Check out this article

This article really made me think about stewardship and conservation here in the states. I just finished my trip to Africa for 3 weeks in which I was a minority. You saw people of all races exploring nature and the wildlife around! It's sad to think we struggle to make that cultural connection in the U.S. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44008927/ns/travel-news/#.Tjp3_YIabIU

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

I leave tomorrow morning for Namibia! World of great open spaces and CHEETAHS! :) I'm definitely excited. I'll be flying from Dayton to Dulles. After an extensive 16 hour flight over seas (with a stop-over in Senegal) I will land in Johannesburg and then take another plane to Windhoek, Namibia! :) Finally on the 24th we will have arrived and will stay in Windhoek for the night. I will then be going to Cheetah Conservation Fund for a few days, then to Etosha National Park. After that we go back to CCF. After our course is completed I will be traveling to Cape Town, South Africa to sight see and relax a little. Also it will be an opportunity to pay homage to my pen-pal Emmerance who died of cancer over 10 years ago who lived in Cape Town (but was originally from Rwanda). After my time in Cape Town I will be flying to London to visit one of my dear friends and sorority sisters Brittany who lives and is studying in London currently! I will get to tour London for a day then I'll be back home to my friends and family, and especially my husband and our cat! :) (I am missing our one year wedding anniversary while I'm on the trip). Well next time I post I might be on the other side of the world/ and on another hemisphere! See you on the flip side! My internet access is  limited on the trip so I'll try to post when I can! 

Our cat getting in on my packing! 

Leo wants to go to Namibia to see the big cats!!!

Namibia: The preparations

I have finally finished my courses at Miami University for the summer! I took an entomology class as I mentioned earlier and ended up with a pretty awesome insect collection! We also got to visit the Cincinnati Zoo and got a "behind the scenes" tour by one of the zookeepers for the insect house (I feel terrible because I can't remember his name for the life of me now!)! Definitely interesting. (Did you know they use 3-in-1 oil to keep their ants from escaping?) Also, they grow most of the plants that they feed to their insects, which I think is a cool way to cut down on costs for maintaining the insects. I never thought about how much work goes into caring for an insect house and got to learn about what a fantastic insect house we have at the Cincinnati Zoo (it's one of the best in the country)!

My insect collection, it's a little in disarray because I added a few insects to it  that aren't in the right place yet!

A zookeeper at the insect house at the Cincinnati Zoo

I also took an infectious disease course which was really fast paced but I learned all kinds of things I didn't know before! I've started to appreciate how important getting vaccines really is. Also, to erase some misconceptions I wanted to add the note that there has now been no connection between vaccines (specifically MMR) and autism. The one report that said there was a connection was found to be essentially entirely forged by the scientist that reported it. Yes, even scientists can be unethical! 

So now it's time for me to prepare for my trip to Namibia! I'll probably put one or two more posts before I leave about my flight arrangements and also about all the crazy stuff I had to pack and things I had to do to get ready for this trip!

I get by with a little help from my friends

I will be leaving for Namibia in about 3 weeks. YIKES! When we go to the Cheetah Conservation Fund they are willing to take some donations that will go for several different uses. If you are interested in donating children's books, school supplies, rechargeable AA batteries, blank DVD's, office supplies, etc. I would be more than happy to pick up those items or arrange a location for drop off. I can only take what will fit in a duffle bag with me (up to approx 70lbs.) so what I can take is slightly limited but any donations would be appreciated! You will be helping in saving cheetahs, educating Namibian youth, and ensuring that everyone in the world can learn and be able to see what amazing animals cheetahs are! General Items to be donated to CCF . I am definitely getting excited about visiting CCF and Namibia in general. So I decided I'd post a few pictures from when Trevor (my husband) and I visited The Wilds and saw their new cheetah center! :)

Me being blinded by the sun

Trevor being blinded by the sun.

A very fitting sign, I know I wouldn't want to make the animals sick by getting eaten!

Arthropod-Mania

I am currently taking an entomology course at Miami University. Once I get my insect collection arranged a bit better be ready to see some pictures of my insects that I have collected. Today we visited the Cincinnati Zoo to tour the insect house. Did you know that the zoo has one of the largest collections of living insects in the country? It's quite fascinating to see the insects at the zoo. They discovered that the gigantic stick insects actually can go through parthenogenesis (females can give birth to live young without fertilization from a male). Here's a brief video on stick insects. Enjoy!

Books to read by the pool but get some learning in too!

If you love to read in the summertime and are planning on spending lots of time at the pool or at home here's a list of "environmentally" friendly books that I have read that I have found to be very interesting and worthwhile! Some are classics, others are not!

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson - great read if you are looking for something to remind you why organic gardening or knowing where your food and water comes from and what you put on it is important. I also find it inspiring that a movement can be made by one person writing a world-changing book!

Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Tree Hill- if you have ever dreamed of living in a tree or doing something rash to protect the environment (or any cause for that matter), this is the book for you. It's a fantastic lesson in civil disobedience.

The Elephant's Secret Sense by Caitilin O'Connell - I am currently reading this book about her time studying elephants in Namibia, not only is it fascinating to learn about conservation at work. It's a great lesson on how scientists in the field really work. (Not to mention it's cool to read about the elephants and how they interact with each other!)

The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson- If you can't spend time at the ocean, you might as well read about it. Though I only read excerpts of this book while in college, I found her descriptive prose quite captivating!

Soul of a Lion by Barbra Bennett- As I am soon traveling to Namibia I have tried to find anything and everything to read about the country and I came across the tale of Marieta van der Merwe and her attempts to rehabilitate and protect wildlife in Namibia and Southern Africa.


In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall - Gives a striking perspective of how similar we really are to our relatives (the chimpanzee). This book helps renew my interest in animal behavior and evolutionary biology. It also serves as a reminder and inspiration that it takes people that are passionate about life to help to protect and save the lives of organisms on the planet.


I hope that these books inspire the naturalist inside you! Just remember the best way you can experience nature is to get outside and explore! :) You never know what you might find!

Hello from Rainy Ohio

Well Ohio has been receiving some near-record or record breaking rains this week! Though it looks like my plants outdoors really appreciate it, it has definitely been a challenge to get much accomplished. I will try to update soon with some photos of my seedlings that are still under the flouresecent lights in my house, they are definitely a lot larger. If you are looking for something to do this weekend with your family (granted that it finally stopped raining) you should stop by Five River MetroParks Wegerzyn Garden's and Children's Discovery Garden (whew a lot of words for a title), a.k.a. the awesome place with plants and a waterfall to play in (after memorial day). It was just featured today in the It's Where You Play segment on Fox 45 and 22. I am actually employed there which is why I am obviously a big proponent! Currently there is this amazing sculpture there designed by Patrick Dougherty and put together by volunteers made out of willow saplings and branches. Visit his website to check out some examples of his artwork. It should be there for the next 2 years, but come and visit it while it is newly built and see the evolution of the sculpture over time! I was there the other day when they were finishing building it and it looks amazing!