One day to go until the NYC Marathon
Category: Fund Raising | Date: Oct 31 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Sim and I have been taking it easy today, staying at a friends in NYC. Yesterday we went to the Expo to register and collect our numbers. We walked along 34th street and as we got closer there were more and more fit people carrying bags. It was about then that I got my first nerves. Unfortunately Sim had not been receiving any of the emails and so had not been allocated any transport. they managed to fix him some but it means we have to leave tomorrow morning at 0450 to get to the bus for 0530 for a 1020 start!!!! I am not sure what is going to tire us out for the race or the time before we start. I was originally booked on the Staten Island Ferry at 0800 (a much more reasonable time) but I guess I am going to have to travel with Sim.
We will have lots of supporters tomorrow - not just the crowds but specifically friends will be cheering us on - and I know that this will help the 26.2 miles feel a little easier.
Wish us luck - we are going to need it.
I am looking forward to seeing Central Park and realising that it is almost over!
Dawn Run with the Zebras - NYC Marathon Training by Kate Evans
Category: Fund Raising | Date: Sep 21 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
http://www.justgiving.com/KateandSimsMarathonChallenge/
Sunday morning and the alarm went off at 0530. We left for the airstrip at 0600 and after checking the perimeter for animals, I started running at 0630. Sim was driving and in charge of the iPod stereo to keep me motivated. The target was 16km (10 miles). There were a few Zebra’s grazing on the side of the airstrip when we started and they looked a bit perplexed by this white lady running by the side of the car, but they soon got bored and moved off to other pastures, leaving us alone with the crowned plovers - that would buzz me whenever I ran past them.
We considered running around the perimeter but decided that the western side was too close to thick vegetation and something could ambush us and so we carried on with the up and down. At the 10km mark I grabbed an energy bar and as I concentrated on eating that I ended up going flying head over heels having tripped on a half buried stick. I lay there for a while wondering what the hell had happened before I picked myself up, blew the sand off my energy bar and carried on. At about the 12km mark my hip and knee started hurting and I kept having to stop to stretch it. I wondered if the fall had down it or it was my old knee injury returning., Hopefully the former and I will be OK for the weeks training ahead.
Running up and down was very boring indeed, and save for the plovers and an eagle of some discription that dropped in to say hello teh scenery did not change much. Thankfully General Jones (great band featuring my friend Matthew Shartsis www.thegeneraljonesband.com)
, Johnny Cash and in the final 1km when I was in need of more motivation, Dolly Parton - kept me going and I completed the 16km in 1hr48. We returned to camp and I enjoyed a guilt free fried egg breakfast before cracking on with report writting.
We are running the NYC Marathon
Category: Fund Raising | Date: Sep 18 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
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Sim and I are running the NYC marathon on the 1st of November and trying to train in the bush which involves us running up and down the airstrip- it is the safest place for us to run. Unfortunately it is not great for our carbon footprint as someone has to drive up and down with us. As we have yet to find a willing volunteer this means that Sim and I have to take it in turns to drive and run making the training session twice as long. All rather boring really.
Oh well, hopefully it will all be worth while and we shall raise en0ugh money for the 4×4 we desperately need.
I am back in the bush with the elephants…..hurrah
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Sep 12 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Dear Friends,
It has been a while since I contributed to this blog and for that I must apologise - it is not that I have not wanted to do it - it is more that I felt there was nothing of interest to tell you as I have been in the UK for most of the year and thought you would want to read more about the adventures in the bush.
Things have changed a lot recently.
In November of last year I was seriously thinking about giving up on the research. Things had become very difficult as I was had to work in the UK to earn pounds to enable me to continue doing what I love. Finding work in the UK was very hard and the demands of the charity (Elephants For Africa), which I set up with Randall Moore in 2008, and the research, including supervision of two students meant that I needed to put time aside for this. In the end the maths did not add up and I was left wondering if I could continue. I have not been paid for the work that I do, and whilst that is not an issue in the past, when I hit 30 the realisation that this was not sustainable began to play on my mind. The questions of what happens when I am older, or if I want children, and should I be unable to work through ill health or sickness what would happen to be then? Then a donation to the charity was made to cover my wage, which meant I was able to stay out in Botswana and do the work which I love.
In January my partner of 10 years asked me to marry him and in February he decided to leave his successful engineering career behind so he could join me in Africa. He will be taking up the voluntary position of Operations Manager, responsible for the day-to-day management and using his business skills to take the charity forward. This also means that I can concentrate my efforts on the research. So, at the end of July he left his job, and we left the UK for a much needed holiday in South Africa before coming up to camp.
We arrived in camp yesterday and had such a warm welcome from our friends and are eager to start planning for the years ahead. There will be lots of stories as we follow the elephants and look forward to sharing them with you.
Best wishes
Kate
Update from Kate Evans
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising, Travel | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Dear Friends,
It has been a while since I contributed to this blog and for that I must apologise - it is not that I have not wanted to it. 2009 has been a busy year for me and one of BIG decisions, mainly as to whether I was able to continue with the reseach.
Thankfully the answer to that is a big loud YES. It has been a year of ups and downs and heart breaking decisions.
I am currently in Cape Town waiting for the arrival of our Land Cruiser - a 17 year old beauty! We shall then drive up through Namibia to Botswana.
On the way we shall be trying to keep fit…… as Sim (my fiancee and I) got places in the NYC marathon to run as a fundraisier - please check out our funding page. http://www.justgiving.com/KateandSimsMarathonChallenge. This carries on from our successful summit of Kilimanjaro in December last year.
Cheers for now
Kate
Runner takes on the LONDON MARATHON to raise money for the elephants
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Apr 17 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
An old School Friend, Felix Jaffe, is running the London Marathon on the 26th April and has decided to support the charity and is looking for sponsorship to help him around the gruelling course. Visit http://www.justgiving.com/felixjaffe to donate, support Felix and the elephants.
Tags: Felix Jaffe, fundraising, London Marathon
How much is Okavango Delta worth? By Mphoeng
Category: Botswana Elephants, Donors, Fund Raising | Date: Mar 20 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
The arrival of floods in our camp and seeing how much distance the water covers of the dry desert has left me wondering how much the Delta is worth.
It has brought life to a desert, some would say a miracle in itself and can we put a price on that?.
The arrival of so much fresh, water giving water into the Okavango Delta led me to question how much the Okavango Delta is worth. Economists may well have an answer to that, if they took on board the revenue it brings in from tourism, the jobs that it creates, and calculates how many people it supports and what it would cost the government to support if it was not there. But is worth really just down to money?
Let’s look at the role of the Okavango Delta.
Its support a lot of species including the elephants, purification of the water biologically as the water seeps through the deep Kalahari sands and the reeds that clean the water at no cost. Here, no man-made machinery is needed to purify the water it is a natural endowment. So the question that I pose to our lovely blog readers is in monetary terms how much is the Okavango Delta?
The role that the Okavango Delta plays is priceless when I look at the abundant species it supports. Botswana as a country benefiting immensely from the Okavango Delta, it has supported people adjacent to it for many years. Elephants have benefited from the vast land of delta and it supports a high biodiversity. Medicinal plants that Delta provides help local communities, palatable fruits of delta, oh the list is endless. How much is this Delta worth?
For me it is priceless, and that is why I have dedicated my life it to. But is it safe? No. Conservation is not a business, it does not give a return in monetary terms but it does give - it gives the knowledge that wilderness, such as the Okavango Delta, which are the lungs of the world are safe….. how much is that worth to you?
Tags: conservation, delta, donation, risk
Coast to Coast Fundraiser
Category: Fund Raising, Travel | Date: Jan 29 2009 | By: elephantsofbotswana
Thanks to fellow blogger Shivani Bhalla (who I meet on my trip to Kenya), I now know how to upload video’s- so here is my 1st attempt. This was a video shot of our 1st sporting fundraising trip, Sim (my partner) and I cycled across part of England, mostly off road. We managed to raise enough to buy a new digital camera.
If this inspires you to do a fund raising event, then get in touch on kate@elephantresearch.co.uk or through our website www.elephantresearch.co.uk
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Hi, I am Kate Evans, or more commonly known as Elephant Kate. I am a zoologist whose great love is elephants. Since 2002 I have been living my dream by researching elephants in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. I decided I was going to be an elephant researcher when I was seven. I was living in Asia at the time and visited the elephant orphanage in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It was there that I made up my mind I was going to work for these majestic and intelligent animals. I made a promise to an elephant and we all know an elephant never forgets!!!! It took me 20 years to finally realise my dream and start my life as an elephant researcher. It was 20 years well spent and now I have to pinch myself most days to make sure it is true and I am living my dream.
I now head up a team who are researching the elephants and trying to work out the social and ecological needs of the largest remaining population of the African elephant. From time to time, other team members will add their thoughts and experiences. I love sharing my experiences - so I hope that this blog is a medium through which you will be able to join the elephants and I on our adventures in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. -
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