Understanding the conservation of the Cheetahs and the survival of the biodiversity of the area, depends on understanding what and how the Cheetahs eat. Our students gathered first hand experience with this during their work at CCF.
Month: June 2015
Research Begins in Full
After months of preparation (and two weeks of full time learning) behind them, the students began their intensive research upon arrival at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Chan is focusing on conservation education in the area, Price and Willis are studying the biodiversity of the region's animals, and Anna and Parker are researching bush encroachment on native plant species. The students are well prepared for this in-depth research gathering during their four day stay at the research center at CCF. They will also spend a week in the classroom upon their return to U.S. finalizing and writing up their research for their final presentations on July 2nd.
Learn more about research initiatives at CCF here.
Our students hard at work.
Learn more about research initiatives at CCF here.
Our students hard at work.
Research Begins in Full
After months of preparation (and two weeks of full time learning) behind them, the students began their intensive research upon arrival at the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Chan is focusing on conservation education in the area, Price and Willis are studying the biodiversity of the region's animals, and Anna and Parker are researching bush encroachment on native plant species. The students are well prepared for this in-depth research gathering during their four day stay at the research center at CCF. They will also spend a week in the classroom upon their return to U.S. finalizing and writing up their research for their final presentations on July 2nd.
Learn more about research initiatives at CCF here.
Our students hard at work.
Learn more about research initiatives at CCF here.
Our students hard at work.
Etosha National Park
The group has been immersed in learning about the animals, birds, and eco system of Etosha National Park located in Northern Namibia.
The students have been lucky enough to encounter many different species. They are spending three nights camping in the park with their knowledgeable local guides who are experts on the wildlife. This full immersion allows the students to study the animals in a variety of conditions, including in the middle of the night at the watering hole. The group has spent a lot of time learning about the elephants of Etosha.
Etosha is also home to an incredibly large salt pan (5,000 square kilometers). The salt "pan" or flat calcrete depression is a very unique environment and supports a great deal of plant, animal and bird life. It also makes for fun photos of our group.
Learn more about Etosha National Park here.
Etosha National Park
The group has been immersed in learning about the animals, birds, and eco system of Etosha National Park located in Northern Namibia.
The students have been lucky enough to encounter many different species. They are spending three nights camping in the park with their knowledgeable local guides who are experts on the wildlife. This full immersion allows the students to study the animals in a variety of conditions, including in the middle of the night at the watering hole. The group has spent a lot of time learning about the elephants of Etosha.
Etosha is also home to an incredibly large salt pan (5,000 square kilometers). The salt "pan" or flat calcrete depression is a very unique environment and supports a great deal of plant, animal and bird life. It also makes for fun photos of our group.
Learn more about Etosha National Park here.
The Cheetahs!
The group spent time visiting the cheetah conservation organization,, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and learning about the cheetah's endangerment. They also got to get close and personal with some cubs and other tame cheetahs.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund's vision is "to see a world in which the cheetahs live and flourish in co-existence with people and the environment." Learn more about our partner organization at www.cheetah.org
The Cheetah Conservation Fund's vision is "to see a world in which the cheetahs live and flourish in co-existence with people and the environment." Learn more about our partner organization at www.cheetah.org
The Cheetahs!
The group spent time visiting the cheetah conservation organization,, the Cheetah Conservation Fund and learning about the cheetah's endangerment. They also got to get close and personal with some cubs and other tame cheetahs.
The Cheetah Conservation Fund's vision is "to see a world in which the cheetahs live and flourish in co-existence with people and the environment." Learn more about our partner organization at www.cheetah.org
The Cheetah Conservation Fund's vision is "to see a world in which the cheetahs live and flourish in co-existence with people and the environment." Learn more about our partner organization at www.cheetah.org
Visiting a Himba Village
Through the online portion of the course, students have studied the history and diverse cultures of Namibia. Although the focus of the course is scientific and on the wildlife conservation efforts in Namibia, understanding the historical and cultural context of the area in which the cheetahs live is essential.
The group visited a village of the Himba tribe, the last semi-nomdic people in Namibia. They have worked hard to preserve their traditional culture and way of life (including traditional dress). Despite economic hardship and limited access to education, the Himba chiefs have successfully fought deforestation and proposed flooding of their land for hydro-electric dam construction over the last 10 years.
The students were able to meet with Himba families, learn from participating in some daily chores such as corn-shucking, and visit the local school. The students brought gifts of school supplies to offer in thanks for helping our group learn so much about life in the area.
Learn more about the Himba people here.
The group visited a village of the Himba tribe, the last semi-nomdic people in Namibia. They have worked hard to preserve their traditional culture and way of life (including traditional dress). Despite economic hardship and limited access to education, the Himba chiefs have successfully fought deforestation and proposed flooding of their land for hydro-electric dam construction over the last 10 years.
The students were able to meet with Himba families, learn from participating in some daily chores such as corn-shucking, and visit the local school. The students brought gifts of school supplies to offer in thanks for helping our group learn so much about life in the area.
Learn more about the Himba people here.
Visiting a Himba Village
Through the online portion of the course, students have studied the history and diverse cultures of Namibia. Although the focus of the course is scientific and on the wildlife conservation efforts in Namibia, understanding the historical and cultural context of the area in which the cheetahs live is essential.
The group visited a village of the Himba tribe, the last semi-nomdic people in Namibia. They have worked hard to preserve their traditional culture and way of life (including traditional dress). Despite economic hardship and limited access to education, the Himba chiefs have successfully fought deforestation and proposed flooding of their land for hydro-electric dam construction over the last 10 years.
The students were able to meet with Himba families, learn from participating in some daily chores such as corn-shucking, and visit the local school. The students brought gifts of school supplies to offer in thanks for helping our group learn so much about life in the area.
Learn more about the Himba people here.
The group visited a village of the Himba tribe, the last semi-nomdic people in Namibia. They have worked hard to preserve their traditional culture and way of life (including traditional dress). Despite economic hardship and limited access to education, the Himba chiefs have successfully fought deforestation and proposed flooding of their land for hydro-electric dam construction over the last 10 years.
The students were able to meet with Himba families, learn from participating in some daily chores such as corn-shucking, and visit the local school. The students brought gifts of school supplies to offer in thanks for helping our group learn so much about life in the area.
Learn more about the Himba people here.
Hanging with the girls
Today we visited the girls at La Yahoska for the second time this week. However, today only the girls went to visit while the guys went to La Finca. The girls were definitely more reserved than the boys, but today they came out of their shells and were more animated when it was just girls coming to play with them. Right when I walked in carrying a brand new basketball, an energetic girl named Darling grabbed my hand and we ran over to their basketball court that is on their property. This was espcially fun for me because it was a new way for me to communicate with them since I don’t know any spanish. We played “caballo,” which was the basketball game called “horse” in spanish. It was one of my favorite moments of the trip thus far, and it was fun to see the girls come out of their shells a little bit more. The day was filled with games and hair braiding with the girls, playing with Geoffrey and exploring the property of La Finca with Julian, and losing a salsa dancing competition with Henry, and it was tiring but one of the best days yet. I’ve loved how my language barrier with the kids has seemed mostly non existent and I’m glad that there have been a multitude of ways that I have been able to connect and bond with all of the kids at La Yahoska and La Finca.-AB
When we arrived at the La Yahoska this morning, we were immediately greeted by a group of girls who wanted to read a book with us. Although we did not know a lot of the words, they were extremely patient and described the definitions of each unknown word, so that we were able to follow the plot. Their endless patience with us was particularly surprising to me because I probably would have started getting annoyed within a few sentences. Afterwards, the girls had a hair braiding party with us, which mostly consisted in them commenting on how we needed to comb our hair or dying it with large quantities of chalk. My favorite part of the day was that although the girls were more subdued than the boys, they really started to get comfortable with us and were a lot more lively today. It was cool how in just a day, they went from barely speaking to us to playing games and joking around with us.
-Chelsea
