A Classroom With A New View
It’s been a long time since I have done any studying, twelve years to be precise, when I completed my teaching qualification in 2009. But at the start of July I embarked on the mammoth journey from London to a rural village in Zimbabwe to take up my place on a 6 week field guide course at a wildlife organisation that is extremely close to my heart - Imire Rhino and Wildlife Conservancy.
If you have read any of my earlier posts you may already know about the incredible work of Imire, where I have been fortunate enough to travel to twice already, each trip equally as life changing, allowing me to spend time with rescued elephants, endangered rhinos, giraffes, zebras, a whole host of antelope as well an impressive number of bird species. Additionally I was able to help raise 3 orphaned calfs, bottle feeding them three times a day as well being able to spend time with the local community assisting with projects such as preparing sanitary packs to circulate amongst local school girls to enable them to avoid missing school during their periods. I will be eternally grateful for what each trip has given me.
A relatively recent addition to Imire’s remit was a personally tailored field guide course, formally named the Nature Enthusiast Course, fully accredited and endorsed by the Field Guide Association of Southern Africa. When it was introduced I was still in my full time teaching job and therefore unable to sign up, much to my disappointment. Plus sadly for Imire, Covid forced them to send their second course cohort home early and it is only now, fifteen months later, after many last minute start date amendments, that it has been able to go ahead. I was suitably ecstatic at the fact that I was finally going to be able to complete the course, not to pursue a job as a field guide but just to learn, in the hope that one day I will be able to use it either to assist my writing or to aid me in fulfilling my dream of opening an animal sanctuary. And I am pleased to report that after 6 weeks I have absolutely adored the experience. I haven’t learnt so much in as long as I can remember and it has stretched and challenged me in ways that I really didn’t think it would.
The course structure consists of daily classroom lectures on a wide range of topics such as mammals, animal behaviour, ecology, geology, astrology, trees and grasses, human historical habitation and many more, followed by regular completion of course workbooks which count towards our final grade. Afternoons are taken up with practical sessions where we are out in the field, learning and observing with a focus on the daily topic and the week culminates with exams every Saturday morning, all averaged out to form part of an additional certificate offered by Imire in conjunction with our official FGASA qualification. On top of this we have spent much time with all of the incredible animals and birds of Imire, regularly getting up close and personal with the elephants and critically endangered rhinos in a truly unique and ethical way which is virtually impossible to find elsewhere. I am constantly pinching myself at the magic of this place.
A once in a lifetime highlight was our team building activity where we were given the responsibility of relocating an adult male Blesbok from one side of the conservancy to the other, to join an all female herd for breeding purposes. We were lectured on the process with the conservancy manager who taught us about the different methods of relocation before briefing us on the darting and transporting that we would plan and execute the next day. Our adrenaline was running high on the morning of the activity, knowing that we had under 5 minutes from tranquillising the antelope to take all of the required measurements, administer the correct medication and provide the antidote, all the while ensuring that the animal remained calm and safe. I am pleased to say that it all went perfectly and the Blesbok is now happily integrated into the herd of females and hopefully soon we will see some little babies running around. I also fired my first ever gun during a weapon handling session, a vital part of conservation work for animals who are as impacted by large scale poaching as black and white rhino are, we released an orphaned baby blesbok who had been hand reared in the garden of the volunteer house and met the anti poaching dog, a beautiful Dutch Shepherd called Murwi who assists the APU with their day to day patrols and is an incredible deterrent for poachers.
The course is run by Sam and Vera who are also the volunteer managers, an amazing couple who I am happy to be able to call my friends. Vera is a Biologist and Sam a Zoologist and the wealth of knowledge that they share not only complements one another but also means that as students we are given access to their incredible knowledge. Considering neither of them had any teaching experience prior to running the course, their lecturing skills are impressive and incredibly easy to follow. Plus their practical skills are second to none - they are able to identify virtually any bird from a significant distance either by sight or call as well as giving us priceless insight into their animal tracking and behaviour skills.
But one other thing that completing this course has really given me is more sympathy for my students! It quickly became evident how great it feels to do well at something and how gutting it can feel to struggle with a concept, not understand a topic or fail an exam. I have noticed how rubbish it feels when you have high expectations of yourself, you work hard yet you still can’t grasp something and struggle to do well (an experience I have been having with field observations) and it really made me reflect on how resilient young people are, being able to cope with emotions such as these when struggled with it as an adult. And that’s not to mention exams! Although I was of course, always empathetic towards my students feeling anxious or worried before exams, completing these has truly given me some new insight and shown me not to underestimate anything that they are going through. It also reminded me that pressure is real! The weekly exams hang over you like clouds so imagine what young people facing the dreaded GCSE fortnight must go through. But overall I wouldn’t change anything about the experience. Words can’t do justice to the privilege of spending the last 6 weeks in a beautiful classroom space overlooking a wilderness reserve filled with wild trees, plants and animals but in an attempt to try all I can say is that It has been true magic.
If you are interested in volunteering at this incredible organisation or would like to support their work either financially or through another form of donation please get in contact. In the meantime, make sure to check them out at www.imire.co.zw or on Instagram @imire_zimbabwe.
