Semuliki National Park with 14 schools

Semuliki National Park and Reserve

1-2 Oct 2011

Disney Grant Field Trip

30 teachers, 5 staff

This was another one of those “right place, right time” deals. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to help organize and attend a conservation field trip to Semuliki National Park and Reserve with 30 teachers from our 14 Kasiisi Project schools. Traveling for pleasure is not exactly a common thing for Ugandans.  Most have never left their community, or seen other parts of their country, let alone Kibale Forest which is essentially their backyard.  How can we expect teachers to talk about “conservation” and “the environment” if they have not experienced it for themselves? The Kasiisi Project and Disney World Conservation Fund collaborated to bring 30 teachers on 2 field trips per year to National Parks within Uganda for 3 years -- a total of 90 teachers.  In return, the teachers are expected to share their experience with their students so that they can also learn more about the natural ecosystems of their country.

We began by asking all teachers to meet us in Fort Portal town by 7:30am.  This is not usually a simple task, as no one has private transport, but rather public; a boda (motorcycle) is the main option in the rural areas of Uganda.  Have you heard of Africa Time?  If I were to plan for a meeting at 3pm, people would most likely arrive at 5pm. Unlike the hustle and bustle of Western Time, Africa doesn’t seem to hustle anywhere.  But Uganda is a bit different. I actually quite enjoy Ugandan pace until I really have things to get done, like take 30 teachers on a field trip with a 4-hour drive ahead of us in steep terrain with construction during the rainy season. Well, phew, everyone arrived on time and we actually started our trip ahead of schedule!  But we had a packed bus!

Cans of petrol going to DR Congo

Believe it or not, the entire weekend ran smoothly. Call it a miracle…or maybe that Uganda has, for the past 7 months, proven to me to be the easiest African country to work in. I have only worked in two other countries to really be able to say that (Zambia and South Africa), but from what I gather from friends in Malawi, Cape Verde, Tanzania, Demo Rep Congo, and Ghana, Uganda is easy. Perhaps that’s why I don’t feel burnt out after being here, and I would like to come back next year.

Here are some interesting facts about Semuliki National Park and Reserve:

·        The area is surrounded by the Albertine Rift to the west, Rwenzori foothills to the south, Lake Albert to the north, and Semuliki River along border with Democratic Republic of Congo.

·        There are two geographic regions with different ecology: marshes and moist woodland, and savanna in the Reserve, then lowland jungle protected within the National Park.

·        RESERVE:

·        Uganda’s oldest wildlife reserve, gazette in 1932, but most damaged

·        545 square km

·        There used to be 10,000 Ugandan kob, plus thousands of hartebeest, waterbuck, elephant and hippo, and the reserve was known for its lions, but all animal life was heavily poached during the civil war and continued. The populations didn’t start to recover until 1997 when a lodge was built. The kob population went down to 1000 in 1990’s and is now supposedly ~8000. Buffalo were at 50, now 1000. There is only one pride of lions, and elephants are very uncommon.

·        BUT this reserve is known for the only animals that can get away from humans efficiently – birds. There are 350-400 species.

·        NATIONAL PARK:

·        220 square km

·        Gazetted 1993 (was called Bwamba Forest)

·        It has similar species of animals as in Congo Basin

·        300 butterflies; 46 species swallowtail (75% of national total). 235 moth species.

·        435 birds, with 45 that occur nowhere else in Uganda

·        Sempaya Hot Springs are awesome, like a mini Old Faithful

The drive was fine for those who don’t have sensitivities to height.  We were driving over mountainous terrain towards DR Congo to reach the western area of Uganda where the rainforest connects to DR Congo.  Many days in the past, rebels hung out here, but right now things are fine, I promise you, Mom and Dad. But we were driving in construction on cliffs.  So some teachers were uncomfortable but in awe at the same time. The Chinese and Japanese have taken over the roads in Uganda (and most of Africa), you know those Caterpillar-like ginormous machines are made by Volvo here. My nephew Charlie would have been in heaven.

The first stop was to Sempaya Hot Springs. It was a very scenic walk through a swampy forest and then a grassy area but the sun was hot and direct, a change from Kibale where it is shady and wet.  The local tradition named one hot spring The Male, and another The Female.  As you would imagine, only men could celebrate and do spiritual things at the Male hot spring, while the women were at the Female Hot Spring.  You could see the experiences on the faces of all the attendees, especially when they put their fingers into the 106F water and splashed it on their faces. Everyone had heard that you can boil eggs in that water and that it smells bad; in fact one person said they should have brought eggs!  The environment was so beautiful - a mountain of lush forest meets swampy grassland, with froggies.

Dinner was in the fishing village. Our delicious traditional meal was served in a local bar with so much food you didn’t have to eat for a day. It was made by a woman who owns a motel where all the teachers slept for the night.  Fishing villages are extremely interesting to me.  Without trying sound judgmental, fishing is their main income, fishing happens at night, you’ll see during the day men drinking at 8am and gambling, because their day has ended and they have money in their pockets from selling the fish they had just caught.  This also means the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in these communities are the highest in Africa, although I don’t know the real answer can I at least hypothesize that it is because of the night life and not much other income? After dinner I went back to the UWA bandas with the other staff, Francis - my Wildlife Club counterpart, Mathew – Ugandan Assistant Field Director, and Ronan – Caroline’s husband, a biologist and awesome photographer.  We didn’t stay to drink with the locals, we were tired from the long day, though it would have been interesting. We were even surprised that the club music didn’t blast all night, we got really lucky, according to Ronan who has stayed here two times.

Lake Albert, as is the story for most Lakes these days, is over fished.  The government just came in recently and burned 70-something nets that were being used illegally – the holes in the nets were too small and they were catching fish of all sizes including all the little ones.  The community was not happy with the government. This particular community, located directly on stunning Lake Albert has been targeted by NGOs involved in alternative income generating activities.  We visited and got a lecture by a man who runs a poultry farm next to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) bandas. But I noticed they feed the ducks and chickens small fish and crustaceans by the bagfuls.  I don’t know, is there ever an answer?

Lake Albert is shared with DR Congo.  Boats and ferries travel back and forth at all hours of the day and night; a constant trade of everything happens here.  I was told if I want to go to DR Congo all I have to do is get a signature and letter from the chancellor that says I am visiting a friend for 1-2 weeks.  The Visa is supposed to cost $250 in DR Congo, but a signature would get me in for free. Though it must not be that easy or safe.  Just imagine all the bush meat and ivory I could bring in!  Along with transfer of goods is transfer of people and therefore, languages: Rutooro, Luganda, other Ugandan local languages, Swahili, whatever they have in DR Congo, some English, the list goes on. It’s very interesting, anything goes, especially body language.

If you are wondering if I ever get scared or feel uncomfortable in all the weird situations I put myself in, the answer is no.   But I do have eyes in the back of my head.  Uganda does not give me the heebie-geebies like some places. But every once in a while there is a silly incident that sometimes might anger me, and that was our visit to the market in the fishing village.  A drunk man came up to me to give me one of those high-fives with a closed fist – kinda funny so I was laughing. But as my arm was up he swooped in to hug me, and then dry-humped me while talking in one of the many local languages here, while the onlookers (not the people in my group) giggled.  Sometimes it’s actually hard not to laugh, but luckily I didn’t feel like slapping him because I probably would have.

The second main activity of the weekend was a boat ride on Lake Albert to see the rare shoebill stork in its natural habitat, which of course is dwindling and the birds are disturbed and the eggs stolen and there are only 11 individuals left in this area.  Same, same, same story.  A few disturbances that come to mind: invasive water hyacinth is suffocating the lake and the grassland where the storks try to makes nests in privacy, our tour boats get too close to the birds and they fly away from us every time, the eggs are stolen for possible rearing and most likely a delicacy…  But it was wonderful to see these birds - fantastic animals!

 

Now, that was the best part, but getting Ugandans on the boat was another story. Four out of 30 refused to go because of their fear of water, despite us having life jackets and the lake surface looking like glass.  Others got into the boat while praying and still others were comfortable. We respected everyone’s choices, but I felt bad for those that stayed behind and didn’t have the experience, including my counterpart, Francis, who Mathew was teasing for the rest of the trip for being a coward! They are like brothers, these two.

The weather really allowed us an enjoyable, safe time because it never rained except during the night for a short period.  Has the roads on the cliff been messy, we would have delayed our trip. Had it been stormy in the morning we wouldn’t have done the boat ride.  Thank you sun!

It was great getting to know the teachers at the various 14 schools and watching them enjoy new experiences.  Semuliki is stunning and very different, and I enjoyed the trip tremendously. Thank you, Disney, for the opportunity to learn more about Uganda’s resources.

Life between Kibale NP and Kampala Capital

                                                                   29 Sept 2011

As I sit here in my comfortable room and watch/look through my window, a green field with green trees and green Rwenzori Mountains of Western Uganda, I wait for the morning rains to halt.  I have completed everything I possibly can on the computer without internet. I’d have to sit in the rain in order for my Orange stick to work to access the internet; I’m not in the mood for that this morning, and I am lucky I have nothing of too much importance to complete.  But the electricity is on, I have been able to heat 2 kettles of water for a warm bath (which I really needed) and lots of tea (you know, the electric British kind of kettle – much more efficient I must say), and a hornbill just landed near my window to feed on the insects near the porch light from last night.

Life in Kibale is simple and wonderful.  Other than dusty bodacycle rides which are still fun, it is nice to see the change in seasons, from dry/wet to wet. I’m sure later today when I attempt to complete some Wildlife Club activities in the chilly rain, traveling to and fro the school on a boda, in the mud, I will not be so reflective. But for now, I feel like I’m camping in a quiet scenic, green National Park, because well I am. No I’m not in a tent as I mentioned before. I live at Makerere University Biological Field Station (MUBFS), in a dorm. But since the “summer” season with hundreds of volunteers and university groups has come to a close, I have this place nearly all to myself.  Ahhhhh (sigh), how I do love my quiet time. What will I do if I have kids? I do want kids, and I’m not getting any younger, but enough about that. Maybe I love quiet time because it makes me concentrate on tasks at hand. I like to accomplish things, but when writing is on my lists of things to do, it is not my forte, and it’s hard to sit down and write. I’d rather pick up a hoe and farm.  So when it comes to grant writing, I need solitude to do it. Right now is the perfect environment, yet I’m not writing a grant, I’m writing to myself, and to you of course. 

Enough tea and caffeine for me; yikes I’m giving myself a headache.  A little update on the Wildlife Clubs: I am very impressed with the 5 schools I am working with, but even more impressed with 3 of 5.  Of the three, one school has completed the following, in just 4 months (on their own with no funding!): tree nursery beds of indigenous trees, rubbish bins around the school compound re-using plastic jerry cans; they dug two pits for rubbish one for compost and one for non-biodegradables; they planted 8 fruit trees, and when some of these trees were “uprooted” a.k.a. stolen, by nearby community members during a school break, some WLC members/students donated their own trees from their houses.  The WLC teacher organized for an employee of the Kibale Fuel Wood Project to visit the school to demonstrate how to build a fuel wood efficient stove, which some of the students built in their own homes.  They learned a conservation song in one day, called “World Above the Ground” (thank you Peace Corps manual), and tackled their own debate:  National Parks and protected areas should/should not be accessible to the communities.  I am thrilled to continue to work with these groups and look forward to more fun conservation activities/projects developed by all!

But in a week, I must travel back to Kampala. Normally I don’t look forward to the bus ride, but sometimes I run into someone traveling there and am invited for a lift, which is a huge treat.  I stay about half my time in the forest, and half in the capital city.  Good thing I’m adaptable and grew up for 30 years in the third largest city in the USA, Chicago. I’m already used to hours of traffic, exhaust, loud noises, huge trucks, cement, and people, people, people.  I look forward to spending quality time with Dominic; we will socialize with all our colleagues and friends, go out to a few nice dinners, have some drinks, get dressed up, maybe watch some tv, and maybe even go bowling. I can work on the computer on all my projects (personal and Kasiisi) in our apartment, once again in solitude.  I am very OK with my new life consisting of computer work, as long as it continues to include field work.

Well the rain has become a mist and the sky is brightening up.  I better get on the internet and then start the field work part of my day.  I can’t believe the electricity is still on.  A baboon just jumped onto my window stoop to sneak a look inside to steal something. Luckily my glass windows are closed (I’m lucky to have glass).  Thanks for listening!