Nature Skills: July Monthly Overview
We have a strong belief that the kids we work with, who have so much going against them, need a massive helping hand when it comes to what is attainable for them and their futures. We aim to give them the opportunity to try their best, gain confidence through hands-on experience, and to become the very best they can be in whatever they pursue in their futures.
Since July, we have been implementing a weekly get together with the older boys (who have shown an interest in pursuing a possible career in wildlife conservation) so that we can mentor them through some of the general theory that one must have a good grasp on if you want to be a field/safari guide or something similar. We are happy to report that they have taken quite well to the material we have curated for them to work through. We also went ahead and purchased them each a little book that they can do homework in. This is a little overview from the first month of what we have been mentoring and how things are going for our “nature guys”.
Week one.
We needed to know what observational skills these lads had, so we put together a simple I.D lesson of all of the animals that would be seen on Kuzuko property. It included common game like Impala, Springbok, Giraffe, and Wildebeest, as well as some of the bigger game found on the African continent like Lions, Elephant, Cheetah, Rhino and Buffalo. There were many, many animals to go over!
The first lesson was lighthearted and we wanted to gauge the ability of the boys to differentiate between species, we also wanted to see the general knowledge they have about the animals in this country. It went really well, there were some instances where they would become confused between animals that look really similar like an Impala and a Springbok and a Steenbok etc, but spending a little time with each image they were able to point out the noticeable differences between each animal. We keep these lessons visual and practical, as some kids do have some learning struggles. But it was clear that this method of visual and practical implication was perfect for the boys. They showed huge promise and are clearly highly intelligent.
Home work.
We asked them to answer the followed questions for homework:
What is your favourite animal?
2. Provide an interesting fact about that animal.
3. Draw out the tracks of the animal
4. Are any the differences between male and female?
We also asked them to provide all the names of the animals we discussed in their home language Xhosa.
After all was said and done and the hot chocolate drinks were done we were all happy with the results of the day.
Week two.
Like every lesson, we started with hot chocolates for all.
For this session we did a quick recap of the id challenge we did the previous week as well as some wild card bird I.D and excluding the surprise birds on the list they were noticeably more comfortable and confident this time around. We then moved into more observational skills and tips for identifying key behavioural indicators that are found on animal faces and bodies, they now have a basic understand of how to tell if an animal is Diurnal, Nocturnal, or Crepuscular from simple observation of features on an animals face as well as the different forms of camouflage that can be found in nature and what they mimic. We also went through the ways to differentiate between a black and a white rhino, and no it’s not the colour.
We ended off the lesson with a little game called spot the Leopard, the boys did not do well finding the sneaky feline in the pictures:)
Homework.
We asked them to
1.Draw a few different forms of camouflage
2. What is Nocturnal and Diurnal
3. Write down the different features of a Diurnal and Nocturnal animal.
Week three.
This week we focused on an important skill that everyone that works with wild animals needs to master. Tracking is a fundamental and useful skill that they need to get a good grasp on if they choose to follow a career in the industry.
We discussed differences between cats and dog tracks and some tips for easy ID on them. We went through all of the big 5 tracks and how many toes each posses. The guys gained an understanding of some new terminology like even and odd toed ungulates. And we went through all of the basic antelope tracks, as well as monkey, baboon, zebra, giraffe, and hyenas.
The boys have all enjoyed the art of tracking thus far, and it has been amazing to see the keen observational skills they naturally possess.
Homework.
We drew out a generic cat and dog track for each of them and they had to explain the visual differences between cat and dog tracks, and they also had to draw and explain differences between black and white rhino tracks.
Week four.
The final week before the big trip to Kuzuku. The boys had worked so hard on all their lessons, and they were getting very excited to take all their new knowledge and skills we had been working to Kuzuku Private Game Reserve to put it all to the test practically.
This week we worked out observing and properly responding to wildlife behaviour. This was extremely important, as animals give visual signs and make audible sounds that can be crucial to safely viewing them in the wild. We went over the majority of animal sounds that can be heard on game reserves, what the calls meant, like alarm calls and warning calls.
We went over different animal expressions and what they mean.
How to safely approach and respond in different situations involving wildlife.
And we showed them videos on poorly handled situations where people wrongly approached or stressed out wild animals and how the animals responded and gave them plenty of warning to back off.
This was a very good lesson, and it was good for the boys to start learning how to understand animal behaviour and what the proper procedures are in tense wildlife situations.
The only homework they had this week was a packing list for the big trip ahead!
