Weekend Report by Darren Oosthuizen
They Came, They Saw, They Learned, We Succeeded!
This is it, the Communication Practical weekend. The weekend we had heard stories about. The weekend where almost all the Bushveld Mosaic students were unsure of what to expect and appeared to be stressed to a level they had not yet experienced on the course. Alas, Peter and the accompanying Honorary Officers were trying to calm them down.
Friday: The Practical weekend at Pilanesberg started a little bit different from the usual Bushveld Mosaic weekend. The teams were instructed to meet at the Pilanesberg Education Centre a little earlier to write the Archaeology test, and let us just say that things didn’t quite go as intended. There had been reports of potential load shedding in the Pilanesberg area, and that was confirmed when halfway through the assessment, Eskom decided to be Eishkom. Nevertheless, the students showed their resilience and commitment to the course and out came the headlamps and torches, and the assessment continued.
The students did not want to delay this test any further as they were aware that the weekend of presentations was going to be a handful, and we did not want any other complexities to be introduced through the weekend, like trying to squeeze in another time slot to complete the assessment. Upon completion of the assessment, the students returned to Potokwane, which has become a home away from home to the students, only to be welcomed to the sights and sounds of around 20 scholars and their supervisors from the Rustenburg Voortrekkers as well as the Pretoria Zoo Club. The scholars were all situated around the fire, eager for the weekend, telling stories and jokes and getting to know each other while waiting for dinner. The students were then treated to an evening of stargazing.
At this point, things got quite real for the Bushveld Mosaic students who knew these scholars were individuals involved in conservation at their young ages, and the Bushveld Mosaic students had been warned that they knew their stuff. At this point, the Bushveld Mosaic students were allowed time to enjoy a much-deserved braai and relax for a bit before doing some last-minute preparations for the presentations to be held on Saturday morning. Once these last-minute preparations had been done, some Bushveld Mosaic students retired to bed while others squeezed in some last-minute preparation till late into the night.
Saturday: We were greeted with magnificent weather on Saturday morning and started with an early morning introduction and prayer from the Voortrekker group at the Education Centre. The Bushveld Mosaic students then scurried off to their various sites to set up their presentations with what they believed to be enough time… It was not.
Groups of scholars were approaching while Bushveld Mosaic students went into overdrive to get the sites set up in time. Some groups were lucky enough to have some of their key animals gracing them with their presence – a big thanks to the African Fish Eagles for this one!
The first presentations managed to go ahead with a few hiccups which the Bushveld Mosaic students managed to iron out quite quickly for the second and third presentations.
Improvising is key when in nature. The rest of the presentations went ahead and yes, the scholars tested the Bushveld Mosaic students on their various ecosystems. Still, in the end, this all seemed quite rewarding, with some wonderful outcomes and feedback from the scholars.
Everyone then returned to the Education Centre for presentations prepared by the Rustenburg Voortrekkers and Pretoria Zoo Club on the theme of “Save a Stream”, which they were well prepared for and may have even taught the Bushveld Mosaic students a thing or two. The scholars were then entertained to a mid-afternoon game drive through Pilanesberg. Upon returning to the Education Centre, there was a brief awards ceremony, closing, and departure.
Well Done to the Pretoria Zoo club for winning the “Save a Stream” presentations!
The Bushveld Mosaic students returned to camp again for another relaxing bushveld braai at Potokwane. Later we had our first introduction to astronomy, where we gazed up at some of the visible constellations and had a quick argument about whether Scorpio chases Orion through the night sky or vice versa.
Sunday saw the Bushveld Mosaic students returning to the Education Centre for astronomy and climate. Once again, Eskom was being Eishkom, and everyone had to move from the Education Centre to the Manyane Conference Centre for the lectures to continue. André van Rensburg was our lecturer for the morning and was exceptionally knowledgeable regarding these topics. The Bushveld Mosaic students could walk away knowing they had received great in-depth knowledge of weather patterns and systems and a better understanding of deep space and the stars.
Thank you to the Bushveld Mosaic team and André van Rensburg for another wonderful weekend in the bushveld, granting us the ability to learn in nature and, for this weekend, the opportunity to give back, as is the intention of Bushveld Mosaic students.