ECOTRAINING: PASSIONATE ABOUT CONSERVATION

From humble beginnings way back in 1993, when a handful of passionate individuals saw the opportunity to provide the tourism industry with qualified nature-guides, to the leader in this field today.

This is the story of EcoTraining.

For the past 20 years, thousands of people with a deep love for nature, an appreciation of all things wild and wonderful and a passion for conservation, have attended our courses in wilderness camps across Africa.  And armed with this knowledge, they have gone on to make a difference and spread the message of reconnecting with nature in a meaningful way.

Michael Clark, who trained with EcoTraining more than 10 years ago, is currently in Nepal, training up young Nepali naturalists. 

Says Michael:

“The variety of subjects is incredibly diverse and comprehensive, and the practical element provides you with experiences that are hard to put into words. Anyone who is serious about a career in eco-tourism or simply wants a sabbatical from work, the experiences you can have on a course can lead to a whole new way of life, and provide you with memories to truly cherish.”

Like Marc Lindsay Rea, who says he’s now living the dream, thanks in part to EcoTraining who has put him in a very privilege position indeed, as a fully qualified field guide leading people into the wilderness and onto memory-making adventures.

“I have such a thirst for acquiring knowledge about wildlife and nature from around the world and I am lucky to have the privilege to guide guests through these exciting places. I thank and appreciate everybody and every company that has put in many long hours to help get me to the position I am at now. Thank you!”

Yes, we are essentially a field guide training company, training guides for the industry. But with shorter courses and excursions on birding, tracking, photography and bush survival, and from anything between four and 28 days, we are also catering to the tourist with a conscience.

Today’s tourist is a thinking traveler who wants to have fun while gaining a better understanding of the natural world. And this is where a company like EcoTraining is stepping in and creating an experience with a difference.

Like Richard Schmid from Switzerland who was born in Mombasa and spent the first seven years of his life in Kenya. He went back to the country of his birth to take part in a 28 Day Field Guide course in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

For Richard there’s no other way to travel.

“I travel like this all the time, to go out and actually do something, on a course like this to be directly and actively involved in something. I now know so much more, my base of knowledge has broadened considerably and I’m not regretting it for one moment. We have an ecological responsibility and I think people are becoming more and more aware of it all the time.”

Through the years the EcoTraining qualification have become the trusted nature-guide training standard in the industry, giving people from all walks of life and from all over the globe the opportunity to become one with nature. We have trained all across the African continent and also in many other parts of the world.

And our wilderness camps in South Africa (Makuleke, Selati, Karongwe), Botswana (Mashatu) and Kenya (Lewa), is where it is all happening. It’s in these simple unfenced bush camps in the middle of these great wilderness areas participants truly get to experience what it is like to live in wild places. Under the guidance of experienced instructors, countless hours are spend walking or driving in the bush, and an understanding of our place in the natural world is cultivated.

Africa indeed just has its way with people. The continent’s wild and wonderful places lure people from all over the globe, to come and explore and then to return wherever they are from with vivid memories to last a life time.

You will get all this, and so much more, on an EcoTraining course.

But don’t just take our word for it. From the horse’s mouth, or in this case, Nick Baker, a former professional field guide course participant:

“The beauty of this course is the extended time one spends out there, nothing is rushed and every day one learns something new, building a quite awesome knowledge base… I miss it today and will miss it every day that I am not there. The experience is total and is built of a complicated set of components, animals, birds, trees, plants, insects, soil, water, weather, stars, sights, sounds, smells, magic…  The bush does funny things to your head. It has got inside mine…”

Candice Wagener McGuire echoes these sentiments:

“I guide because I like sharing my passion with those around me, I love seeing how the bush inspires every single being. My day is made when I see how people brighten up when they spend their holiday in the bush, how the smallest things put a smile on their faces. When I guide, I feel like I’m making a small difference to keep Africa alive in everyone’s hearts.”

PROFESSIONAL FIELD GUIDE COURSE: Testimony that you’ll have the time of your life!

The time is NOW to make that jump into an adventure of epic proportions. EcoTraining’s professional field guide course will change your life and put you on a path sure to be more exciting than you can ever imagine.

The next one is about to start, in September, and for a limited period of time being offered at a special rate. Email enquiries@ecotraining.co.za and make sure that you are among the lucky ones!

Like Marc Lindsay Rea, who says he’s now living the dream, thanks in part to EcoTraining who has put him in a very privilege position indeed.

Here is his story, enjoy, and be prepared to book your place afterwards…

“When I was 11 my father went on a business trip to Phinda Private game reserve and returned home with a brochure of CC Africa. I was amazed by the images… From that day on I knew I wanted to work in the bush and become a ranger. 

So it was a natural choice for me to do a game ranging and lodge management diploma after school, which I passed with an overall distinction. During my diploma course I did two EcoTraining courses, at Selati and Makuleke. This was the first time I had actually spent a solid amount of time in the bush doing training. It was brilliant.

After my course and practical experiences at EcoTraining, I approached AndBeyond and passed their selection phase and relevant training and was offered a job at Madikwe Safari Lodge. Since starting my guiding career in early in 2006, I steadily climbed the ranks becoming a senior ranger, mentor, assistant head ranger and was then appointed as head ranger in October 2008.

For most of 2011 I spent my time working in Namibia at Sossusvlei Desert Lodge. I also spent time working in Botswana at Nxabega and Sandibe lodge in the Okavango delta for AndBeyond.

In 2012 whilst working as a ranger and a specialist guide at Phinda Game Reserve I was nominated by my peers to compete in the Safari Guide of the year 2012. I made it into the top eight rangers in the country and in the finals I won two out of the six categories we were all being assessed on.

I have completed my FGASA Level 3 and have also got my Level 2 trackers qualification. In addition I’ve got a full trails guide walking qualification with hundreds of hours of walking experience and dangerous game encounters on foot. This is one of my favourite ways of experiencing the bush and encourage all my guests to come tracking big game on foot with me.

After the competition Africa Direct noticed me and my skills in the bush and offered me a position to become a private, specialist guide in their company. I now get to travel all over Africa with my guests and am at the pinnacle of my guiding career.

I thank and appreciate everybody and every company that has put in many long hours to help get me to the position I am at now. Thank you!

In addition to the bush I have a massive passion for wildlife photography. I have been placed first and third in two international competitions: Africa Geographic / Canon Field Guides Competition and Wildside Nikon All Africa Competition respectively.

I have travelled to a large number of countries around the globe but nothing compares to the excitement of travelling Africa. I am very serious birder and am called a twitcher by many of my friends. Because of my love for birding I have explored the remotest parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia looking for all the special rarities.

In 2009 I founded a small non-profit organisation with the help of my work colleagues and some guests to support the Matetsi Community along the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe. We helped 150 people for 3 years supplying them with vegetable seeds, clothing, toiletries and fishing equipment to try make living a little easier over that difficult time in the country.

I have such a thirst for acquiring knowledge about wildlife and nature from around the world and I am lucky to have the privilege to guide guests through these exciting places.”

(Thanks for sharing Marc!) 

TAKING HANDS – CONSERVATION EDUCATION ACROSS THE GLOBE

A model for the Middle East. With some help from Africa. Taking conservation education across borders, a handful of different role players are adhering to the notion that in nature all is connected in some way, shape or form.

For the last three years EcoTraining, a leader in field guide training for 20 years in Africa, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in Jordan and Tetra Tech, a consultancy firm, have been working together to transform the conservation and guiding sectors in Jordan.

An opportunity like this, for conservation bodies and training facilities across the globe to strike up partnerships, recently resulted in the graduation of four young Jordanians after they successfully completed a yearlong professional field guide course at EcoTraining’s wilderness camps across South Africa.

From an extensive internet and social media campaign that attracted hundreds of applicants, Abdullah Abu’Ramman, Osama Alsomadi, Osama Alrabay’ah and Nadia Alalul were in the end the fortunate ones. With the knowledge acquired during the last year, armed with and fully certified under EcoTraining and South Africa’s guide qualification system (FGASA), these four are now task to go back to Jordan where they will practice as guides and trainers in their own right. In the process they will not only be transforming the guiding experience in Jordan, but also serve as the foundation for the next generation of highly qualified Jordanian nature guides.

(From left) Tall Osama, Short Osama, Abdullah, Nadia

The next phases of the program will involve the setting up of a training academy. This academy, currently being built in Aljoun about 80km outside of the Jordanian capital, will serve the urgent and vital need for building capacity in the whole of the Middle East to protect and manage its environmental resources in the face of ever increasing development pressure. Here expertise and skills would be developed at vocational level and a resource base for the region would be established.

Upon their graduation, Chris Johnson, the program director for new projects for RSCN and mentor to the foursome, said they feel strongly that nature be one of the drivers of economic opportunities not only in Jordan, but the whole of the Middle East.

“We’ve come to realize that the need for a project of this magnitude is far greater than we initially anticipated. The need for capacity building in Jordan and the whole region has snow-balled and we have just started on the path to grow this into something big and truly meaningful and longstanding.”

Ahmed Hassan, a director from Tetra Tech, said he knew EcoTraining would be the best fit for the project.

“I’ve known EcoTraining from previous visits to South Africa and realized that what we wanted to achieve in the long run, could not start on a better footing than using their method of training as a model. But hard work still remains, it is indeed only step one of a long journey.”

(From left) Short Osama, Tall Osama, Nadia, Anton Lategan, Ahmed Hassan, Chris Johnson, Abdullah

During their yearlong course, the two Osamas, Abdullah and Nadia were exposed to the diverse ecological and geological terrains, landscapes, wildlife species and so much more in places like Makuleke, Karongwe and Selati where EcoTraining has its wilderness camps.  For the first six months, the company’s highly experienced instructors shared and imparted their wealth of knowledge on a variety of subjects – geology, astronomy, ecology, botany, taxonomy, animal behavior and conservation management, to name but a few. Then they got a taste of what life as a field guide really is like with their placement at a lodge.

Apart from being amazed at the amount of knowledge they accumulated in the time since taking those first tentative steps a year ago, Nadia said she is fully aware of the huge responsibility now resting on their shoulders, to transform and help shape the guiding industry in a different part of the world.

Nadia

“We have had the privilege of living in an environment that few people nowadays get to experience, living among wild animals in their natural environment, and being able to study and observe from only a short distance away.

All in all this has been an amazing adventure and I had the time of my life! Make no mistake, it has been grueling and the amount of information that I have absorbed has been enormous but I have learnt so much and everything has been interesting. I can recognize hundreds of bird calls, achieved a track-and-sign level 1, can tell the difference between a black and white rhino by looking at their dung, which way a leopard is moving and whether it’s a female or male by looking at its tracks in the dirt, and I know which tree can ease my pain and which one could kill me.

But most importantly, I have an appreciation and deep respect for all creatures like I have never had before. I wouldn’t have realized all this if it weren’t for those special people we have had the honor and great privilege to meet along the way. The dedication and knowledge of these highly experienced instructors in promoting conservation and helping to educate others on why our environment and everything in it is so important, has made a big impression.”

Tall Osama

‘Tall’ Osama said his dream to travel and explore the world came true when the RSCN awarded him one of the coveted spots in the yearlong professional field guide course with EcoTraining.

“I am not sure if it was normal for a little child of four years old to answer the classical question of what you do you want to be when you grow up with “Emperor” but this was my answer. I couldn’t even pronounce it right but since then, I learned to dream big. And now I am prepared to go back to Jordan and teach this art to others. In the end I would thank my beloved parents, brother and sisters, the RSCN, Chris Johnson and all the people that build up my story with pieces from here and then.”

Short Osama

Every single person that he met in the last year, has marked his life forever, is how ‘Short’ Osama reflected on his time with EcoTraining.

“And I have to also give thanks to every impala. From the very first one that we saw and didn’t even know what it was. We were just amazed by its beauty, taking pictures and posing with it. To the very last one that we took for granted and thought to ourselves it’s just another impala.”

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step, and Abdullah may have summed it up best when he said that their lives have now been changed forever, and for the better.

Abdullah

“It has been an amazing year spent with great people with an absolute love and passion for nature and all that happens out in the wild. I can honestly say that I never could have imagined an experience like this. I am now very much looking forward to the rest of the journey and sharing what I have learned.”

THE STORRO STORRO STORY: UPDATE FROM NAMIBIA (14 AUGUST 2012)

You can hardly get it any better than this – watching four male cheetahs for a good period of time, following the ‘brotherhood’ and observing their behaviour in their natural habitat. A great viewing indeed! This fortune befell the group of EcoTraining participants currently on their 28 day FGASA Level One field guide course in the Erindi Game Reserve in Namibia just a couple of days ago. Student Brannigan ‘Animal’ Wise, a manager/builder at the Hoada campsite at Grootberg, shares his diary of experiences so far. In his own words:

I recently came back to my motherland after a short service in "La Legion Etrangere" and some experience as a builder and construction worker in the UK. I fell in love with nature and Namibia all over again! I started working on a project of building a campsite for Journeys Namibia and soon I found out that I was nominated as a scholar for the Amarula Trust Scholarship Program.

I was the first student on duty and took everyone out into the reserve in the game viewer.  We left the camp at 06:00 and I thought I would have to cut my fingers from the steering wheel because of the freezing cold! Luckily it wasn’t long before the sun broke over the horizon and we were greeted by a confusion of bird calls. The morning drive was eventful and we circled the north eastern part of the reserve. 

Hidden (another student) was disappointed because we did not see any rhinos or lions making “storro storro” (mating) but I reasoned with him and assured him that the lions would still be “storro storroing” in the afternoon…

On the afternoon drive we headed for Kudu dam.  We had a lion sighting and it was my first ever, I was so excited! Unfortunately they had two young juveniles already, so we were too late to see “storro storro”.

We had many great sightings – hippos, blue wildebeest, crocodiles, African wildcat, gemsbok, kudu, giraffe, an eland carcass (killed by a male lion the previous day) ground squirrel, waterbuck, impala, springbok, black wildebeest and lots of birds, including a pale chanting goshawk. And don’t forget the lions!

There were also lessons to be learned on the drive (from instructor Ralph Kirsten) – how to identify black rhino signs by looking at its dung and the sexual dimorphism of different antelope.

I am looking forward to the rest of the course and also coming back for my Level 2!

NEWSLETTER: AUGUST 2012

 "Although human ingenuity may devise various inventions which, by the help of various instruments, answer to one and the same purpose, yet will never discover any inventions more beautiful, more simple or more practical than those of nature... " (Leonardo da Vinci)

Spring is in the air! Well, almost… And by all accounts it’s going to be a hot and sizzling time counting down to the end of 2012. The call of the African wilderness is louder than ever and EcoTraining is ready with an array of courses to suit all preferences – from the more serious that wish to enter the guiding industry on a full time basis to discerning nature lovers. Have a look what is coming up, courses on offer, what we’ve been up to so far and other interesting snippets.

WHAT’S COMING UP

If you have the urge to make a break and head for the bush, get yourself a place on one of the following EcoTraining short courses on offer in the next couple of months. Come on, you won’t regret it:

10 September – 7 October: Trails Guide – Makuleke: Explore the wilderness of this part of the Kruger National Park on foot where the majority of time will be spent conducting bush walks in big game country. It is open to anyone who wants to experience walking in a true wilderness area, while at the same time increasing your environmental knowledge and situational awareness.

20-26 September: Birding – Mashatu: For all the birding enthusiasts, this is a very practical course, designed to broaden and enrich your knowledge and skills by educating you about the fascinating world of birds and the interdependent relationships between them and other life forms.

27 September – 3 October: Tracking – Mashatu: To unravel the mysteries of nature even further, book a place on a unique seven day tracking course with EcoTraining and some of the most highly qualified trackers and trainers in South Africa. It is fun. It is hands on. It is life changing!

16 October – 8 December: 55 Day FGASA Level One – Karongwe/Selati: This one is if you intend to enter the guiding industry as field guide or if you’ve chosen a professional career linked to wildlife or nature. Every minute will be a learning experience, being constantly exposed to the bush.

LATEST NEWS

Camps: Every minute on one of our courses in our camps in South Africa, Botswana and Kenya is a learning experience, being constantly exposed to the bush. See what the guys and girls have been up to in the past month!

Selati: Albeit on the smaller side of the scale, they have a reputation as fearsome animals, not scared at all of taking on much bigger opponents. "They" are of course honey badgers. These little rascals have reputation of getting up to lots of mischief when everybody is asleep and supposedly not watching... Luckily a group of students at EcoTraining's wilderness camp at Selati decided to have a late night around the fire recently and had their cameras ready to capture the culprit red handed!

Karongwe: Nature is about all things wild and wonderful and about so much more than just the big and hairies. But let's face it, if any member of the Big Five is putting in an appearance, the nobody is going to say no, not the least a participant on an EcoTraining course! Just ask Candice Wagener, a one year professional field guide student: 

"It was a long day of studying and then the GVI guys (volunteer project also based at Karongwe) started going mad on the radio about ingala being in the area. So we decided to go for a drive and see if we can spot these lions ...

As we turned the corner, there they were, the two lions, Sorro and Lisa. We parked close by and watched them, all the while still keeping the bird list ticking. Then Dale says 'By the way, did you see the other two lions over there?' Heads turned, one was lying in the grass and the other walked out of a ditch. And then a fifth one made an appearance. Sorro and Lisa did their thing (some mating) and then Sorro didn't want his female companion to join the rest of the gang, proceeding with chasing one of the young boys off. It was the most amazing thing! Africa's big cats let us tag along on their afternoon agenda, fantastic!"

This was just the start of an amazing month at Karongwe. Camp coordinator Olga and student Martin Hooijenga sent through this exciting update recently:
“It’s day eight and we had a week of amazing sightings that gave our group already the status as the ‘Lucky Group’. Just listen to this – day two we Zero, the big male lion, with two females; day three the hyenas with the babies; day five a jawless but massive rock python. Day six and seven passed without anything spectacular, so thankfully all was back to ‘normal' for our lucky group on day eight…

Then, as quick as a flash, a leopard leapt into the reeds! I thought I was dreaming, too eager to see a leopard again, but seeing the response of the students I was clearly not… It was amazing! Shortly after we heard an elephant trumpeting from the same direction, apparently harassed by the leopard and trying to chase it away. That worked as the leopard jumped again, now out of the reeds into our direction but swiftly disappeared into the grass again…

Just as we crossed Spectra crossing, Scar, a male leopard, appeared, barely three metres from the vehicle, looking at us, a little bit disturbed but overall relaxed. We couldn’t believe our eyes! Like a real gentleman he posed a bit for the cameras and then lied down a bit further off. 

It sounded like we were photographing some movie star with shutters going off left, right and centre, click-click-click-click! A little later Scar moved off between the reeds and we proceeded on our way back to camp, full of excitement!

... We cheered to the ending of another great day in the bush!”

Makuleke: Our camp in this concession in the northern most part of the Kruger National Park is living up to its reputation as a true African wilderness with lots of exciting encounters. The courses are packed with excited students chomping at the bits to log their hours walking amidst the famed fever tree forest. Pretty spectacular!

Erindi Game Reserve (Namibia): EcoTraining has landed in Namibia! As part of our commitment to guiding excellence all through Africa, we have struck up various partnerships to improve the skills and knowledge of field guides. And now the guiding community in Namibia is part of this and benefiting from the years of experience that EcoTraining has in the industry. Ralph Kirsten is the instructor and MJ Kirsten the camp coordinator for the current course being run in the Erindi Game Reserve. 

Mashatu (Botswana): Communication with our camp on the other side of the border is not always the easiest. Go to EcoTraining – Ecotourism specials on Facebook, like the page and you will see what’s been happening in the Land of Giants.

“MEET YOU IN THE BUSH”

For almost two decades now EcoTraining has been training field guides, starting way back in 1993 with the first batch of eager students attending the inaugural course in the Sabi Sands reserve in Mpumalanga. Since then a great number has gone on to make their mark in the industry and are continuing to do great work all over the world. We want to hear from you, email liryndej@hotmail.com with your stories!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Go and like our new official fan page on Facebook at EcoTraining – Ecotourism specials.

Also visit us on www.ecotraining.co.za and if you have any questions or queries, send an email to enquiries@ecotraining.co.za.

(Thank you to everybody who contributed with photos and information!)

The German's came to town

I joined Will Lawson from EcoTraining and a group of German media participants from South African Tourism on a fact finding tour, on a very unusual Safari this week.

We tried to understand the inter connection of nature with its surroundings and how Biomimicry can be utilised to provide us answers to a myriad of questions.

The more time we spent in the bush, learning about examples nature provided while following the spoor of two male cheetahs that formed a coalition to enhance their menu options. The more I came to realise that we are a lot less advanced and inspired than we should have been. I realised that we had a full research and development team that we haven’t been utilising. We spend years in developing products that nature developed (better I might add) years ago.

This is one of the aspects that Biomimicry is all about, providing answers to structural engineering, Architecture and many more advances in our daily life.

For more information on the scheduled Biomimicry courses, contact enquiries@ecotraining.co.za or visit the website at www.ecotraining.co.za

Advanced Wilderness Trails Skills Course - 5 Nights

It is not often that guides get quality time in the bush with other guides, learning from and listening to other guides’ stories. We never get time to be in the bush and share the wilderness spirit with each other. This, we feel is a great loss, as these guides are not able to reach their full potential. The very thing that attracts people to guiding and which they would like to share with their guests becomes stale and boring.

EcoTraining provides the opportunity to be able to backpack and go hiking and camping in one of the last remaining true Wilderness areas. All guides dream of this opportunity but very few are able to experience this. This will provide Guides with a bigger wilder picture and rejuvenate their tired spirits, providing better interaction with clients and furthering the greater cause of conservation.

EcoTraining’s 6 Day Wilderness Trails Skills Course introduces guides to one another which will allow guides to share their experiences and skills.

This is not a qualification course and has no set curriculum. However this does not mean you will not learn anything during the Trail. Bruce Lawson, one of South Africa’s premier wilderness guides, is one of only a hand full of guides who have passed the SKS DG and Birding qualifications, will be tutoring each course. Lessons you will be taught will not be found in any books but will rather be hands on learning. These include advanced navigation and orientation with an emphasis on map reading. Situational awareness, setting up eco-friendly camps and water purification without using modern techniques is but a few of the advanced skills you will learn.

Each Guide will take turns to lead the group, determining their own route to navigate the vast Wilderness area (Makuleke Concession in the Kruger National Park). Nights will be spent under the stars getting to know the environment and each other. The heat of the day will be spent in the shade on the bank of the Levuvhu River, possibly having a dip.

This is EcoTraining’s way of giving back to the industry and conservation, as well as providing aspirant guides with a platform to develop the true wilderness spirit within them.

Although game is plentiful, every effort will be made to avoid confrontational encounters.

"Stars and charging Lions"

As Lyrin De Jager explained her experiences at EcoTraining Selati Camp, during her stay resently. She stood the test of time during her stay and didnt run when the lions tested the new recruits. These are some of the comments as published in Beeld, Die Burger and Volksblad on the 16th of March 2010. We are welcoming a new Field Guide to the industry.

Selati Big Dig!

Selati students slaving away at excavating a dolerite dyke. We wanted to see how far the intrusion spread through the surrounding granite rock.

The lowveld is criss-crossed by dolerite dykes. This is an intrusive igneous rock that pushed into the granite base 150 million years ago.