As a canopy biologist, I am intrigued by the nature of scaffolding in other countries which appears slightly akin to scaling trees and dangling on branches. Here at the Bahir Dar Airport, the traditional Ethiopian tree-branch scaffold spanned upwards of three stories, with a team of young boys but mainly women working atop this rickety structure. Like the bamboo scaffolds of China, the Africans use their local materials for the scaffold and construction supports. I think I will stick to ropes and harnesses, given a choice! I hope the airport expansion is constructed safely, and that these brave workers get a raise! What a vivid difference from the construction site for our Nature Research Center, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, in Raleigh NC.