Remote Sensing of Alkaline-Saline Lakes: Applications to Flamingo Conservation

Science and Sustainability: Improving Livelihoods in Kenya

Students from the University of Leicester have left a lasting impression on local community groups in Lake Naivasha, Kenya, after visiting in April this year. They visited Naivasha as part of the Sustainable Livelihoods field course, which is run each year by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science. The course allows students to apply skills learnt during their degree to tackling real world issues of sustainability. This year’s student projects – ‘Reduction of fluoride in drinking water’ and ‘Briquette making’ - were particularly successful in raising awareness of key issues and transferring knowledge to local communities.

Although fluoride is added to drinking water in some areas of the UK, very high levels of fluoride can have a negative effect on human health. Students Amy Cook and Ashleigh Glossop found that drinking water from bore holes around Lake Naivasha had fluoride concentrations well above WHO guidelines for safe levels. Some people in the area had already taken steps to reduce fluoride in their water; however Ashleigh and Amy found that many people were unaware of the health risks of fluoride. They tested a simple method of reducing fluoride concentration in drinking water, using carbonised animal bones, and found it to be successful.

I-science students Alicia Peel and Zoe Bailey worked on a project researching and creating different “Briquettes” – a fuel source made from compressed waste material - with the intention of introducing them to local communities as an alternative to charcoal.

Zoe said, “We looked at how these Briquettes could be advantageous to local communities and how different characteristics of the Briquettes (e.g. ratios, components or preparation method) affected how effective they were a fuel source. We also investigated how charring [carbonising] the Briquettes or the components of the Briquettes affected their efficiency, as well as looking at a couple of possible methods of charring.”

Zoe and Alicia found that, overall, charred Briquettes worked best (they burned hotter and gave out less smoke); however, non charred Briquettes still worked well and are simpler to produce. Briquettes have a number of benefits for local communities. They are made from waste material and therefore provide a low cost alternative to charcoal, they can also provide a sustainable livelihood for people making and selling the Briquettes. If Briquettes become widely adopted in the area they should help to reduce the environmental damage caused by the production and burning of charcoal.

Students worked with a number of local community groups including the Lake Naivasha Disabled Environmental Group (LNDEG). These community groups have now implemented some of the suggestions put forward by the students and they have found the information very useful. Thadius Mogendi, Chairman of the LNDEG, has kept in touch with the students by email to keep them up to date with the progress they have made since April.

Ed Morrison, a PhD student working on wetland restoration in Naivasha, worked with the students. He said, “The briquettes have helped disadvantaged communities, with no access to electricity, reduce their dependence on environmentally-destructive charcoal production. The students supplied the materials and training necessary for the LNDEG to produce biomass briquettes from locally-available and otherwise discarded waste materials. They are now busy selling this alternative fuel in the settlement, at KSh 3/briquette [2p] and helping to spread knowledge about re-use of wastes towards affordable and environmentally-positive fuel production for the rural poor, reducing local rates of deforestation in the process.”

 As well as helping local communities in Kenya, the students who take part in the field course also get a lot out of the experience. Zoe Baily said, “I really enjoyed the Kenya field course. Being in Kenya was a really great experience, I loved getting to meet the local people and learning what life was like for them. It was amazing to be able to experience an environment so beautiful and different from what I am used too.”

Zoe went on the say, “I think the best part about the field course was that I got to work on my own project that I knew could actually be of real benefit to the local communities. I was especially pleased when I recently received an email update from the Lake Naivasha Disabled Environmental Group informing us that, after the presentation Alicia and I gave, they are now producing and selling Briquettes.”

The Sustainable Livelihoods course is run by Emma Tebbs, Graduate Teaching Assistant for the I-Science course, and Dr David Harper, originator of the module, who is a Senior Lecturer in Ecology & Conservation Biology in the Biology Department.  David also teaches ecology on the I-Science degree by running the ‘Biosphere’ module and sustainability by contributing to ‘Sustainable Futures’. He has conducted scientific research in Kenya & Tanzania for over 25 years, focussing upon the sustainability of water resources.

The field course will take place again in 2012 during the Easter holidays, when another group of students will travel to Kenya to work on a new set of projects. The course is open to anyone at the university. Anyone interested in taking part can find out more by contacting Emma Tebbs – ejt15@le.ac.uk.

Talking problem-based learning with the University of South Africa

Mr Rudi Pretorius from Unisa’s Department of Geography recently attended an engaging workshop which encouraged discussion on problem-based learning (PBL). The workshop took place from 12 to 14 July 2010 at the University of Leicester, and was hosted by the Physics Innovations Centre for Excellence (piCETL) and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University. No stranger to PBL, Pretorius constantly experiments with and uses aspects in the modules he presents. This was therefore a great platform for him to compare and benchmark his work. Although not design specific, the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss and develop PBL implementation, whether starting from scratch, becoming involved in an existing programme or looking for ways to refresh present courses.

 “Despite it being a small workshop, this still facilitated lots of debate and discussion – more so than many of the other conferences I’ve attended in my career so far,” said Pretorius. “The participants understood the constraints of PBL in terms of the ODL context and found the methodologies, which I employ to challenge my students with intriguing problems, interesting.”

 Pretorius thrived on the platform to present a problem he uses in one of his modules. Participants were split into groups and attempted to solve the problem as though they were students, with Pretorius facilitating the group work.

 This was “an excellent learning and development experience as I now have bags of innovative ideas on how to improve problem-based approaches in my teaching practice.”

 Pretorius also presented a paper on PBL at the recent National Association of Distance Education and Open Learning in South Africa (NADEOSA) conference and facilitated a seminar hosted by the Department of Geography on 20 October 2010.

Visitor from East Africa

Last month the I-Science Centre was visited by Jackson Komen, Conservation Education Officer for Lake Bogoria National Reserve in Kenya. It was his first visit to the UK but he made time to visit the Interdisciplinary Science Centre because of the special link it has with Lake Bogoria. Students from the I-Science Centre visit Kenya each year for the Sustainable Livelihoods field course, where they work with local communities and carry out research projects to find solutions to sustainability issues.

Jackson said, “I am proud to be associated with University of Leicester. On behalf of Lake Bogoria National Reserve, I am happy to say that the University of Leicester has uplifted the standard of education in Lake Bogoria in terms of capacity building, research and even sponsoring poor children from Lake Bogoria neighborhood to access tertiary colleges and local universities through individual student sponsors”

 “My visit to the University recently, strengthens the relationship between these two institutions. I am delighted that the University is keen to continue supporting research in Lake Bogoria National Reserve, something that is also welcomed by the Reserve’s management.”

The Lake Bogoria National Reserve is involved in all the initiatives carried out by students from the departments of Biology and Geography, as well as I-Science, led by Dr David Harper, in Bogoria and the work has even acquired the appellation ‘BOGORIA –LEICESTER LINK’. It continues a connection begun by Professor Aftab Khan, of Geology, 40 years ago. The community is now implementing suggestions put forward from I-Science student projects, these include:

·         Rain water harvesting

·         Honey production and Marketing

·         ‘Biochar’ production

·         Education using the Sustainability Game (developed through the I-Science Centre on a Teaching Enhancement Fund grant to Dr Harper)

·         Managing the invasive, non-native plant species, Prosopis juliflora

Jackson was very happy to meet the staff involved in making arrangements for students to visit Bogoria for their studies. He was impressed by the Centre’s commitment to this project and he was pleased to hear from the Centre Director, Professor Derek Raine, that Leicester students benefit immensely from the experience and that the Leicester-Bogoria link is highly valued.

Looking to the future, Jackson would like to encourage the I-Science Centre to support the Community-based Biodiversity Conservation Films (CBCF) project, which was developed by David Harper and other colleagues, and funded by Darwin initiative. The project has become very successful in Kenya and Tanzania, and the short films made have been used to recruit new students to the Sustainable Livelihoods Field Course each year. The film database can be viewed by visiting their newly created website, www.communityconservationfilms.org. Here people can also make donations which will enable young talented African conservationist to continue making films for conservation education in Kenya and Tanzania. Jackson said, “I must say, I am proud to be associated with it, I have been in charge of implementing this unique project in East Africa. The Darwin Initiative funding has just come to an end, but we now have longer-term measures to sustain the project.”

Sci Newsletter - Autumn 2010

The Autumn 2010 Interdisciplinary Science Newsletter contains details of recent outreach activities, research, news and events relating to the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science.

Please click this link or on the image to download a copy of the pdf file.

 Electrifying Science Activity Day Solves Murder Mystery

A group of year 10 students from five schools in Birmingham made the trip to the University of Leicester for a fun day of science activities. The day started in the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science with a physics workshop where students carried out a variety of experiments with electrostatics, follwed by a 'chemical murder mystery' in the Department of Chemisty. Read the full story here.

Lights, Camera, Science... Action!

Science Communication Filmmaking Masterclass May/June 2010

A group of Year 12 science students from Leicester College have participated in a series of filmmaking masterclasses provided by the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester. The brief for the students was to create a short, interesting film to communicate an aspect of science to the general community and for possible entry to a national science communication filmmaking competition. Read the full story here.

Interdisciplinary Science in Action

'Sustainable Futures' field course takes students to Kenya to explore sustainable livelihoods

Students from The Centre, studying Interdisciplinary Science at the University of Leicester have just returned from a field course in Kenya’s Rift Valley. As part of a course module on “Sustainable Futures” the students had the opportunity to work with the local community to help them try to find solutions to every-day problems whilst working towards the goal of sustainable development.  Read the full story here.

Sustainability: Theory, Practice and Solutions Explored by College Students

 Sustainability - Interdisciplinary Science Masterclass 15th April 2010

Year 12 Students from Regent, William Bradford, Guthlaxton and Lutterworth colleges came together at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science to participate in a workshop about sustainability based on the environment around Lake Bogoria in Kenya. Read the full story here.

 The Appliance of Science – Message received and understood

Code Breaking: WWII Interdisciplinary Science Masterclass 13th April 2010

Year 12 Students from 4 local schools and colleges have visited the Centre for Interdisciplinary Science to participate in a masterclass on code breaking with a World War II theme. This full day event allowed students to investigate and use a variety of different historical ciphers starting from the simple shift (or Caesar) cipher and eventually working up to ciphers used by Allied and Axis forces during WWII. Read the full story here.