In November, I escaped the chilly dreariness of southern England and headed to southern Africa. It was a veritable feast of a trip for someone partial to warm weather, warm people and plant invasions.
Kicking off the trip was a week in Stellenbosch at the Centre for Invasion Biology for a workshop (run by the brilliant Ana Novoa) and CIB annual conference fun.
I then met up with Marije Schaafsma, Becks Spake and Ishmael Kosamu for a week in and around the (recently) Ramsar-listed Elephant Marsh (plus a workshop for good measure – superbly chaired by Marije) . I could write reams on all of this (on the whole “big” trip in fact), but I’ll let some photos do the talking instead.
Finally, to spice things up a little, I flew into Zimbabwe for a bit of coup action – and to meet with Nicky Pegg and co from the Dambari Wildlife Trust. Things were thankfully very chilled in Bulawayo, and we spent most of time admiring the amazingness of Zimbabwe, its landscape, flora and fauna. Just incredible. Big thanks owed to Phil Riordan and the conservation team at Marwell Wildlife for the introduction.
Lots of cool research opportunities and collaborations in all of these places, so looking forward to southern Africa mark 2.
Ecological Change 