SAEON Ndlovu science camp a hit with fledgling environmental scientists

The 14 grade 10 learners who attended the camp, with the SAEON scientists who introduced the learners to the fascinating environment in which they work. View larger version The learners gather data in the grasslands. Framing a picture – the intrepid Grasslands Team. The Forest Team analyse their findings under the watchful eye of SAEON scientist Dr Dave Thompson. The groups prepare their posters. Kulani Nukeri, a grade 10 learner from Majeje High School who wrote the report on his experiences at the science camp.

In August last year, SAEON’s Ndlovu Node introduced 14 grade 9 learners to environmental science during a weekend camp held at Shingwedzi Research Camp in the Kruger National Park.

This was the first time a science camp was held for grade 9 learners since the Node’s week-long science camp for grade 11 learners had been implemented in 2006.

On the weekend of 20-22 April 2012, the 14 learners - now in grade 10 - had another opportunity to experience a Ndlovu Node science camp. The camp exposed them to teamwork, career options in science, and scientific thinking. Learners were divided into three groups focusing on grasslands, forests and plantations.

Led by staff members from the Node, each group took to the field to collect vegetation data at a specific location. The learners commented that being out in the field experiencing what it was like to be a scientist for a day was an “awesome experience to be cherished for a lifetime”.

Kulani Nukeri, a grade 10 learner from Majeje High School, described his participation in the science camps as follows:

“My SAEON science camp experience

My participation in the SAEON science camp was a rewarding and remarkable experience because I have learnt so much and gained a lot of skills which will enrich my academic ambitions/ dreams.

I experienced what it is like to be a scientist by participating in and carrying out hands on scientific research with my Forest Group mates. I have always wanted to learn the scientific method in order to investigate the natural phenomena, but when I studied it before I found it so complicated that I did not know where to start, how to do it and what to research. But through the SAEON science camp I mastered the method to such an extent that I can now investigate almost every natural phenomenon. It is all about observation, thinking, questioning, expectation and knowing your variables.

Dave and Sharon, the scientists, taught me that as a scientist there are many questions that can be asked in one observation, but the most significant question is the one that can benefit mankind and help conserve nature.

From the camp I also learnt how to achieve one’s goal or succeed in life. Patrick, Rob and Thembi (SAEON staff) inspired us on how to achieve set goals or one’s dreams. It was emphasised that it is through working very hard at school that one would succeed in life. It was evident to me that success is not a position that one should aspire to but it is actually a journey that one takes to accomplish one’s goals.

At school I used to work in isolation, but the camp changed my perspective as I learnt the importance of teamwork from my fellow learners. I learnt that in teamwork there must be trust, communication and planning, and confidence in each other’s strengths.

On the social front I learnt the value of friendship. In August 2011, at the start of the grade 9 science camp at Shingwedzi Research Camp in the Kruger National Park, I did not know anyone since it was the first time we had met, but we developed friendship. During the 2012 science camp our friendship deepened. As we were packing, ready to hit the road back to our respective places, I realised how dearly I would miss the warmth of our friendship. Surely, the science camp was not all about science but about life skills as well.

Lastly, though it should not be the last; the SAEON science camp genuinely intensified my interest in science and gave me career guidance in the science field. The camp opened my eyes to the importance of nature and the need to conserve it, which in turn fired me on to consider nature conservation and environmental science as a career.”