We were so happy to find a newish hotel in Debre Tabor, complete with showers! However, last night was a huge and blustery rain storm, closing the noisy disco in the alley next door (a blessing!) but also flooding some of our rooms and also cutting off electricity. So we awoke to no showers, no lights, no hot coffee and a few other setbacks. However, we headed to our second forest site, knowing full well that most residents of this town do not even have electricty and that seasonal floods are a part of their lives.
We worked on 3 trees: local names Sehel (Teclea nobilis), Tife (Olinia rochetiana) and Donga (Apodytes dimidiata).
Some of our group are sending BIG thanks to our sponsors:
- National Geographic
- TREE Foundation
- North Carolina State University
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences
- Picker Interdisciplinary Institute at Colgate University
- Fund for Teachers
Our group also sends big thanks to the Tommy Hilfiger Foundation, who donated bags for us to hand out filled with bug/kits for the local villagers and teachers here in Ethiopia. I have amazing photos of the kids with their bags, nets, vials, and pooters (aspirators), as well as neat insect and plant keys that our scientists made for them.
We are all enthused and passionate about conservation of these forests.
