expensive value has been PROVEN to be vastly inaccurate. It is widely believed throughout a multitude of societies that Rhino horn can not only grant you good luck but can also cure anything from hangovers to fatal diseases and/or illnesses.

Each of these claims for Rhino horns have been scientifically proven to be false after numerous studies and it shocks me that the publication of this has yet to influence the industry for the horns. How can people just ignore the facts and be okay with contributing to the annihilation of an entire species?

It disgusts me that even the animal sanctuary we went to earlier on this trip is constantly on red-alert for poachers that could come in and de-horn their Rhinos which then results in the death of these Rhinos either due to blood loss if sedated or simply death upon gunfire. This also then raises the question if the Rhinos are even better off in the sanctuary at all. However, in my opinion, when put into perspective, their chances of survival are much higher in captivity then if they were roaming free in the wild, then being much more accessible to poachers and not to mention predators. At least this way in the sanctuary tourists can benefit for seeing them animals themselves and then hopefully learn to care for the species enough to act themselves to stop practices like this.

Something that also interests me is the idea of the government de-horning the Rhinos around South Africa safely without killing them to then make them less valuable for poachers to attack. However, there are still several disadvantages by doing this. First off, in order to avoid the Rhino dying from blood loss, you would not be able to remove the entire horn due to the fact a small portion of the horn is located underneath the skin rapped in tendons and such and unfortunately even this small amount of Rhino horn is still worth a great deal of money.

Another that specifically hurts my heart is the fact that mother Rhinos use their horn to guide their young as they walk in front of them. Due to baby rhinos being very tempting to predators, they are always seen basically attached to their mother’s side as no predator, even lions, can withstand the strength of an adult rhino, its horn, and its parental wrath. So therefore, if conservationists were to go out and de horn on the rhinos, several aspects of their lifestyle would be tampered with.

Another aspect of the Rhino issue is that, due to their placement on the “Big 5” list of South Africa, any even slightly prestigious game reserve that claims to have all of the Big 5 would then be broadcasting a relatively small area of where they are to the entire public, therefore clear and accessible to poachers. Our group even stayed in a luxurious game reserve during our trip and we weren’t even allowed to post any picture or evidence that we even saw Rhinos there at all. But I couldn’t help thinking, why does that even matter if it is already stated that they have Rhinos there anyways?

All in all, this reality makes me very sad and scared for our future and not to mention, the Rhinos future. However, I want to work to turn this negative energy into motivation to act against this injustice. I believe it is necessary for me and everyone who cares enough for our natural world to do their part to reverse the ill-intentioned human havoc that our species has put on so many other species against their will. I hope with more people standing together and educating the public that soon we can really make a difference.

Colorful Tshambuka

By Kylie Castleberry

I woke this morning under the shade of a runduval. There are sticks forming the tipi shaped roof, but the walls are smooth and white from the clay and dung that comprise the structure. Decorating the interior are beautiful traditional garments with stripped and checkered patterns, all of them equally as colorful. My back ached because I was sleeping on the equivalent of a concrete floor, gently reminding me that only a few days ago was my 27th birthday. The first sounds I heard were the cows. In every direction their deep groans echoed and the bells tightly fastened around their necks were like music for the valley. We started our day slowly, being first greeting by our housemother and the rest of the family before being served tea, bread, jam and fruit. We sat in a circle outside of our runduval, being warmed by the morning sun, and enjoyed our quiet breakfast. The stillness of the morning was something that I knew was only temporary, as soon many of the children of the village would be there, ready to play, laughing, shouting and hanging off our limbs with bright smiles.

After breakfast we sat with our housemother for a bit and talked, somewhat awkwardly as our Venda is anything but fluent. We tried our best though, and that’s all you can do. There were a few moments before we left for the Sangoma, a traditional healer in Venda culture, so we played with the children while we waited. It was then that the family announced that they were going to kill the chicken and asked if one of us would like to do it. In the 16 countries I’ve traveled to, I still have not managed to watch an animal slaughtered in front of me and I felt, for a moment, like this was my time to not only watch, but also to do it myself. It was not until I walked over, the chicken being held down ready for its demise that I knew I couldn’t do it. The task is not one for the faint of heart, and was better equipped for the other member of my group, Hunter. Having grown up in an agricultural community, he knew exactly how to do it—and with great precision. Although I, myself, did not kill the chicken, I was grateful for the family’s hospitality and it was humbling to see the meat distributed to not only us, but also the family members. Not a single piece was wasted.

The remainder of the day was packed full of new experiences. We first journeyed to a neighboring village to see the sangoma, a local healer, who explained to us how she came to her calling, the various herbs that she utilized, and even told the interesting stories behind the hides and skins that lined the wall of her runduval, a place that she explained was sacred. The experience was something new for all of us, but it shed light on the paradox of healing, religion, and community that impact each and every village in Hamakuya.

The final step in our day was an engagement party for two people in the Tshambuka village where we were staying. Before heading to the event, we were dressed by our homestay family in traditional garments called munwenda. Choosing from a pile that was brought into our runduval, a place I was already beginning to see as home, I found it difficult to decide what to wear. It wasn’t until a beautiful gold and black patterned set was brought out that I knew which one I would be wearing. Once dressed, we all made our way to the party and it was a delightful, strange, and unique experience that I absolutely loved. It was something I will never forget. Everyone there was dressed in traditional munwenda as well, their colors as vibrant as a painters pallet with music playing cheerful tunes in-between the plethora of speeches that were being given. If you had asked me I would have assumed it was a wedding, not merely an engagement party due to the extravagant nature of the entire event.

VLOG

By Wes Wright