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Up until recently, it didn’t occur to me that organizing and chaperoning a high school field trip could be one of the most significant and exciting highlights of my service, but as it turns out, taking a group of 15 high school students into Faro National Park (FNP) for the day was an accomplishment for everyone involved. Although most of the students in the high school are from the area, most barely have a vague idea as to how the Park functions and to some extent, serves them, and even less have ever actually set foot in the Park, even though the base camp is less than 40km from their school. The current Conservationist of FNP has been working in Voko for more than ten years (non-consecutively), but this was the first time in his career that a group of students from the local village are coming to see and learn about the Park. This group of students is coming from the community most directly affected by the neighboring protected area, whether it is through illegal acts such as poaching and gold mining or through the benefits they should be receiving—monetary and otherwise—from the protected hunting zone their community cooperatively manages.
The day started with fifteen students—dressed and ready for the wilderness—showing up at my house (and alternatively the Park Conservation Office in Voko) at 6am, to get picked up by the Conservationist’s driver. The kids came ready, equipped with camera phones, notebooks, questions for the Park staff, and most out of the ordinary—girls, in jeans and baseball caps, who normally wear strictly pagne wrap skirts and headscarves. Along with the biology teacher (who runs the club with me) and the school vice principal, we all loaded into the pick-up and headed into the park. As if riding in the back of a pick-up wasn’t enough, the kids got even more amped up once they saw a few animals (baboons and antelopes) on the way into the park. 
Upon arrival, we were greeted by the Conservationist and his staff, and after a few minutes of exploring the base camp a bit, the students all took a seat for a session with the Conservationist where he went over FNP’s history and creation, rules and regulations, protected and endangered species, and fielded several questions posed by the students. I was really proud of the students for coming prepared both with the background knowledge we provided them with, as well as several questions that kept the discussion moving.
After the session we loaded back into the car for and outing farther into the park to get a look at some animals. The first stop was the “hippo pond,” one of the many populous hippopotamus habitats along the Faro River. As the eco-guards explained about the animals and they’re habits, we waded into the river for a closer look at the massive creatures. After an extensive photo session where basically every student solicited me for a photo in front of the hippos or with their friends wading through the water, we headed back to the car and drove a little farther into the park. Because it was nearing midday and fairly hot, there weren’t too many animals roaming about, but we still got to see a decent about of antelopes and a couple monkeys and baboons. We headed back to the park base for a wrap up session and a lunch graciously provided by the park staff, then piled back into the car, with the kids in high from the trip, singing and shouting the whole way home (I know… it sounds totally cheesy, but it’s actually how it happened). Our hope is that now that this initial trip and “conservation education series” can serve as an example for other students and clubs, peak an interest in conservation and forestry, and continue to make the Park more accessible to the community.
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Switching gears a bit… I’m still doing soy formations every once in a while, the latest being with a women’s community group who planted soy I provided them with during the rainy season and now would like to learn a few different ways to prepare and take advantage of it.The formation went really well—the women were really into it and picked up on the process really quickly. They’d like to practice making tofu and soymilk some more, with hopes of selling it around the village or just consuming it at home, and then planting it again during the upcoming rainy season.
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