During my last fieldwork in Kenya, I had the great opportunity to teach two different courses related to my PhD study. As an early career researcher in conservation biology, I am always happy to share science and to promote research on my topic, Human-Hyena Interaction, especially with a new generation of researchers. Each and every knowledge shared is the key to succeeding in the challenges society is facing.
My first course was on ‘Tracks identification’ for students of Stony Brook University. The course was taught in the Turkana Basin Institute, Sibiloi National Park. This course had a theoretical part and a practical session. It is necessary to be aware that learning how to identify the footprints of animals takes years of practice. However, the most important is to start by understanding the power of observation to find the most suitable areas for tracks. Then, the next stage is to use a basic guide, which helps to follow several steps and narrow down which tracks belong to which species.
The practical session consisted of walking a 3 km transect to put into practice the theoretical keys, following tracks features to identify African mammals. In addition, the goal was to experience the difficulties that you could encounter when working in the field under unpredictable conditions, such as the presence of livestock activity interfering with the survey.
‘Calling station method’ was the second course and it was taught for students of Princeton University. This course was taught in Mpala Research Centre, Laikipia. Again the course was split into one hour talk and a practice session. During the theoretical part, we looked at different ways this method can be implemented, which calls can be used, which the best places to carry out the calls are.
The most interesting part for the students was the practical session, where they participated in a real calling station. It was carried out at night and students were able to see the process explained in class. Deciding the most suitable place to carry out the study, setting up the equipment and observing how spotted hyenas and lions approached our location, was simply a pleasure and a great experience for all.
To conclude, courses have strong mutual benefits ―teaching and learning―, can you think of a better way for students to learn than from practising with a passionate teacher/early career researcher? The students receive an input that goes beyond the mere knowledge, they gain the passion transmitted by the teacher/researcher and the training to face (field) problems.
On the other hand, can you think of a better way for a teacher/early career researcher to improve storytelling than being able to explain your study? The teacher, as an early career researcher, learns how to reach a broader audience and as Albert Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”.
Miquel Torrents-Ticó 