US252451:Collect field specimens and environmental data

SO1 Use appropriate methods to collect a range of environmental data and or specimens.

SO3 Collect, obtain data and prepare required specimens according to prescribed procedures.

 

SO4 AC 2Dead specimens are suitably preserved

 

SO3 AC 3 Required environmental data is recorded using appropriate methods and equipment.

Photographing all details of a plant.

Our personal tree measurer.

US 2524554 Erect, monitor and maintain wildlife fences

SO3 Monitor fence for effectiveness : AC1 Regular patrols etc.

AC 3 An assessment is made of what is required to repair weaknesses in a fence.

SO 4 AC1 A fence is repaired to ensure that it always meets the prescribed standards.

SO 4 AC3Weaknesses in a fence are identified and corrected using appropriate techniques, tools and equipment

US 110064:Contribute to the health, safety and security of the workplace.

SO1 AC5 Importance of each employee being vigilant and reporting hazards and violations of health, safety and security procedures is known and understood in terms of a possible chain of events that could result from not reporting a violation.

SO1 AC3 The kinds of work that require protective clothing are identified and protective clothing is used according to legal requirements.

SO2 AC3 Establishment procedures relating to the identification of fires and other emergencies are known and followed promptly and correctly in a emergency.

US 252462 Identify and monitor local wildlife

US 252462 Identify and monitor local wildlife

SO 1 AC2 Appropriate methods of wildlife monitoring in the area of operation is listed and explained.

Monitor by walking.

Monitor by driving.

SO2 Identify local plants and animal species including their sign, spoor and habitat.

Maps

So it seems that I am blogging about all the things that are my weaknesses or the ones I plainly don't like.  So here's another one, mapping...  Now using a map ain't THAT difficult but direction and me, aren't the best of buddies.

I am good at using a car GPS, typing in where I want to go and then following those directions but don't give me a map and most certainly do not give me coordinates...  I will drive off and never be heard from again...

Since I love talking, I'm pretty good at giving directions and so drawing a map and giving directions and stating markings is pretty simple.  After a few weeks of intensive training, I can now proudly say that I can read a map, I can tell direction by using nature and I can use a coordinate GPS.  In reception, explaining roads and giving directions is a pretty big role in your line of work so it helped me a lot to know the farm and understand how the maps we provide work.

Cultural Heritage

I have to admit that this is the subject I have hard the most difficult time in understanding and accepting.  Since I haven't been an open minded person when it comes to other religions and cultures, non of it mattered to me, it was only my religion and culture that meant something.

So doing cultural heritage and all the legal aspects that go into it, either bored me to the point where I wanted to run into a wall or made me so angry I wanted to rip up any paper that had the words CULTURAL HERITAGE on them.  We had a mayor group debate about how to handle finding a heritage site on your property etc and I was the only one that thought hiring a bulldozer and just driving over the site was the best idea.  We fought and fought and I can't say that I have joined the dark side (my debating team) but I can say that I am more open minded about these things and I have a lot more respect for other cultures and religions.

We went on a tour on the farm and we found a site where people used to live and it was very interesting to imagine folklore type of people living there and children running around playing.  I was less worried about the mundane things like finding pottery or metal, as we did.  I was more concentrated on the fun stuff, I found a hole that could have been used perfectly as a toilet and I found a slip and slide on the side of the mountain where the kids could have kept themselves busy.

Now apart from finding a site, there are so many responsibilities that go along with it, you have to manage and preserve the site according to legal aspects etc etc etc (blah blah blah).

Here comes the hardest part about the whole escapade for me, if  a family can prove that their ancestors lived on this land, you have to accommodate them since even though you bought the land, it's still in their name as by a national law concerning cultural and ancestral sites.  So you have a choice of how you would like t accommodate them and they have to agree, you can grant them visits to the site or actually give them a piece of land that they can own and farm with.  If you do not abide with this law, you will receive land claims and stand a really big chance of losing your property.  So you understand why I've been having difficulty with this, right?

But finding a site isn't as bad as I am portraying it, if you have a Resort this is a stunning tourist attraction since you can show guests these sites when going on a game drive or game walk.  It can also be an excellent chance to educate people on cultures and culture heritage.

The first piece of metal we discovered on the Tambuki koppie.

A few random shards.

RG Work in a team or group

US 244605 Demonstrate ability to participate effectively in a team or group

SO 1Investigate the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team or group
SO2Identify the characteristics of an effective team or group
SO3 Identify the roles and responsibilities of individuals in a team or group
SO4 Explore techniques to manage group dynamics

We run together.

We get dirty and have spiders run over us, together.

We are silly together.

We smile together.

We push through together.

We work together.

We achieve together.

Some work and some watch, together.

We laugh together.

We are safe together.

Conservation Ethics and Nature Conservation

The dictionary explanation for the word 'ethics' is a system of moral values principles.  Now to each and every one of us, this has a different meaning, since everybody is raised differently and have their own belief systems which go according to their religion.  But today we are discussing the the ethics surrounding nature.

Now before we begin this discussion, I would like to share an honest experience with you, before I came to Sondela, I had absolutely no respect for nature, it was something that has always been there, is there and will always be there, I took nature for granted.  So as my first course was Site Guide, I immediately learned about animals, plants and just the whole nature thing.  At first I didn't like it at all but as soon as I started understanding the imbalance that one species could cause if it was to disappear from earth, it kind of hit me, and was it hard.

Please let me state clearly, that I am not a Greeny but I do have more respect towards nature and I take it into consideration before doing anything, it was hard at first, but now it comes quite naturally.

So as I said, each religion and culture has their own belief system but there is one moral system that is universal and that is Conservation Ethics.  We all know we shouldn't litter or make fires that can cause massive devastation, we know it is unethical and even illegal to shoot some animals and yet there are people in the world that are either ignorant or totally ignore this basic logic.

Now we all still have to 'Stay Green' as they say but we need to go a step further or a few steps while we are being honest.  We all know we have to do our bit but to cancel out the people who do not, we have to go that extra mile.

Let's start at the beginning, we need to be fully equipped with the knowledge of recent news on nature, the history of nature which you can find when studying cultures.  After studying this, you need to start understanding the huge amount of respect they have for nature and adapt to it.  No, I am not saying you should convert, I'm just saying that we all can learn something from another.

The end result of humans disrespecting nature can be catastrophic because we are dependant on nature and all the animals.  If we lose just one keystone species, our whole world nature society could collapse, it sounds simple and it pretty much is. So let's make conserving nature a personal matter.

The only way for the human race to survive is to live in harmony with nature, this is the only way to achieve a successful relationship between humans and nature.  I read somewhere once that the world won’t end, just the human race will, the world might seem to be devastated but in years time, she will fix herself.  Easy examples are placed that have been eroded, in time pioneer plants start growing again and sooner than later, things are growing at full steam again.
I would like to conclude by saying, even God recycles, He made you out of dust.

Nature Conservation

So in the above mentioned I only lightly touched the subjects that are initially ruining our planet.
During this past year, I have grown a  conscience about nature and conserving it, so doing something as simple as killing a house spider makes me ache with guilt since I have learned that everything is interconnected. 
How we approach the future all depends on the past, just as you would be more patient with a child who had a rough childhood than a child who was brought up in a loving home and had everything they wanted, just as such, we need to study the history of mother nature so we can understand how to treat her.

Only recently we humans have started realizing how simple minded we have bee and what changes we need to make in order to save our planet, but I think we've done a good job in this little time we've had but so much more can be done.  Something that everybody is probably sick to death of hearing is, what if your children won't be able to see the wonder and miracles that earth has to offer, well I would love for my children to see what a rhino looks like in real life or be able to travel to Antarctica and still have there be something to see instead of water.

We need to look at all our actions and decide whether nature can handle this or if things are about to go horrifically wrong. To finish of this blog I would like to say, nature is NOT dependant on humans, but humans ARE dependant on nature.  Don't destroy our home, we've only got this one.