Conservation - SOUTH AFRICA Volunteer Stories

Conservation in South Africa - David Bouck

Although I was only working in Legodimo for about a month, I feel as if the whole experience was some kind of long dream. To me it seems amazing that I can board a plane and travel halfway around the world to a place so incredibly foreign compared to my hometown in Massachusetts. It was surreal to see all of the animals that I had only ever seen in photographs and in documentaries on the discovery channel, but at the same time the bush felt like home. There was something about the still air that rose above that heated landscape, and how the bush radiated and shimmered with the heat of summer, it felt like being wrapped in a blanket. You could not help but feel immersed in this land, even after climbing to the top of one of the towering hills which rose above the dense foliage. It has been a long time since I felt the brand of excitement which I awoke to everyday while volunteering at this site. The wildlife which I knew only from media was suddenly all around me, in such stunning variety and number. For someone growing up in a highly developed area, where nature is really quite subdued, to be interacting with an ecosystem such as this within this proximity was the thrill of a lifetime. Simply, it felt as though I had stepped over the fence at the zoo and jumped into the cage with the animals, only it felt much more natural than that. I was no longer in a place where nature must follow the rules of humans, rather it was the other way around, and I loved every second of it.

I find myself constantly comparing my daily routine here in Massachusetts with the daily experiences I had in Botswana. In Botswana I would awake just as the sky was beginning to glow with the first rays of sunlight. There was no need to set an alarm or check my watch, as the calls of the birds and hippos would rouse me from my slumber. I wake up at my college and drag myself out of bed to get ready for another surprisingly dull day amidst concrete, people, and snow/mud/salt. In Legodimo I would jump out of bed, stretch, make tea, and wonder at the glory of nature which was unfolding in front of my very eyes. Here was a place where I felt healthy. The greatest excitement of my situation in Botswana was the capacity for the unknown, which lay ahead of me. What was going to happen today??

Who knows what the future holds, but I know that I am on the very edge of it as I graduate from my college this spring. I sincerely hope to work with Projects Abroad again once I make some money, maybe traveling to Thailand for the marine conservation project, as I am pursuing a career in oceanography, and this sounds right up my alley. Projects Abroad is unique as it offers the chance to work with people from all over the globe, which can be extremely entertaining and enlightening for perspective purposes. I think that this interaction which spans international borders is one of the most valuable experiences a person can have, and one that will never cease to educate, no matter what your age. I am really looking forward to the lessons that I am going to learn in the years ahead, and I hope that I can do something productive for our world seeing as I have the opportunity to do so.



David Bouck


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