Michigan Tech

EAST AFRICA FIELD CAMP

Antenna 2010 Field Camp v 1.4 2/21/10

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Instructors?

Dr. James R. Wood is a professor in the  MTU Geology Department and is camp director. He has a Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University and has taught at Michigan Tech since 1990. He previously worked in industry for 10 years and has been active in the Rift Valley for the past 7 years, directing research and mapping.

Ms. Alex Guth (MS) will assist Dr. Wood. She has a BS from MTU in geology. She recently earned her MS in Geology mapping the Rift Valley in Southern Kenya and has been active in the Rift Valley for the past 5 years.  She has served as an expert commentator for a National Geographic program on the Rift Valley.

Who can attend?

Usually the attendees are geology majors with junior or senior standing, but sophomores have attended as well as graduate students. Teachers and other who need CEU's for their licensing requirments may also attend.

Is this a "Geology Field Course"?

The course ' Field Geology of East Africa' is a geology field course designed to satisfy the Field Course requirements of most geology departments. Check with your college or university to be sure. The course aims to provide the student with a suite of modern mapping tools, including GIS, LandSat imagery and digital mapping software. The experience is comparable to that normally found in modern stateside field geology courses. Check the course description.

How many students typically attend?

Enrollement is capped at 12 students to ensure a good instructor/student ratio.

What are the accomodations like? Will we really be camping?

For the first 3 weeks we are based in Nairobi at the Woodmere Apartments which is convenient, comfortable and safe. We commute from the Woodmere primarily because the rift valley itself is virtually undeveloped: no lodging, restaurants, campgrounds, etc. Overall this is a good thing, but does require more travelling than we would otherwise do. On safari duering the 4th week we stay at established lodges  in or near parks in the rift. We pass several of the major rift cities, such as Naiavasha, Nakuru and many smaller villages. The reef excursion (5th week) is spent at lodges between Mombassa and Malindi. Students will get a good flavor of East Africa outside Nairobi and how to cope with it on their own.

What about transportation? Do we travel a lot?

Yes, we do travel a lot, over 3000 km, not counting travel to and from Kenya. We travel in 9-passenger AWD safari vans driven by professional drivers. For the past  5 years we have used Wanzala Safari Travel, which is economical, flexible (goes where we want when we want), and operates new, well-maintained Toyota HIACE vans, the workhorse van of East Africa which is the vehicle of choice for most safari companies in Africa.

Is Kenya safe?

This is a good question in light of recent developments. The answer is "Yes, for now". We have been to Kenya twice since the election violence of 2007 and things are calm and we noticed no security risks. This is not to say that the potential is not there, but if so we have contingency plans to move the field camp to South Africa.  For now Kenya is quiet and tourists are returning.