Africa

My name is Kim. I am a Young Scientist of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, and affiliated with the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) and the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI)... and I am a very lucky person... I finally find myself in what I've always dreamed of...Exploring Nature in Africa! I love to share this fortune with you. JUST FOLLOW ME THROUGHOUT MY JOURNEY!!!

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Elizabeth Usen, Nigeria

Like I have been living under a rock all my life; that’s how I feel post TBA.

TBA Kirindy 2016 course opened my eyes to a whole new world of conservation biology and the countless opportunities that abound there. I have always loved nature, been interested in conservation and possessed a range of skills that seemed unrelated at the time; but this course gave me clarity and focus. Meeting both students and teachers who were very passionate about their work, and working with them for one intense month, rubbed off on me in a really good way.

I am not the same person as I was before the course (TBA does that to you). The changes were so subtle that I mostly began to notice them when I got home; in how I now listen for bird songs and calls, watch them to see, which species are common here, how I notice every plant in all the places I go, try to identify them and what phenological phase they are in, how I stop and watch the sun set, how I can sit in the middle of a market in the evening and just watch a very large colony of bats moving and actually be amazed and in how I now deeply appreciate all the people and opportunities I currently have.

Most importantly, I acquired skills that are very useful for conducting my Masters research project. I am currently studying the seasonal patterns of phenology of the plants of Ogba zoo and Nature park in Nigeria. I am so excited about this project because I will be identifying plants, preparing herbarium species and providing a much-needed baseline data for future research.

One of the things that got my attention during the course was how almost every fauna and flora of Madagascar was known and documented and new discoveries continually made. I kept asking myself, “How do you conserve what you do not know?”. So, in addition to my research project, I have decided to visit every nature park and forest reserve in Nigeria at every opportunity I get, find out what’s in them, explore and enjoy every bit of the experience.

I totally loved the hands-on approach to learning that was employed during the course, the discussions, debate and personal projects. I’m sure I’ll never forget all the awesome things I’ve learnt. I’m grateful for all the amazing people I met and the friendships built, the teachers and coordinators that were exceptionally great at their jobs and amazingly down to earth, patient and encouraging.

This experience has changed me in so many ways, changed my priorities and perspectives. I will do my best to ensure it has a ripple effect especially with my new position as a graduate teaching assistant in my state university. Using Dr. Kev’s words, TBA Madagascar 2016 redefined normal for me.

Thank you TBA! Thank you so very much.

Sosongo eti eti.

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There are two things we should give our children: one is roots and the other is wings.

William Hodding Carter, II (1907 – 1972)

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Safidy Malala Rasolonjatovo

I first applied for Madagascar TBA course to build greater research skills and strengthen my knowledge on Malagasy biodiversity, especially in the dry deciduous forest of Kirindy since my ultimate career goal is to support biodiversity conservation in my country. Actually more than a simple field course, it was a unique experience of sharing and discoveries that helped me to grow not only as a scientist but also as a person. I feel blessed to be part of the TBA alumni now.

You probably know that Madagascar is an underdeveloped country and inarguably one of the worldwide biological hotspots. Lots of conservation efforts are still needed to be done but what TBA does is probably the pillar of tropical forests conservation: educating young African and European future leaders and raising awareness among them about the loss of huge biodiversity! Experts on herpetology, birds and plants have been sharing their experiences and knowledge with passion and without moderation for one month; we even met and learned from the legend of Madagascar Natural History, Pr. Steven Goodman! Coupled with the personal research project, this intensive one-month learning experience went beyond my expectations. Besides, such programs always benefit local communities in so many different ways. To provide example, some local pupils took part of courses given by the TBA teachers. This, to highlight that TBA cares about local communities and I am sincerely thankful for that.

But more personally, TBA was a life experience for me. The beauty of TBA resides obviously on the plurality of the participants, with different backgrounds, gathered for only one concern: conservation of tropical forests. Actually, I feel like I’ve learned as much from the students as I’ve learned from the teachers. The way students shared and helped one another during this one-month stay was more enriching than any other learning methods. Not to mention the strong relationships I built with other TBA participants, which I hope is the start of partnerships between us or even between the countries later. Encountering these strong personalities made me aware of all possibilities that can be achieved with perseverance and determination. Before this course, I was seriously struggling with myself whether I should keep doing research and pursuing my PhD (which is not really obvious when you are a woman and live in Madagascar) or work and find another path. By the end of the course, I lack of words to express how TBA impacted my life in a very positive way; TBA has changed my point of view. Both teachers and students helped me realizing my full potential. By designing and managing my own research project, exchanging ideas, presenting, giving reports and working within a short period of time, I gained more self-confidence and leadership skills than I could ever obtain in many years of theoretical study. To say that I feel more serene about my future now than I was before the course is a weak statement. I strongly believe the research skills, knowledge and self-confidence I gained during this field course couldn’t be achieved by any other ways.

Misaotra betsaka!

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Nobuhle Ndlovu, Zimbabwe

I still vividly remember the day I received an email from the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) that I had been accepted for a TBA course in Madagascar!!! I was ecstatic and it seemed like ages until we got to November because I knew this experience was going to change my life, my career for the better and it did!!!!

Madagascar is very different from any place I have ever been as it carries its own species endemic to the region. My wildlife experience was very awesome, ornithology lessons and practical unbelievable, thanks to Kim. I can safely say its much easier to identify birds for me. The herpertology lectures and capture practicals were great. Am much better at handling snakes now. The big lizards and geckos (Zonosarus karstenni and Zonosarus eacadatus) were abundant. Thanks to Johannes, the night walks were great, too. We had awesome lectures - one worth mentioning was the one on conservation by Kim. I left Madagascar knowing that conservation is not all about biology but an array of different factors and ideas from different parts of the society. I was inspired by projects done in Amani Tanzania and would love to replicate the ideas in my own country and community to make a difference. Most of the learning was practical and hands on; the teachers were open to ideas and always part of activities.

I got the chance to work on lemurs, vigilance in the red faced lemur. Spending the whole day in the bush was great and I got to work independently on a project and I fell in love with the Lemurs, great animals that are spectacular and intriguing in their behaviour. Kirindy forest was so great I learnt a lot.

TBA gave me an experience in life that I would never forget and would not trade the memories for anything… Natureeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Riana Valéry Ramanantsalama, Madagascar

Before the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) field course in Kirindy Forest, Madagascar, I always thought that my Biology and Madagascar Biodiversity Conservation knowledge was enough to commence research and work in conservation and development immediately. Luckily, I was accepted to attend this course because I learned so many things during the discussions on conservation in my country thanks to all lecturers and exchange between students. There are many sustainable resource usage methods used in one country, which could work as well in another.

The TBA course is one of the great experiences that I lived. During this course, I learned various biological research methodologies and materials, which are reasonable cheap but practical. I also saw new technology used for environmental data sampling that we learned throughout our research project. Our research is entitled nest architecture, nest location and behaviour of the Sakalava weaver, which is an endemic bird of Madagascar, and to do this research is one of my favourite parts of the course. We had to wake up at 4:30 AM every day but it is really fascinating to study in a field that we love. Sometimes, I was even impatient to start data collection in the morning to look at the kind of behaviour that we could record. I acquired also knowledge about bird behaviour data analysis.

Throughout this experience, I got the chance to build connections with scientists, conservation decision makers, young biologists and conservationists from different countries and of different age. I really think that TBA changes my life because, thanks to this course, I have the opportunity to continue my study on zoology at the University of Antananarivo as a PhD student. It is also a chance for me to know more about the conservation issues and the applied solutions of foreign countries. And last but not least, it was a great pleasure and an honor for me to meet all these course participants. I gained many life-long friends.

So, I want to incite all students on biology, ecology and conservation and all young conservationists to apply to this course because it constitutes a unique experience, which has a positive impact on your career.

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It’s surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.

Sir David Attenborough

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One of my favorite moments in life??? 


Being surrounded by happy people who have the hope, respect and the devotion to protect life on our planet.

I am deeply grateful to get to know you all.

MISAOTRA BETSAKA!!!


La Maison du Pyla, Antananarivo, Madagascar

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Joe Gosling, United Kingdom

The month I spent on the TBA field course in Amani was one of the best experiences of my life. I met so many great people and learnt so much. It was great to interact and learn from scientists at the top of their field, but I learnt equally as much from my fellow students about the conservation issues in their countries.

We did our project on the diet of tree and reed frogs, which involved some late nights collecting data. It was worth it though, as we made some interesting discoveries. I had a great partner and we had a lot of laughs throughout the project. Who thought looking at frog poo for two weeks would have been so fun and interesting!

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Karoline Bürger, Österreich

Mixed together in a camp in the Tanzanian rainforest with 34 wonderful, nice and interesting people from 18 different countries for four weeks, who want to dedicate their life to conservation.

In my opinion, this sentence sounds exciting enough, without going into detail. Besides, it truly is a challenge to put an extraordinary and unforgettable experience into words that do justice to how multifarious and fascinating it was. The professionalism, enthusiasm and warmness, which was always present during teaching us tropical ecology and conservation, ensured, that we even liked getting up early in the morning to learn something new. It was an honor and a blessing for me to participate in this course, learn a lot, get to know professional ways of working, listen to inspiring lectures, discover the flora and fauna of Amani, design an individual project, visit beautiful places, meet a lot of great people, who are dear to my heart and last but not least: work with the rare and endemic (and pretty:)) three-horned-chameleons, which educed astonishment and many laughs from me, because of their drolly behaviour. I am looking forward to using my gained knowledge in my future career and I want to thank everybody for their commitment, the great friendships, the touching moments and memories, the many, many laughs, and all the challenges.

It was a life-changing experience!

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Alicia Marie Bailey, United Kingdom

The tropical field course in Amani Nature Reserve Tanzania is one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. I enjoyed the unique experience of being immersed within the Usambara Mountains with the Tropical Biology Association learning practical skills within the field as well as the classroom sessions.

The course was very hands on and I felt I was learning valuable skills to enable me to become a better conservationist. I improved my identification skills on many beautiful birds, dragonflies, butterflies, reptiles and amphibians. I learnt lots about the ecology of the area and the threats in which many species are facing within the forest.

One of my favourite parts of the course was learning to mist net and ring birds. Don’t get me wrong, we had to wake up very early before sunrise to set the nets up but I enjoyed the excitement of this and waiting for the birds to wake up.

The last week or so of the course was spent in small groups researching a topic of choice. This gave us all experience of planning, carrying out and writing a study. Our group chose to study the Silvery-Cheeked Hornbill. A memory I will never forget. Finding the hornbills every day was a huge task. If there were no hornbills then there was no study. Eventually after finding them it was definitely worth it. Watching these birds behaviour was truly fascinating!

The course confirmed to me that I wish to continue my studies at a higher level and continue learning about conservation. Furthermore, it gave me a chance to meet many young conservationists from around the world and I loved working as a team, learning about their different cultures and making lifelong friends who are all amazing!

I will cherish the memories I made here forever.

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Cedric Maforimbo, ZIMBABWE

Immediately on arrival from a three day conservation education trip to schools in the Matobo Hills in Zimbabwe, I headed straight to my office to check my email as I had been told that the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) had responded to applications to attend their field courses. I was absolutely elated to learn that I had been accepted onto the course at Amani Nature Reserve in Tanzania as I knew this would facilitate a substantial lift in my career.

The TBA course was very rich in expertise, with lecturers of various specializations that complemented each other and collectively made up a good balance of all aspects of biology. Impressively, the logistics were also very well organized and virtually all equipment required to conduct ecological fieldwork was provided. I learnt various new ecological research techniques which included the use of playbacks for birds (including playback equipment and software), the use of densiometers and luxmeters, among others. I also got to strengthen the research skills that I already possessed. The independent research project that I was afforded the chance to carry out on the course improved my scientific writing skills, which has proven to be helpful in my conservation work since I attended this course.

The most enjoyable aspect of the course was the rich professional and cultural mix that the participants and lecturers made up due to the presence of people from various facets of biology and from an array of countries in Africa and Europe. This enabled rich discussions between us, in which one could learn much about other areas of specialization and about the conservation strategies of other countries

Socially, the highlight of my course was the opportunity to spend time at the beach in Tanga with my fellow course participants, where I swam in the Indian Ocean, always a special experience when you are from a landlocked country. I also enjoy fulfilling personal relationships today with people who I met on the course. In addition, seeing the tallest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, (even from mid-flight) was also an experience that I highly appreciate.

I thank the TBA and their sponsors for facilitating these courses as they go a long way in securing the future of Africa’s, and more holistically, our beloved Earth’s natural resources by equipping the future conservation leaders with very essential skills.

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Randall Tseleng, BOTSWANA

My Amani Experience

It has always been my dream to travel to Tanzania ever since I got to know about the country during my geography lessons back in high school. I remember very well the day I saw the email that informed me I was granted the opportunity to do a TBA course in Amani Nature Reserve, I poured hot coffee on my pants, it was very hot, I was at work and I had just arrived but who cared, I was going to TANZANIA. I wasn’t only excited by the fact of traveling to Tanzania; I was going to upgrade my knowledge and research skills, which are vital skills I require for my current job.

The month spent in the TBA course was way more than what I had expected, besides the unique roll out of the course, which was more hands on rather than the classroom setting type, having people from different countries was a great experience. Learning from every individuals cultural background, the issues their respective countries are facing and how they were able to tackle them brought a lot of insight, some of which we are planning on piloting in our country.

My bird knowledge increased during my month stay in Amani Nature Reserve. I did not know much on insects, plants, flowers and amphibians but after that month I became an expert. I was so good at bird acoustic that I had a bet with Kim (one of our course instructors) about naming the birds from their calls, she bought me my beer!!! I know the difference between Maesopsis and Allablankia, difference acoustics of olive sunbird and little greenbul, difference tastes of palm wine and banana wine, the list is endless.

We got there as completely strangers but we left as brothers and sisters, we are now one big happy family!!! We even have our an anthem for the experience, Roberto – Amarula (though it was abused), when it plays I cant contain my joy when I think of all the memories I had with my brothers and sisters. We greeted each other in a phrase we made up “Aayyyoooo” which means:

“Aayyyoooo” | ã ý ó | adjective 1. feeling or showing pleasure or contentment

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Vera Pfannerstill, GERMANY

For me, the TBA course in Amani was an outstanding experience where I did not only learn specific methods of field work, but also started to build a network among young scientists and conservationists, this way creating contacts to nature conservation organizations around the globe. Without the TBA course it would never have been possible for me to meet students from so many different countries. It was great to learn from each other about the different approaches to nature conservation in our countries and to share ideas about future projects.

One great moment during the course was one day when we walked up the way to Mbomole Hill. “Duikers? Yes, they are here, but you don’t see them.” … Well, I saw one!

 Furthermore, I fell in love with the Silvery-cheeked Hornbills during our one-week-project about them. It is magically to see them flying in large flocks in the evening to their roosting trees.

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Yvette Umurungi, RWANDA

I have far better memories than I could have imagined from my stay at the Amani Nature Reserve in Tanzania for the Tropical Biology Association (TBA) Course 2015. It is not only the rich knowledge and skills I got, the good course experience is also boosting my conservation career. I got also a new family - the TBA family, and could enlarge friends and career networks.

I remember my first days with the visit of the Botanical Garden with John Richard, the amazing Caboka tree Ceiba petendra and the invasion of Landofia liana. I have been inspired by the successful practice of the marriage between conservation and sustainable development through the Butterfly project. The trail of Mbomole hill was wonderful with plants identification and bird ringing and ended with a beautiful landscape view at the top watching birds flying, e.g. interesting Hornbills and maesopsis.

The inspiring moments of evening lectures. The enjoyable chameleon watching during the evening, I will never forget the frog catching at night, especially the first one with Philip Shirk and Nina Gallmetzer, the green snake caught by Philip. The amazing bird identification tour with Kim Mortega. R-statistics with Alex Lord. Catching and identification of Dragonflies and damselflies with Viola Clausnitzer in accompany with my amazing mates Michael and Mr. Sisiwa Stanley.

The morning bird counting with Christian Schulze. The time for our project design of the Diplopoda ended by enjoying the epiphytes project with my amazing group mates Amber and Nicholò. Turacco room, friends, football matches, the tanga outing and evening dances. The welcoming of Paul Gacheru and the assistance of James. Each facilitator and participant was special in their ways. My stay at Amani was a perfect time for practical learning, networking and fun.

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  Mercy Kariuki, KENYA

From the day I learnt that I was offered a chance to be part of TBA, I was very excited since I knew I was heading to a very important course that will be a huge boost to my developing career in conservation, field and community work.

Since I work for BirdLife International and also have some experience in bird research, I had an open mind to learn about other biodiversity aspects that Amani Nature reserve had. From insects, amphibians, mammals, reptiles, and plants. The field excursions were very informative and educative. With the guidance from the teachers and through conducting a one week research project in forest ecology, my interest in this field grew…interacting with trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers was amazing and enjoyable. This is an area that I would like to explore in my career.

Most enjoyable and memorable thing about Amani course was the interaction with the rich biodiversity found in Amani Nature Reserve, the surrounding grateful community, teachers and my fellow participants. Team work spirit and socialization was well portrayed, too.

I believe I’ll be able to put into practice the skills gained during the course and also beyond the established network.

TBA gave me an experience that surely will shape my career, enhance my leadership and research capacity as well as raising my visibility among peers and seniors.

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    Karin Ernst, ÖSTERREICH

During the diverse programme of the TBA-Amani-course at this unique biodiversity hotspot, we have achieved a broad knowledge of conservation in tropical ecosystems and developed our field skills. Thus, we were perfectly prepared, but still excited, to design and realise our own research projects. Finally, all teams, even mine, which investigated frog poo ;) gained innovative results. A very special moment was, when we had the great honor to present our project results in the presence of the Amani community.

Moreover, the TBA course has built multinational bridges across continents, because each of our gorgeous group clearly have one strong intention and belief in common: the goal of working towards a bigger impact that we can achieve together for the protection of nature. According to all this experiences, I am highly motivated and inspired for my master thesis next year. I am going to continue the research on amphibians, which will result hopefully in new discoveries, to emphasise the importance to protect these great little fellows and their ecosystems, especially considering the worldwide amphibian’s decline.

Looking back on four wonderful, life-changing weeks at the Amani Nature Reserve, I am greatly thankful for the intensive time, we have spent together. My memories are full of emotional, funny, challenging, and magical moments. 

Let's stay in contact to keep the inspiring TBA-spirit alive! ;) Cheers, Karin