Courtney learning every day is different at Edith Stephen's Nature Reserve

Ready for a day at the Edith Stephens Nature Reserve

These past few weeks at Edith Stephens we have been having various groups come to the reserve for some type of environmental workshop. My responsibilities have included everything from running parts of the workshop myself to assisting with putting on plays and songs about the water cycle.

While I am always exhausted at the end of the day, my favorite thing about my internship is that it is completely different each day. I definitely do not do the same repetitive things day after day. When I arrive in the morning, I have no idea what I'll be doing that day, which I love. The people I have met have also made this experience extremely interesting.

A few weeks ago, Edith Stephens hosted with the City of Cape Town a responsible tourism presentation. The aim of the workshop was to teach South Africans how to make their town, craft, food, etc. appealing to tourists. The main goal is to have these tourists experience Cape Town, go home, tell their friends and family about how wonderful it is, and, in turn, these people then visit Cape Town themselves.

We have also had a few programs that have recemented my belief that I definitely do not want to be a teacher. Last week we had a grade six class from a local school. Their field trip was designed to teach them about food webs, the water cycle and the importance of nature. However, they were at the age group where they thought they were "too cool" to get very excited about these things. The facilitator had an extremely hard time getting them to answer any questions or volunteer for anything. The only time throughout the day they were excited about something was catching insects outside to look at under a microscope and draw.

Today, we had a group of 34 15 to 18-year-old girls from a local Muslim College. In South Africa, college is not the same as university as in the U.S. College is more like our version of a tech school. Rather than continuing with a traditional high school program, once someone reaches the age of 15, they can transfer to a college that specializes in one thing. These girls were from a school that focuses on Muslim theology, and today they learned about linking their religion with the environment. These girls were absolutely wonderful. They were very excited to be there, and wanted to learn as much as possible. One activity we always do is a bird watching program. It's interesting to see how various groups treat the program. These girls were very in to it, and weren't just identifying the birds on the sheet, but they were also watching their movements, and were excited when any bird took flight.

At Edith Stephens, we also have a gardening greening workshop every Monday and Wednesday where various people and groups can come to learn, free of charge, how to plan, plant and maintain a community garden. Edith Stephens also provides them with the necessary supplies to actually create their garden. We are currently on the second week of the series, and it's already very apparent that some people are more into it than others. I don't understand this, because the workshop is not mandatory by any means, and it does not cost anything. Why wouldn't someone who has no interest in the workshop attend and take up a space from someone who might want to actually learn something (while free, the workshops do have a capacity of how many people can attend).

It will be interesting to see what other events I will be assisting with at Edith Stephens. I am really looking forward to the rest of the semester, especially my sister, Cassidy coming to visit the nature reserve and meeting everyone I have been working with.