Ground sample of Church Forest biodiversity
September 3, 2010
One of scientist Neville Winchester’s samples, illustrating the biodiversity of Ethiopian church forests (click for a larger image):
One of scientist Neville Winchester’s samples, illustrating the biodiversity of Ethiopian church forests (click for a larger image):
Along with some great moments, came some bad. Here are some of the “worst” things about our Ethiopia expedition: Car trouble Hornbill-hitting-windscreen (will send from laptop) Eating ONLY with the right hand (because the left is used for something else) Watching where you step….. the church forest ground abounds with dung-beetle habitat Eucalpyt plantings that […]
As I muse about our last 3 weeks in Ethiopia, and count my blessings for toasted cheese sandwiches, sidewalks, books, and cotton sheets on my bed in America, I think about the incredible experiences of working in Ethiopia. The best moments: Our amazing team of scientists and citizens the church leadership, with their vision to […]
Here are a few of the critters we were surveying — got 135 birds, but all but about 11 were outside the church forests. We got over 3000 insects as mentioned earlier, with a large portion Diptera and also Coleoptera. Of note many of the Coleoptera tend to be dung beetles (exact counts to follow) […]
We are in our final phases of the Ethiopia expedition, with over 3000 insects logged by various field methods, over 1000-person hours of field time, and several thousand hours of field work yet to process back in our labs and libraries at home institutions. The project was overwhelming and inspirational. We are humbled by the […]
Some various photos from our activities in the field here in Ethiopia:
Church forest near Debre Tabor, Ethiopia. Google Earth 3D and Google Maps 2D view:
Short pictorial guide to our first “base camp”, Hotel Ghion, in the town of Bahir Dar in Ethiopia:
In the northeastern highlands of Ethiopia, agriculture and encroaching desert has replaced most of the original dry Afro-montane forests. These remaining patches of forest usually surround the Ethipian Orthodox Tewahido churches, since they are considered sacred and spiritual. Some of these church forests are over 1500 years old, and their size ranges from 3 acres […]
On Saturday, Ethiopians walk to market, to trade goods and to have social interaction. But for many , the walk is tens of miles — and conditions are dusty, hot, and rugged on the feet (especially without shoes). The scenery is breath-taking, but obviously no one is taking pictures or stopping to admire the view, […]