With the South African strain of COVID-19 now having reached Zambia, many offices are being forced to once again ask their employees to work from home. Although we all start out with good intentions, it is easy to get distracted with other tasks and without our daily routine and office chit-chat with colleagues many people become stressed or feel isolated making, us unmotivated and less productive.
So what have we learnt from working from home during 2020? Here are our top tips to help you through your working day.
Get ready for your work
It is easy to roll out of bed and just start looking at emails, but having a shower and getting dressed, even in casual clothes, signals that you are ready to start work. Defining the start of your working day will make you feel more positive and productive because you are in ‘work mode’. Don’t forget that working from home does not mean that people will not be able to see you – you might suddenly be asked to attend an online meeting or call!
Define your work space
Working from home is convenient – after all you are not spending time stuck in traffic trying to get to your office – but resist the temptation of sitting on your couch with your computer. Not only is it bad for your posture, which can lead to back problems, sitting in front of the television means you can easily get distracted.
Choose a dedicated area in which to work. Find a space with good natural light and set up a small ‘home office’. Creating a specific workspace as an office environment, with everything you need to get your work done, keeps you more focused and helps you to concentrate on your tasks.
Keep to normal working hours
Plan your day – when you are going to start, take breaks and then set a time to stop working for the day. It is easy to lose track of time when working from home, so make sure you stick to your schedule. You might have days with a larger workload, in which case you can extend your working hours, but doing this on a daily basis can be harmful to your health. It is not always productive and can be stressful, both physically and mentally.
A work-life balance is essential. Your personal life is just as important as your professional life. Don’t be tempted to send one more email or contact a colleague after working hours – calling someone when they are in the middle of preparing their evening meal is annoying at the very least and as they have switched off their mind-set from work, you might not always get the best response! So at the end of your working day, turn off your computer and move away from your work space.
Create a ‘to do’ list
Creating a list and planning your tasks for the day ahead helps you keep track of your progress and be more efficient. Break your day up into chunks, grouping tasks together – such as checking and responding to emails first thing, then dedicating the morning to administrative tasks, whilst keeping the afternoon free for more time consuming and lengthy tasks.
By using a check list and ‘chunking’ your work, you will get through your tasks more effectively, keep focused and then you can easily check what else needs to be done for the following day.
Turn off distractions
Even when you are working in your office, distractions can keep you from being productive and be time wasting. The same applies when you are working remotely, distracting you every time your phone or computer chirps or pings. So turn off your social media. You are also allowed to turn off notifications or put your devices on ‘Do not disturb’ or silent, especially when you are dealing with difficult tasks and you need to focus.
What happens if you are attending an online meeting and your children skip in?
It is not easy to work in a chaotic environment. So let your children, spouse and other household members know your work hours, and set out the reasons why and when you can be disturbed and why and when you cannot.
Take breaks and exercise
Research shows that working from home can easily lead to burnout if you are not good at stepping away from your desk and taking a break. Make time during your day to catch up with your children and friends, take your dog for a quick walk or to take some exercise.
Exercise is beneficial to your health and by increasing the blood flow to your brain, helps to sharpen your mind and keeps you more alert. Staying fit also helps with mental health, heightening your endorphin levels which boost happiness. This is especially important if you are missing the social aspects of working in your office.
Maintaining good posture without the benefit of specifically designed office chairs can be a challenge. So take short breaks and try some simple stretches, walk up and down stairs or just getting up to make a drink will help loosen up your muscles.
Eat healthy
One of the advantages of working from home is that you are always close to your kitchen for a quick snack. But don’t be tempted to just grab the first thing that comes to hand. Sticking to a healthy diet is essential to help you function as ‘junk’ food can drain your energy and over eating can lead to sluggishness and tiredness, making it harder for you to carry out your tasks. And don’t forget to drink lots of water!
Interact with your colleagues
Working from home can make you feel isolated. At the office you are surrounded by your colleagues, where you have the same goals and ideas whereas at home, everyone works differently and might be on different work schedules. So do regularly check in with your boss and make time to socialise remotely with your team so that you don’t feel disconnected. This way you can easily share information and ideas and also it helps to keep each other motivated.
And don’t forget – you are not alone!
At this time, millions of people around the world are having to work from home, so never feel that you are alone. When you have turned off your computer and finished your work for the day, then take some time to chat about your day with a friend or even send them an email about your day. Doing this helps you process your day and organise your thoughts so that you are fresh and ready to start again the following day.
The Zambian Carnivore Programme (ZCP) has announced that they are thrilled to be part of BBC One’s Dynasties II series. The episodes, featuring hyena and cheetah, will star Liuwa Plain’s South Clan hyenas and cheetah Kali. ZCP has been working with the BBC on the new series that takes an intimate look at the dramatic lives of these wild animals over the course of several years.
“Dynasties II will be a gripping look at the lives of four remarkable wild animals as they struggle to build a family against the odds. With characters you fall in love with, and genuine life-and-death stakes, this will be a series every bit as thrilling as the greatest drama.”
–Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History
Dynasties was first aired in 2018 and was watched by over eight million viewers who were captivated by each episode – the unbelievable daily struggles faced by David the chimpanzee, Charm the lioness, Blacktip the painted wolf and more.
The second series promises to be just as fascinating as the first, transporting audiences into the dangerous, surprising and breath-taking worlds these wild animals live in – as demonstrated by Meerkat: A Dynasties Special on BBC One and iPlayer.
BBC One has confirmed that their second Dynasties series will bring even more remarkable stories to life, looking at animal families and leaders; heroes and villains; and, triumph and tragedy. “From the southern tip of the snow-capped Andes, to dusty plains in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, to vast wetlands fed by the flooding of the Zambezi River – these four films will tell the stories of elephant, cheetah, puma and hyena.”
Like the first series, each episode will delve deep into the lives of individual groups of animals, which were filmed in a single, iconic location. These focus on a protagonist leader and then follows them on their daunting quest to keep their family safe whilst establishing their genetic line, or dynasty. “Each a leader in their own right; Angelina the matriarch elephant, she-cheetah Kali, Rupestre the puma and hyena clan-leader Suma, are confronted by a rapidly changing world with relentless competition for dwindling resources that stacks perilous odds against them. These pioneers must adapt quickly, or face losing their dynasty forever.”
“Being able to tell these stories is a wildlife film-makers dream – and just like in series one, they are going to be a gripping rollercoaster ride”
– Mike Gunton, Executive Producer
Dynasties II will feature four, sixty minute programmes, made for BBC One, by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC America and bilibili. The new series is set to air in March 2022.
Giraffe – one of our most iconic species. Here we think of them elegantly striding across South Luangwa NP, or ungainly shuffling their long front legs so that they can reach down to a watering hole in order to drink in Mosi-oa-Tunya or Lusaka NPs. But recently researchers from the Giraffe Conservation Foundation have come across two dwarf giraffe in two totally separate countries.
These were not young giraffe, but sub-adult males and are the first dwarf giraffe to have been described in scientific literature. In a recent published paper, Brown and Wells describe how they first spotted a dwarf giraffe in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Observing the young male Nubian giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis) over two years they found that he had disproportionate limbs in relation to his torso and neck. They next observed a second sub-adult male giraffe, this time an Angolan giraffe (Giraffa giraffa angolensis), on a private game farm in Namibia. He also had apparent disproportionate anatomy.
Using digital photogrammetry techniques, they performed comparative morphometric analyses on these two wild male giraffe. They found that their skeletal dimensions were not consistent with similar aged giraffe of the same species. Both giraffe had shortened metacarpal and radius bones and also exhibited shortened fore-limbs and exhibited different neck lengths. Brown and Wells are uncertain if the etiology of these skeletal aberrations was consistent in both animals.
So why the short legs?
Brown and Wells suggest it is caused by skeletal dysplasias, cartilaginous or skeletal disorders. These sometimes result in abnormal bone development although cases are rarely seen in the wild. Cases of skeletal dysplasia are seen in captive animals, especially when there has been inbreeding with a lack of genetic diversity.
In Murchison Falls National Park the giraffe population is estimated to be >1350 adult individuals. But in the 1980s their population declined to about 78 individuals and they experienced a ‘genetic bottleneck’.
The Ugandan giraffe has not been observed since May 2017 and the Namibian giraffe was last spotted in July last year. Although predation is low in both their habitats, it is thought that they might have succumbed to predation due to their limited mobility caused by having shorter legs. This susceptibility to predators might be another reason why skeletal dysplasias animals are rarely seen in the wild.
What is Genetic Bottleneck?
Genetic bottleneck occurs when a wild animal population is greatly reduced in size, limiting their genetic diversity. This species limitation can be caused by a number of factors, including disease, over hunting, poaching or climate change. Long-term consequences depend on the species, but animal populations with low genetic diversity have less reproductive fitness and a limited ability to adapt to environmental change, with an increased risk of extinction.
Brown and Wells are the first researchers to have documented cases of skeletal dysplasia in two distinct giraffe species in very different geographical locations. You can read their full research paper – Skeletal dysplasia like syndromes in wild giraffe – online at Springer Nature.
In 1533 a Portuguese trading ship sank off the coast of what is now present-day Namibia. Its 40 tons of cargo included gold and silver coins along with around 100 elephant tusks. These preserved tusks varied in size, ranging from 2-33 kg in weight and came from male and female elephants. Despite being underwater for nearly 500 years, the tusks were in good condition due to the cold waters of the Namibian coast
An international team of scientists has now examined the tusks using paleogenomic and stable isotope analysis. They identified the nuclear DNA as coming from African forest (Loxodonta cyclotis), rather than savanna (Loxodonta africana) elephants. These elephants historically ranged across the entire Guinean and Congolian tropical forest blocks of West and Central Africa.
The Shipwreck Ivory Originated in West Africa
Using Mitochondrial sequences, which is passed down from females, the team traced the tusks to West Africa, from at least 17 different elephant ‘herds’. Comparing these with the most up to date genetic information about modern elephants, they found that only 4 of the same lineages still exist today in modern West Africa. This means that all the other lineages have become extinct, probably due to indiscriminate hunting elephants for their ivory over the last five centuries.
“That was quite shocking – that loss of diversity,” said Dr Coutu. “Next we’d really like to fill in those gaps in a chronological way. We can look at where these pinch points are in history and create a timeline of exactly how and when the huge trade in ivory had an impact.”
“[What we found] definitely has conservation implications,” Dr de Flamingh added: “We know that a loss of genetic diversity is associated with increased extinction risk.”
By studying the chemical elements in the tusks (stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen) they found that these elephants had lived in scrubby woodland savannahs, not the deep tropical forests along the West African coast where almost all forest elephants live today.
“This information gave us a picture of the ecology of the West African forest elephant in its historic landscape. Knowing more about historic environments in which forest elephants thrived will benefit wildlife conservation today,” said Dr Ashley Coutu.
The scientists hope that their detailed examination of the shipwrecked ivory could help inform anti-poaching efforts today. Whilst recent figures suggest elephant poaching has slightly decreased, they are still being poached across the region. Confiscated tusks can be analysed to find out where the elephants originated, so the historic evidence found in the Born Jesus shipwreck can be used to provide a comparable reference, so its origin can be confirmed.
“And once you know where the ivory is from you can develop targeted anti-poaching strategies for those locations,” says Dr de Flamingh. Dr Coutu added that “we’re really going to be able to use this historic data to answer modern conservation questions.”
The 16th century shipwreck was identified as the Bom Jesus, a Portuguese trading vessel which was lost in 1533 whilst sailing to India. Elephant tusks were a valuable commodity in the 1500s and were often traded from Africa to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The find, of such a large number of well-preserved tusks, was unique.
Main photographs – Top: gold 10-cruzado coins (cross insignia), minted under the reign of King João III of Portugal in 1525 and withdrawn in the 1530s, helped to date and identify the ship. Bottom: the shipwreck cargo included more than 100 unworked elephant tusks. Images: Amy Toensing; National Geographic Image Collection.
Welcome to 2021! If you are looking for your first job in conservation or the environmental industries or are planning to change your career this year, then we thought you might like some tips and ideas on how to find your next job during a difficult job market year.
2020 was a particularly hard year for most conservation organisations. Many NGOs rely on donations and contributions from their local tourism industry for funding. Due to the worldwide pandemic restricting travel, funding dramatically reduced, meaning organisations were not able to implement new projects or take on new staff during 2020. With a second COVID-19 wave upon us, the tourism sector might also be facing another difficult year. This means that there will be less money supporting conservation NGOs, both here in Zambia and across the world, making finding a new job in conservation far more difficult.
Aspects of working in conservation
Some of the positive aspects of working in conservation include the opportunity to work in different geographical locations and the satisfaction of knowing that you are improving the environment and the world around you. Plus, if you enjoy being outdoors you will probably enjoy the fieldwork aspects of conservation work. Some other aspects to bear in mind include the physically demanding nature of the work and that this is a highly competitive industry.
To gain an entry-level job in conservation you will typically need a Bachelor’s degree in environmental sciences, wildlife biology, forestry, agricultural science or a related field. If you are seeking a managerial position you may need a Master’s degree from a reputable university.
What skills are needed?
Be enthusiastic, passionate and committed – most conservation jobs involve long working hours, in difficult conditions and traditionally NGOs pay less than private business. So, you need to love your job and be aware that you might not earn the same salary as your family or friends.
Great communication skills – although research, fieldwork, or surveys might take up the majority of your time, you will need to be able to present your findings to others, whether it be report writing, grant seeking or sharing your findings via social media platforms. So you will need to be organised and have good written and IT skills.
Good field skills – even if a project isn’t strictly field based, field skills are a core component of conservation. It could be anything from meeting and talking to local communities, to radio tracking big cats and everything in between. Careful planning can make life much easier when it comes to analysing data or writing up reports later on.
Willingness to work long and antisocial hours – field work often involves early morning starts and working over weekends and public holidays. Many conservation jobs are not just office based, so don’t expect to work an 8 hour day, with weekends off.
Being able to adapt, with a willingness to learn and keep developing your skills – keep up to date with new research methods, developments in national and international policies and new technologies, and be open to undertake training courses and internships.
And, adopt a positive and friendly approach. Conservation work often requires considerable contact with the public, as well as networking with others – from local communities, NGOs, government departments and the tourism industry to the media and international organisations.
Job hunting tips
Most people working in conservation are highly educated – find out what others have studied and be prepared to put some serious time and effort into studying if you want to get ahead.
Only apply for a job that you really want – companies and NGOs get hundreds of emails in reply to a job advert. They find that the majority of applicants do not have the relevant skills, qualifications or passion for the job advertised. So make sure you state clearly why you are the best candidate for their job so that you are top of their list to be interviewed.
Highlight your unique skills and experiences within the conservation industry – even if you are looking for your first job or internship this is where your field studies, volunteering or work experiences can come in handy.
Most conservationists work long hours, in difficult conditions – so you need to be really passionate about the job and be prepared to highlight this in your interview.
With so few conservation jobs being available at this time, it is a highly competitive industry – you need to create opportunities for yourself by volunteering, attending events, asking people in the field for advice and don’t forget to network.
How we can help
From your emails and comments, we know that finding a job at the moment is extremely difficult. So Conservation Careers Zambia will continue to scour the job market to bring you all the latest volunteering and job opportunities to make your search a little bit easier.
Our weekly blogs will also be offering you tips and advice on how to further your career, as well as posting stories and articles, keeping you informed with what is happening in the conservation and environmental industries, both here in Zambia and from around the world.
So keeping checking out our jobs board and blogs page so that you don’t miss out on any careers opportunities for 2021!
