A Surprise Participant at an Environmental Conference

Our surprise guest, a Vervet Monkey, trying to look innocent.

He wasn’t supposed to be there. He wasn’t invited. The conference room door was closed, so he climbed through the window! Men yelled. Women screamed. Papers flew! The speaker stopped mid-sentence. The hairy beast, a gleam in his eye, jumped from table to table, clearly enjoying all the commotion he was causing! He quickly scanned the room, looking for a mid-morning snack. Seeing none, he disappeared back out the window, back into his own habitat.

 

The conference was held in the countryside, surrounded by nature.

Actually, he was the perfect visitor for this conference. People from many countries had come together to talk about ways we can encourage others to protect animals and their environment. Spending four days at a simple resort out in the countryside in northern South Africa, we were surrounded by nature. It was the perfect place for teachers, professors, college students, and conservationists to share their ideas.

We came across a giraffe family while on an afternoon walk.

It was inspiring to hear people from so many different countries talk about their concern for taking care of the earth. More and more people are beginning to realize that we need to take action now if we are going to keep animals from becoming extinct, and if we’re still going to have lots of beautiful nature to enjoy in the years ahead.

Ms. Christie-Blick speaking at environmental conference, Limpopo, South Africa.

During my talk, I told them about the Fulbright project I’m working on while I’m here in South Africa. It involves bringing together, via computer, a grade four class here in South Africa with a fourth grade class in the United States, to talk about ecosystems and taking care of the environment. Some of the participants thought this was so important, that they agreed to talk to you students directly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23 thoughts on “A Surprise Participant at an Environmental Conference

  1. that was so suprising when the monkey broke into the conferance room! I also did not know that there was penguins in africa!

  2. Really! I cant picture that happening that’s crazy! I think its so cool that you got to talk with people that can have a big change in the world.

  3. It is so good people are trying to slow down global warming so animals can stay alive. Also it is good because it will make this world a better place.

  4. I learned in Africa that many people are going to help our environment and kind and inspiring that we could also do something about it.

  5. It is so good that many people are trying to help the enviorment, to slow down global warming, and make the earth a better place. The monkey thing was hilarious

  6. I find it so great that not only americans are aware that global warming is occurring. I agree with all of the people you spoke to and thank them for their advice. Now I will definitely recycle and do what I can to keep the earth beautiful. I also find it fascinating that you talked to people and got their opinions from all over the world. WOW!

  7. What we thought was interesting was how Cynthia cared and knew environmental science was important since she was little. Environmental Science is up to us to determine whether our future is clean and safe.

  8. We think that all of the opinions will make a difference on what others think about Global Warming. We really enjoyed listening to the accents of people from different countries. We wonder how many people from different countries were there at the conference.

  9. We think it is great that people are educating children to protect the Earth because we are the future and we want the future to be a great place.

  10. I am happy to hear that people not just in 1 country, but in several countries, are trying to slow down air pollution. : )

  11. From what all the people told us we started thinking more about ways to keep the environment clean and how we can do them, like picking up things on the ground that can either be trashed or recycled. That got us thinking that it’s important to keep the environment clean.

  12. I didn’t know that there so many people all over the world concerned about the enviorment! I thought it was only a few countries! 🙂

  13. Ethan says: I agree with Kevin that we are the future and therefore it is up to the future leaders of the world to change past wrongs and better the world for all, animals and plants included.
    Matthew S says: I did not know that man can make such a negative impact on the earth and even cause climate change. I think that people should also look after our sharks even though we are scared of them. This actually had a negative impact on the ocean's ecosystem and food chain.
    Takunda says: I am glad to see that there are so many people around the world that are helping with the environment.
    Travis says: I think that we need to do something about rhino poaching.
    Megan says: I think it is sad that people are over-fishing and taking more fish than they actually need. This is purely greed.
    Damon says: I think it is so sad that people discard their trash causing pollution on land and oceans.
    Chloe says: I cannot believe that there are so many people hurting the environment like polluting the oceans with trash.
    Jenna says: I, too, would like to go to university to study Horticulture and hopefully help the planet in some way.  
     

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *