Capacity Building
Tertiary Level Training
Currently in Namibia, there is no complete course of study offered in
the field of environmental education. However, various institutions
offer academic courses in related fields of study. Therefore, NaDEET works
in cooperation with the Polytechnic of Namibia to provide EE
opportunities to students of Nature Conservation Studies. Our 6 month
training includes practical experience in outdoor teaching, programme
planning and centre logistics. In addition to the hands-on experience
the student receives at NaDEET, the student is also required to
complete a reserach project relevant to NaDEET.
In-Service Training Students
and their Projects
Scroll down to see the students
NaDEET has hosted to date. You can view a brief biography as well as a
summary to each student's project. If you are interested, a complete
project report by each student can be downloaded by clicking on the
title.
Viktoria Endjala (January-June 2009)
Viktoria is from the Oshana Region. She studies Nature Conservation
because of her love of nature particularly animals. As a young girl in her
village, nobody cared what happens to animals or plants and the environment at
large. Therefore she decided to get more knowledge about nature so she can give
back to her community by educating them about the importance of what nature offers.
Comparison of Soil Movement in
Vegetated and None Vegetated Areas (PDF, 170 Kb)
Jonas Hausiku (July-October 2008)
Jonas comes from the village of Nkurenkuru in the Kavango
Region. Jonas believed that choosing Nature Conservation Studies would be the
backbone for his conservation ambitions. He hoped that one day he would be able
to put all of his knowledge and experiences into practice to protect the
environment.
An Investigation of Raptor
Occurrence and Activity in the Southern Namib Particularly Near NaDEET and If
There is Any Correlation Between Rainfall, Food Availability and Raptor
Sightings (PDF , 1Mb)
In his project Jonas attempted to determine the occurrence of certain
raptor species close to NaDEET. For this he
relied not only on bird sightings on birding drives, but also on other signs betraying
bird activity such as tracks and faeces. Jonas identified a total of seven raptor species occurring in the
vicinity of NaDEET and was also able
to determine typical patterns of activity for some species. However, a
correlation between raptor presence and food availability in years of high
annual rainfall could not be established.
Jeremia Amutenya (November
2007-June 2008)
Jeremia is from Okahandja, a small town just North of Windhoek, and is
the second of four brothers. Nature has been of fundamental importance
to him in his life, which led him to study Nature Conservation. Jeremia
spent longer than six months at NaDEET (the normal time period for an
in-service training student) because he requested to start early in
November.
Fence Effectiveness and
Maintenance - A Comparison Study of Maintenance Methods and the
Effectiveness of a Boundary Fence in Two Habitats (PDF, 1Mb)
This project compared three fence maintenance methods along a boundary
fence between NamibRand Nature Reserve and a neighbouring livestock
farmer. Due to a variety of wildlife movements, holes develop in fences
that require constant repair.
This project looked at three repair methods in two different
substrates. The aim of the project was to identify the most effective
method to give recommendations to NamibRand Nature Reserve staff.
Jeremia chose this project as he comes from a farming community and is
interested in maintenance work. The results of the project were that
fence holes in a dune sand substrate should be repaired with rocks
while holes on the sandy plains should be repaired with iron poles.
Patience
Mamili (July-November 2006)
Patience was born in the
Caprivi in northern Namibia. She is the second of 13 siblings from the same
father but different mothers. As she studied nature conservation, she found
loves learning about natural resources and the importance of even the smallest
plants and animals.
Determining the Biodiversity and Population Size of Nocturnal Small
Animals (PDF, 1Mb)
This project was aimed to
find the number and type of nocturnal animals to be found in the grassy plains and sand dunes using non-lethal sherman traps. Two types of rodents were trapped: a
Hairy footed dune gerbil and a Stripped mouse. Birds and some crickets were
also found in the traps.
NB: After the completion of this
project, it was determined that the gerbils were not properly identified as
both the Hairy footed dune gerbil and the Hairy footed gerbil occur in the
dunes.
Thomas
Neema (January-June 2006)
Thomas is from Ondangwa in northern Namibia. He is the third of nine siblings and has a strong
passion for the natural environment. He is particularly interested in plants
and developed his project around this interest.
Determination of the Transpiration Rate of Different Plant Species within the NamibRand Nature Reserve (PDF, 6Mb)
The main aim of this
project was to compare the quantity of water lost by different plant species
into the atmosphere. To do this, plastic bags were tied to the plants for the
experiment and a syringe was used to draw in water found accumulated in the
plastic bag. The results of the project were that non-indigenous plants, like
the Orange tree lost more water because of their broader leaves
than local, small leaved trees.
Bornface
Simangolwa (July-December 2005)
Bornface from the Caprivi Region, did not
understand the importance of nature as a young boy because he was taught that
“natural resources belong to nobody and nobody had the right to protect them”.
He thought that everyone can utilise the resources anyway they feel. He later
realised that people were just taking and not putting anything back, so he
decided he wanted to do something about it.
Wastewater Recycling: Effect of
Re-Usable Wastewater on Tomato Plants (PDF, 1Mb)
To help NaDEET Centre develop an appropriate waste water system,
Bornface compared different types of grey water and filtering methods
to grow
tomato plants. Unfortunately, the project could not be completed as the
tomato
plants did not produce fruits within the four month project period.
However,
the growth of the plants was not altered by the different cleanliness
of the
water.
Uakendisa
Muzuma (January-June 2005)
Uakendisa from the
Ehirovipuka conservancy in the Kunene Region was disturbed by people from his
area practising illegal poaching, uncontrolled cutting down of trees and using
poison that killed many wild animals. This made him choose nature conservation
as a career.
Insect Biodiversity and Population on
Dune Slopes vs. Sandy Plains (PDF, 2Mb)
Uakendisa’s project
investigated the occurrence of small walking insects such as Tenebrionid
bettles and fishmoths, which occupy the ecological niche of detritivores in the
Namib Desert. By comparing the insect biodiversity and
population sizes on the dune slopes and sandy plains, Uakendisa hoped to
contribute to improving the biodiversity of specimens which are caught in
Centre activities such as “Insect Trapping and Identification”. He found the
dunes to generally have a higher insect biodiversity and attributed this to
food availability and diverse microhabitats. However, in conclusion Uakendisa
recommend to also trap insects in the sandy plains and to use other trapping
methods (i.e. for flying insects) in order to increase the biodiversity of
specimens caught.
Michaella
Phemelo (January-December 2004)
Michaella was the
first student to conduct her in-service training at
The Perception and Acceptance of
Alternative Energy Sources for Cooking (PDF, 2Mb)
This project’s aim was
to find out why Namibians do not use alternative energy sources for cooking.
Michaella conducted interviews with 6 participants from each visiting school at
NaDEET Centre. Her findings show that rural participants use both electricity and
open fires for cooking and would like to change to using alternative energy
sources. Most urban participants use electricity for cooking and have shown interest
in using alternative source but most still considered electricity to be much
more convenient for them.