To see the full EEPAN session, click here.
This one webinar was packed with information, ideas and experiences. It will take us several blog posts to share this richness with you. For the September webinar, Margaret Burger brought together an upcoming global citizen science event – The Great Southern Bioblitz 2024, the experiences of WESSA-KZN young women in direct open sea encounters, and introduced nature journaling. While these topics seem unrelated at first glance, Margaret saw the connections. She had the foresight to get us to share and learn together.
Citizen Science – Great Southern Bioblitz 2024
Margaret introduced iNaturalist - a global citizen science platform for biodiversity. Her clear guidance led us through the steps of how to get started on the platform – from creating your profile to participating in a project.
The next big event starts today!
the Great Southern Bioblitz 20 to 23 September 2024!
Why the Great Southern Bioblitz?
Connect people in urban and metros to local nature
Build in-person and on-line communities around local nature
Collect urban biodiversity data (observations) for use in science, management and conservation
Increase volunteer biodiversity documentation, especially in the Southern Hemisphere
Have fun through friendly competition, if you want (optional)
Join the Fun!
If you are new to iNaturalist,
create your profile
Make a few observations and
add these before the event to get comfortable with the platform.
For everyone - See if there is a project near you. If there is, join it. If not, you can organise one, or just get out there and record your observations. Look at the map on the Great Southern Bioblitz 2024 Southern African Umbrella project For example:
West Coast includes Bergriver, Saldanha Bay, and Swartland Municipalities, but does not include City of Cape Town, WC, ZA
This is not a complete list. For a list of all the project in South Africa visit the Southern African Umbrella Project
You can follow on: Twitter @GSBioblitz Facebook @GSBioblitz Instagram @gsbioblitz
Join and be part of this global citizen science effort!
Stay in the Game - Keep Contributing to iNaturalist
Join a project like WESSA or start one for your home or special area.
Keep observing, recording and join the next Great Southern BioBlitz and City Nature Challenge in 2025!
Diving for the First Time
“I never thought that as a Black young person, I would get this experience.”
This is one of the comments from Siziwe Hlongwa, Sibusisiwe Chonco and Melisa Nonjiko as they shared their recent life changing experiences of snorkelling.
They were part of a group of five young women from the WESSA-KZN Youth who were instructed and inspired by Zandile Ndhlovu. Zandi is a fabulous human being, a South African conservationist and the first Black African female certified free diving instructor in South Africa.
photo by Zandile Ndhlovu used with permission
While they had not heard of her before, Zandile, also known as the Black Mermaid, the founder of the Black Mermaid Foundation, is committed to
“bring kids from ocean facing communities into contact with the ocean”
(blog.padi.com 30 Nov 2021 Emma Hetherington).
We were fortunate to hear from three of the group of five about how they first learned basic snorkelling and diving from Zandile and a diver from Discovery Africa Channel’s PR team. They then went out in a small boat from the shores of Umkomaas along the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal on to the open waters of Aliwal Shoal. Here is where the magic began. First they first saw a turtle and then humpback whales breaching!
Some of the group then got out of the boat and into the water where first ragged tooth sharks, then a single Blacktip Reef Shark arrived. Then there were four and then twelve blacktip reef sharks swimming below the women snorkelling. They reported that they did not feel time passing in the hour and a half because of the excitement.
Their key take aways
"Exposure to the environment through activities is an effective way of encouraging an interest and igniting passion for conservation."
~ Siziwe Hlongwa photo by Zandile Ndhlovu used with permission
‘’This incredible experience made us realise how amazing sharks are and that instead of fearing we should protect them."
photo by Zandile Ndhlovu used with permission ~ Melisa Nonjiko
"The experience encouraged me to be brave and overcome any fear that I might face in life."
Zuzile Mpanza
photo by Zandile Ndhlovu used with permission
We were all blown away by the nature journal entries they shared with us.
These gave such different, and complementary, views of their experiences and observations!
On land from left: Sibusisiwe and Zuzile making observations for iNaturalist; Nature journaling entries: pointing at whales they spotted and showing the camaraderie shared on the boat by Siziwe; blacktip reef sharks by Sibusisiwe.
Nature Journaling Opens Access to iNaturalist
What is Nature Journaling?
Nature Journaling is hand recording
your observations, thoughts and feelings in response to nature.
Recording by hand, on paper,
slows you down.
As you slow down:
You relax, notice more & care more deeply about nature including people.
Natural journaling is a flexible, effective and accessible tool for education, action and advocacy by creating nature connections. No smartphone is needed, anyone can make their observations using tools they already own.
Nature journaling brings simple, yet powerful tools for observing and recording.
iNaturalist and nature journaling share observations and recording as common ground.
Observations
All life or evidence of life (excluding domestic cats and dogs and humans for iNat)
Landscapes
Records
Date
Time
Location with variable accuracy
Photos and audio recordings
Photos of journal entries
More information the better
Space for Personal and Creative Expression
When you nature journal as a personal practice, your can express your experiences, feelings and observations in whatever way you want. Some forms of creative expression do not overlap with citizen science. You can choose to record things differently from the same observations. Your first record can be the source material for a song, written story, dance, sculpture, painting.
Citizen science can be a focus for nature journaling.
Projects can help with IDs such as those for which there are no field guides like mosses. Remember field guides contain only a small number of the total known species at the time of preparation!
And perhaps most importantly, nature journaling can increase access to iNaturalist. Nature journaling entries may be accepted as observations. So you can add observations to iNaturalist even if you do not own a smart phone, or if you do not have a working phone with you when you notice something. You can also add them to the Nature Drawing and Journaling Project here.
Wherever you are notice nature.
Take note of your observations.
Share your records from your notebook, journal or camera for the benefit of the us all to better understand and protect biodiversity.
To see the full EEPAN session, click here.
EEPAN (The Environmental Education & Public Awareness Network) explores resilient futures in the face of climate change. Don't miss the next seminar. Join the EEPAN mailing list to get notices of their monthly webinars by contacting
EEPAN Coordinator, Melisa Nonjiko info@eepan.co.za
WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) plays a significant role in creating awareness and providing platforms for people to act and get involved in helping to solve environmental issues; encourages and supports citizen action for a healthier planet. We focus on education and training – particularly among young people – as well as advocacy and action projects to promote biodiversity, habitat integrity, pollution reduction and sustainable use of natural resources.
NJSA (Nature Journaling South Africa) is a community of nature journalers interested in nature and committed to stewardship. Nature journaling is our tool to learn about and deepen our connection with nature and each other. Read more about us here and here. Anyone can nature journal anywhere. Will you? Learn more about nature journaling here.
Learn more about the amazing Zandile Ndhlovu here and here (not only her Black Mermaid Foundation, conservation, ocean exploration, social activism and storytelling including her children's storybook "Zandi's Song").
Are you recording your observations of nature?
Do you record using just photos or nature journal, or a combination?
Do you share these on iNaturalist?
Have you swum with sharks?
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