Working @ Resource Gardianship again....

SAQA US 252459

Control non-dangerous damage causing animals

Questions and answers

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria:

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 1

Identify and locate non-dangerous damage causing animals.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Non-dangerous damage causing animals are identified and listed.  ·        Mongoose, Flies, Ticks, Warthog, Indian Minors, Red Billed Quelleas, Nyallas, Grey go-away birds, Feral cats, Rats

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Tracking skills are used to identify non-dangerous damage causing animals. ·        You will use your senses to track eg. Smell, hear, feel, and see. Look at dung, spoor, damage caused, nests/dens.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

The behavior of non-dangerous damage causing animals are identified and described. ·        You must know the animal/pest you are dealing with. How the specific animal locates their food e.g. a fly smell its food. You must know the specific animal’s life cycle, for instance the fly live for about 10 days. The fly lays eggs, the eggs become maggots, the maggots become pupae and then the pupae becomes a fly. The fly has a holometabolic (complete) life cycle. You also need to know the animal or pests life span.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

An overview is given of regulations arising out of legislation applicable to game removal operations as it applies to non-dangerous damage causing animals. ·        Under Section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971 states that where damage is caused by an animal that belongs to a non-dangerous species a keeper of the animal is liable for the damage. Animals within this category as such things as dogs, cattle, horses etc. In order to prove liability under Section 2(2) of the Animals Act 1971 the following needs to be established: That the damage is of a kind which the particular animal, unless restrained, either is likely to cause or if caused is likely to be severe Such likelihood is due to the characteristics of the particular animal not normally found in animals of the same species or not so except at certain times or in certain circumstances That those characteristics were known to the keeper as defined above.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 2

Assist in control measures for non-dangerous damage causing animals within the area of operation.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Trapping and baiting techniques used during control operations relating to non-dangerous damage causing animals are applied as per organizational requirements.  ·         Trapping animals can be destructive (gin trap) or non-destructive (putting bait in a cage). The environment can be influenced by the trapping or baiting method.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Control measures are maintained to provide assistance in the capturing of non-dangerous damage causing animals.  ·         Capturing cages can be used to catch and relocate non dangerous damage causing animals. It is live capture and is non-destructive

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Poisons, sprays and/or biological agents are applied in accordance with applicable legislation and manufacturer's instructions.  ·         Poison spray can be used on Red Billed Queleas, and there is a specific method of using the poison. The poison can be harmful to the environment. Poison should be changed more often when working with pests with a short life cycle because the pests can carry resistance to the poison over in genes.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Breeding sites are limited to control certain species.  ·         You must once again know the animal’s behavior and where they breed to know where to start working on the problem or pest, for instance the mosquitoes like breeding in still water.

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 3

Carry out skinning, disposal, preservation and other procedures to remove carcasses of animals.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Assistance is provided in the carrying out of skinning, disposal and other procedures as it relates to the disposal of carcasses.  ·         There is always a money or an OHS (Occupational health and safety) point of view. Carcasses can be taken to the taxidermist or can be used as compost, tusks can be used, animal skin can be used and meat of the dead animals can be reused.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Assistance is given in the preservation of carcasses as per operational requirements.  ·         Preservation of carcasses can be done for scientific purposes  or for reselling

SPECIFIC OUTCOME 4

Assist in community interactions.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 1

Assistance is rendered in communicating with the local community in addressing problem animal incidents.  ·         Record incidents: time, date, location, etc. Incidents is recorded so that there can be something done about it and it can be followed up.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 2

Information is gathered from local communities as it relates to problem animals.  ·         Find out what the nature of the incident was (what happened, look at the site, speak to the people who are involved)

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 3

Assistance is rendered in addressing problems with non-dangerous damage causing animals through the dissemination of information.  ·         Speak to the chief of the local community about the problem and discuss the matter and what can be done, when and how.

ASSESSMENT CRITERION 4

Assistance is rendered in the educating of local communities about damage causing animals.  ·         Start with educating local communities’ children, even though it is a long term planning, children might still tall to their parents about it and discus it with others

Working at Food and Beverage. My first week

13/09/2011 - 19/09/2011

13/09  Cleaned the tables (wiping the tables), swept and mopped the floors so the day can be started in the right way.

Tsidi showed us where we can find what we might need while we're at this course for instance the cutlery, plates, cups, tea, coffee etc. She also showed us how to make the coffee, tea and cappuccinos. Surprisingly they all should be made with love (they must be perfect, with foam and sprinkles). We also learned how to make milkshake and how to serve it.

First day and we already had to help at our first conference. We had to get the tables ready and polish the glasses and the cutlery for the conference

14/09  Early the morning we started setting the tables for the conference people so they can have breakfast. We put on the table cloths and the overlays and we helped with the self service coffee bar.

We steamed/polish the red and white whine glasses and set the tables again for lunch time. We cleaned the tables by removing the dirty plates and glasses. And after the conference people had finished their lunch we had to set the tables again for dinner time. Finally after that we cleaned the restaurant and went home.

15/09  Today i worked late shift. Cleaned the table of the conference after they have had lunch.
Polished the whine glasses and the cutlery before sweeping the hall and setting the tables for the big gala night of the conference.
Worked till 02:50 the next morning, helping the guests and cleaning the tables.

16/09  Had another quick conference the next morning where we sat the tables outside and put the plates and the cutlery ready.
After that was finished i went to SSB (Sondela Share Block) the take away the dirty laundry and had t pick up the clean ones and bring it back to the restaurant.
Worked at the vleisvreters braai the evening, where i also had a few tables.

17/09  Had to help at the rugby game which was shown on the big screen in the hall. Served the people and had to clean the tables regularly. Worked at the bring and braai the evening.

18/09  Had the wildlife center breakfast with Robyn, it is real great fun. You get to set up the table while standing between the giraffes.
We took the food, cutlery, chairs, tables, glasses, cups, juice and everything else needed with us to set the table so we can give the guests a memorable breakfast between all the animals.
Cleaned after wards and went to the restaurant and did waitering the rest of the day.

19/09  Went to SSB with the dirty laundry and came back with the clean laundry
When I came back I served a few tables and then Tsidi taught me to work with the computer and showed me how to cash up. 

The second week at Sondela share block (SSB)

31/08/2011 - 06/09/2011

At SSB they teach you a bit about the payments and to double check the cleaning services so it is not only about the cleaning of the chalets you also work with the numbers....

They showed us the procedure for making a bed and what to check for when making a bed. We also do a lot of filing and did two workbooks this week. Monica helps us a lot by giving us class and explaining everything in detail for us.

Luki and I also did the stock take where we counted everything... from the linen to the crockery and after that we also handled the issues, that is when you give out the supplies to all the SSB ladies so that they can go and put it into the different chalets.

Monica gave me a bit of paper work to do, she asked me to do the billing of the special requests and she also showed me how to do it,  and shortly after that I worked on my portfolio of evidence.

We also went to Maroela 9 (one of the chalets on Sondela) to take photos of the chalet and to do dusting in the chalet.

The first week at Sondela share block (SSB)

24/08/2011 - 30/08/2011

We worked at the issue store, that is where you give out the different equipment and amenities to the cleaner ladies so that they can go and check the different chalets and make sure the supplies are efficient for the guests.

We also worked at the chemical store where we refilled the different cleaning chemicals like the pine gel, sunlight liquid, swish, bathroom cleaner and bleach.

Sanet and I went to Makato 1 to check whether the items on the inventory list and the items in the chalet arev the same, we also went to Acacia 209 to take photos of the chalet.

We also did a bit of filing and took out all the information about the different chalets (Maroela, Acacia and Karee). We get a lot of quality time with our portfolios and we already did a project on hazards and how to prevent them.

I got the linen ready for the Moselesele tents, it is 4 tented camps, each with one double bed and two 3/4 beds. Each bed needs three duvet covers, three flat sheets and three fitted sheets. Each bed also needed 2 pillowcases and 2 extra pillowcases for each pillow. Each tented camp also needed 18 towels.

My third and last week at cheffing

16/08/2011 - 22/08/2011

I worked at the scullery where I had to clean a lot of dishes and I also worked at the cold kitchen where i made the chicken mayo, the ham and cheese etc.

I also helped Kathy and Jeanet in the hot kitchen, that is the area where all the fries and the wedges are made, as well as the frying of the hamburger patties and the frying of the bacon and the cooking of eggs.

Chef Edward also helped us with making creambrole, mmm that is yummy!!
 I also made pancakes for welcoming and I worked alone at reception.

The cheffing course taught me a lot even if it was small things like keeping a kitchen clean it also was a lot of fun and many new good times.

My second week at cheffing

09/08/2011 - 16/0/2011

Worked at the main kitchen and did a lot of preparation work today.. We cut up all the vegetables for the orders coming in during the day, we cut up tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber, onions and it it is also your duty to make sure that there are baked eggs, bacon and chicken mixed with mayonnaise at the cold kitcen.

The cold kitchen area is where they make the toasted sandwiches like the ham and cheese, the tomato and cheese, the chicken mayo, the bacon and egg etc. We also make the different salads like the Chef salad, the biltong salad and the Greek salad in the cold kitchen.

We also did the preparation at the Pizza area, yip exactly what it says, we cut up the bacon, the chicken, the pineapple, the ham, mushrooms, olives, salami and of course the mozzarella cheese.

In this week we also had a bread making competition, we also had to make one other dish with the bread. I worked with Juan, he made potato bread and i made the bran muffins, it came out rather good and we did not do bad at all.

My first week at cheffing

02/082011 - 09/08/2011

We as a group cleaned the academy kitchen. We each got a post (an area where 1 chef can prepare food) to clean, We cleaned thinking that we might have done a great job....Chef Edward did not think the same.

He taught us that a good chef will lay down on the floor and would even clean under the working table.. understandable! He also taught us that we should clean from top to bottom, in other words, start from the roof, then clean the walls, then the table and finally the floor.

The next day chef sent me back to the academy with a big bag of onions and told me to peal the onions and cut them up into very small pieces.. He did not say why or what it is for but i knew that it would help me with my knife skills. After wards I went back to the main kitchen and helped one of the first year chefs to cut lettuce and after that we cleaned the main kitchen... More cleaning!

Lilandi, one of the first year students chefs showed me how to make garlic bread (not difficult at all),we used garlic, butter, and cheese powder and melted everything together and then we put it onto bread and put it into the oven for a while.


Chef William also let us make Scottish egg, boil an egg and after that peal the shell off and wrap the egg in a layer of mince, roll the mince wrapped  egg into flower, raw egg and then finally in bread crumbs and then deep fry the egg for about 4min and then put it into the oven for 5min.. Easy as pie.. well or as Scottish egg??

Another thing a learned during this week was how to make real mayonnaise using only the yellow part of an egg (8), 2 litres of oil and about a cup of vinegar, you can also add some mustard spices.

Made a lot of pancakes because I did welcoming at the caravan park alone and there where about 120 stands rented out for the weekend and each stand have about 4-6 people on it. Worked till about 20:00pm.

I also worked split shift at the Moselesele tented camp the whole weekend with my co-worker/permanent staff/chef, Jeanet. There are 4 tents and each tent have space for four people. had to make breakfast and dinner for each family, which means everybody had different tastes and wanted different breakfasts and dinners and they all wanted the food to be made in a curtain way. It was all great fun and an awesome experience.

My third week at reception....... How may I help you??????

When preparing the welcoming envelopes be sure that there is an inventory of the specific chalet (paper that says what can be found inside the chalet), a R200 key and breakage paper that explains to the guest the reason for paying that deposit and a evaluation form for the guest to full in after staying at Sondela. There should also be a pamphlet advertising the beauty salon in the envelope as well as a breakfast voucher.

Had a guest that fulled in his evaluation form  and at the bottom of the evaluation form he actually wrote a small comment about me that stated... "I would like to compliment Tarine (student) at reception for her caring concern and effort to assist us with a wildlife center booking. Her insight to guest's needs is exceptional. Thank you!"
That experience was 1 of the best and i would like to try and make someone's day the way that that gentleman who stayed at Acacia 202, made mine and apparently the way i made his as well. Will never forget that... Will never forget him.... That is what i would like to accomplish when working with any guest and/or even any staff member.

My second week at reception....... How may I help you??????

20/07/2011 - 26/07/2011

Did recon of the conservation fee slips. Answered a lot of telephone calls.
Did welcoming guides, that is when you prepare the envelopes or booklets for arriving guests, writing the initials and surname on the booklet, the chalet or stand number where they will be staying. We also highlighted the road maps on the back of the welcoming envelopes so that the guests know where to go to find their chalet or stand.

Radio all the activities for the day, to the staff working at the different departments so they would be updated and would be ready and prepared and know how many people to expect on their game drive/ quad bike ride etc and also to get the equipment being used for the different activities ready.


Did checkout and check ins and did cash ups.
 The check out procedure: guest comes in....

1. You stand up and greet the guest with a smile 
2. Ask for a slip which they received from the cleaning service (SSB)
3. Get the registration card from the in house cabinet and check in what way the key and breakage deposit was paid. 
4. Go on unires and look for the guest on the system, check with the guest and get his/her surname.
5. If something in the chalet was broken or used, type it in at the misc charge block on unires and remove the amount from the key and breakage total. If nothing was used or broken, reassure the guest that his/her money will be given back within 7 working days (if key and breakage was paid with a credit card) otherwise the cash must be given back immediately!
6. Make sure that the guest does not walk away with the key of the chalet in which they stayed.
7. Wish them well and tell them that you would like to see them again.

My first week at reception....... How may I help you??????

13/07/2011 - 19/07/2011

Got the numbers most often used when phoning someone or sending someone else through to another person. Most often used number is 8900, for reservations....off course!

We also learned a lot about answering phones and what you can and can not say over the phone. What you can say when answering the phone..... Good morning/afternoon, this is (name) speaking from Sondela nature reserve, how may i help you?... Please and thank also attracts a lot of positive energy.

We observed a few checkouts and learned about the check in procedures.

Check in procedures: guest comes in...

1. Stand up and greet him/her with a smile
2. Ask for a confirmation and green slip
3. Check the guest on the unires system
4. Click on the unit number and confirm
5. Get the registration card from the crocodile file
6. Check guest in on the unires system
7. Ask a conservation fee of R120
8. Ask a key and breakage deposit of R200
9. Before handing keys over ask surname and check unires again
10. Check if correct key and explain the usage of the key.

 Printed a lot of registration cards for the guests who arrived and folded the welcoming pamphlets so it can be handed to the guest by the conservation students after the check in.

Did a bit of filing and got POE'S in order. We also updated the guest information using the registration cards the guests fulled in at the check in.
We also filed the registration cards at the in house cabinet and the old in house documents we put into the archives cabinet.

My fourth week at the Wildlife centre

05/07/2011 - 08/07/2011

Did the normal food preparation, feeding and cleaning of cages and we got most of our paper work up to date as well as our POE's. also prepared the milk bottles for the giraffes, the blesbokkies and the nyalas.

We also wrote our evalunet tests and did assessments the last week. We also took a lot of photos for our files and for our slide show.

My third week at the Wildlife centre

29/06/2011 - 04/07/2011

I was also given the task the raise a baby nyala myself. I named him Duke and he was brought into the wildlife centre because his mother did not want him and they found him in the bush.

We also had to get Matilda the one giraffe into the cable camp without getting hurt. We had to use boskos to get her there, Heidi told us that this is one of the most dangerous jobs to do at the centre because Matilda tends to run over people.

We also leaned about the cleaning of enclosures. Always keep the door closed  and do not turn your back on the animals. you should take a rake , the wheelbarrow and a shovel. The "poop" should be picked up and the area should be raked.

My second week at the Wildlife centre

21/06/2011 - 28/06/2011

Can do food preparation on our own now, heped Gunther a bit with the preparation of the fruits. prepared food for the bush baby, the monkeys, the rabbits, the squirrel and the hedgehog.

The monkeys can eat any fruits or vegetables, the rabbits only eat carrots and apples, the bush baby get worms and yogurt and the squirrel can eat seeds and yogurt.

In this week we also did stock take, we were divided into groups and every group had to go and take stock at different places. Sanna and I went up to the village and did stock taking there, we counted all the cutlery in the kitchen and all the linen in the rooms.

We also had to build new cages for the monkeys, we paved the floors so they and the animals living there after them wont be able to get out from underneath. We also had to get branches and anything natural to make the cages more "homy" for the animals and it is also a way of reducing stress.

Lindi also showed me how to empty the milton buckets, clean it and refill it there after.
We also made boskos packets for the shop.

My first week at the Wildlife centre

10/06/2011 - 16/06/2011

On the first day and also the first week at the Wildlife centre we observed how food preparation was being done, that includes hygiene while working with food, what animals can and can not eat, how much they eat and a what times the different animals eat. They showed us the different food preparing tables and what cutting boards to use on them, for instance the table on the right hanh side is used for cutting meat and chicken and the table on the left is used for the preparing of the milk bottles and also the preparing af the fruit and veggies.

We also was told that our hands should be clean at all times when working with the food and that tables should be cleaned before and after the preparing of food or milk bottles. Equipment used for preparing food should also be cleaned before and after preparing food. Tables are cleaned with different cloths and the tables should be sprayed with savlon after cleaning it with warm water.

We also observed how animals are being fed, learned that you can never turn  your back on any animal even if it is tame. Animals should be kept apart when being fed otherwise they can hurt you and each other. enclosure doors should always be kept closed whether a person is inside or out to ensure that the animal does not escape.
We also had a lecture on animal behavior,Lauren told us more about animals react towards people and strangers and when to approach and not to approach them, when they are stalking you and when they are playful. learned that animals do always give warning signs for instance when they feel uncomfortable.

We also observed wild nyalas being loaded and transported to another game farm because the male nyalas were becoming to many and started to fight rather than mating and looking after the females and juveniles.

My fourth week at site guide

From Friday the 27th we did assessments at the academy and welcoming at the caravan park, the Saturday we went to work early, at 05:30 and worked in the field and helped out with the uithouritte. Sunday i did 2 game drives with Claas early the morning, helped out at entertainment and after lunch we went on the uithouritte routes to clean up after wards.

This week we did welcoming and spoke about different topics like amphibians, reptiles, geology and also weather and climate and biomes. We also worked on a lot of slide shows on the topics we coveredduring the week. On Friday we did assessments and welcoming.

My third week at site guide

After my off weekend at home i came back to Sondela, was full of energy  ready to start the week. On Tuesday we sat in class and spoke about arachnids and fish, we did that till 2o'clock and then we went to the bonus function where we did a bit of team building and then they handed out trophies to different teams.

Wednesday we went out into the veld and spoke about insects and their relatives. We also looked for them as well as arachnids.

Thursday, as it was a very cold day, we went into the field again and spoke about the night skies and star signs and their meaning. Thursday evening we also went to the guesthouse where we got the telescope and after that we went to the springbok vlaktes where we sat and looked at the stars.

Friday we did assessments and wrote tests and did welcoming.

My second week at site guide

On Monday i worked on my birds slide show, and after lunch i did welcoming again in front of reception. In this week we also spoke about different trees at Sondela. Wednesday we had an off day because it was the voting day. Thursday we went to Tambuki to look at different trees all over Sondela and after that we went back to the classroom at started disguising ecology. We did assessments Friday and also did welcoming.

My first week at site guide

In this first week we learned about mammals and their behavior, we did a fake game drive at the academy where we pretended that we have guests that we are talking to and we are telling them about the animals. We also talked about birds in class and what types of birds there are at Sondela. We wrote tests on birds and mammals.

Later the week we spoke about different types of grass and what their meaning are, we went into the field to collect a few grass types and on Friday we did assessments and did welcoming in front of reception.

 My first weekend on duty i helped the Resource guardian group at the farmyard where we took children on donkey and horse rides. Helped at entertainment and then went to help with the fence checks and saw one massive hole in the fence where koedoes broke through and we started fixing the fence immediately. On Saturday i also did my first game drive with Mabula.

My extra work week at Resource Gaurdianship.

For this whole week i did not do much at all. i only worked at entertainment where we had to keep the guests happy and keep all the kiddies busy. We helped out with the bingo and the games for the children the whole week.

My eight week at Resource Gaurdianship at Sondela

12 April - 18 April 2011
After a lovely weekend off we started the week by working on or POE's, we also unpacked a few unit standards. We worked at the caravan park a lot this week because we are busy building new stands for Easter weekend and it needs to be finished before then, we loaded sand off as well as compost.  After we leveled everything we loaded grass off so we can plant the grass.

We sprayed EM at the restaurant and poured EM into the cattle's water bowl. Two elande broke out as well as a few other animals like the two koedoes. We had to fix the fence where they broke out and we had to try and get them back. We got the elande back but did not even see the koedoes. We did weekend welcoming till 21:00 Friday night. And on Saturday I helped Gerbie out with meet the parents weekend. We also went to fix the Makatu fence where a bluewildebees broke out, we got him back as well.

The rest off the time we did fence checks, went past the lion camp, past Tambuki and everything looked rather good.

My seventh week at Resource Gaurdianship at Sondela

2 April -8 April 2011
 We fixed fences at the "kraal" again today and i also worked at bring and braai, where thepeople bring their meat and you have to braai for them. I also worked at the farmyard where I had to take the choldren on horse rides and donkey rides.

I did my test to drive the Sondela cruisers. Atleast i passed so now i can use the cruisers at work.
In this weeks time we also unpacked another few unit standards, everything about maths. We learned more about EM and what it does. We saw the new "dip bakke" and we went into the veld to go place them at certain locations, we also poured in amipor and put in some salt blocks.

We sprayed EM all over the farm, at the caravan park, Tambuki camp, and Moselesele tented camp, we also sprayed at stables so the flies can be kept under control.

My sixth week at Resource Gaurdianship at Sondela

28 Match - 1 April 2011
We were in class again, unpacked a few unit standards.
Had to do a project on HIV/Aids on the computer and it had to be done by the end of the day. We did a bit of stock taking and we went to count cattle and had to dip them.

We as one huge group learned the fire drills of Sondela. We also in this week's time slaughtered two bucks, one blesbok and one rooihartebees.

My fifth week at Resource Gaurdianship at Sondela

21 March - 27 March 2011
I worked at the farmyard, took the children on horse rides. we also went into the veld again to cut walking trails and fixing fences and worked at the caravan park where I rotated through the stands, talking to the people.
We as a group also went to see how they carry out harvesting of flora and they showed us how they cut the sekelbos for firewood. We also attended a fire meeting where Mel talked to the neighboring farm owners about preparing fire breaks for the winter.
We also went erecting and fixing a fence from post to post where a koedoe broke out, we planted the posts with cement so that it could be very strong. 

We went to see where the second years worked on a erosion project the year before, and they told us what they did to prevent soil erosion and why they did it in such a way. We were also lucky enough to see how the people working at the wildlife centre released a vulture. Then we went to see and talk about the cultural heritage of Sondela. 

I also had to do assessments again.

My fourth week at Resource Gaurdian at Sondela

15 March - 20 March 2011
We cleaned bicycle trails again as well as fixing fences at the cattle grid where the wire were very old and brittle. We were in the class a lot of the time because of the rain, but that did not keep us from doing any work, we did unpacking of unit standards, we also talked about game capturing.
We were told that we are going to do game capturing the following day so we went out into the veld to start building the boma.
our first game capture ever, what an experience, we caught wildebeeste and zebras as well as gemsbokke and blesbokke.
The next day the manager on duty needed someone to work at the kiosk, so I went. I packed stock neatly and looked at the expiry dates to see whether it was still fine to sell.
I also worked with the tractor, went fetching people at the caravan park and brought them to the farmyard.

My third week at Resource Gaurdian at Sondela

7 March - 11 March 2011
Fixed fences again but had a bit of a shortage of droppers, but we managed, we also had to do welcoming where we had to fetch people at their cars and escort them to reception. Learned a bit about plants in class as well, then Kobus took us students to the wildlife centre where we looked at some of the plants there.
We also went to look for the Queen of the night (a plant species not belonging to SA) in the veld so we could learn more about it and to remove it. We were also taught that one could cut the Queen of the night into pieces and throw it into water holes and it would protect game from parasites like ticks.
In this week's time we also did a bit of filing and went cleaning the pond, took out some plants and captured a few insects.

In class we where also taught a bit about pinning insects and how to "pers " plants for research reasons. We also had to do assessments so that they can see whether we are competent or not yet competent in all of the work we had done so far. 

In this week we also went cleaning bicycle trails, we took with us a few pangas and grass cutters.

My second week at Resource Gaurdian at Sondela

1 March - 6 March 2011
This week some of us went spraying poison on the grass along side the fence so that it can die and not destroy the fence and the rest of our group went fixing fences again.
In this week's time we also chased game out of one of the camps because they break the fence easily when they fight with each other. We oped the gate and stood in a line along side the road waiting for the game while a few other students went into the bush to chase the game out.

We also went looking for an eland that has been darted the previous day. We all walked in a straight line in the veld and were about 30m apart from one another, after a while we found the eland dead, something went wrong with the darting process.

I also worked at the caravan park where i had to go to every stand and ask the people if they needed anything and I had to talk to them a bit about Sondela.

My first week at Resource Gaurdian at Sondela

21 Feb-25 Feb 2011
In my first week at Resource gaurdianship we fulled the Duncan applicators up with Amipor. We also put out 12 mineral blocks out at Maroela and Makatu and did a bit of species identification. We fixed fences and while we were at it, we also learned about the different types of fences for instance the bushveld fence, which is ideal for small animals. We used tools like pliers, y-standards, droppers, a hammer and "bind draad". we learned how to use the gripple as well and we took silver paint with to paint poles that keeps the fence up.
We also got the chance to see what the fence looks like after there have been a giraffe through it.  

My Resource Guardianship course

My third week at Sondela

Week 3

This week we learned about safe food preparations and hygiene in the workplace. I know now that even when we are working outside with the animals, that hygiene is also very important there because even if they are animals they can also get sick by cross contamination. I learned about fire breaks and where to go if something like that occurs. I also learned more about how to deal with difficult people whether they work at Sondela or not.

I also worked my first weekend and it was quite an experience. The Friday I did some more welcoming, worked at reception on Saturday and on Sunday I worked at the wildlife cente again where i cleaned the cages and gave the animals love, care and of course I fed them. That was the most amazing time off my life...

My second week at Sondela

Week 2

We started this week of by first aid level 1 training, we did theory and practical training, leared about the human body like the heart, skin, airflow and the nervous system and wrote exam about it all.

We also learned basic fire fighting. Again a bit of theory and practical. We now know for example, about the different types of fire extinguisher and what types of fires they are used for. 

My first week at Sondela

Week 1:                     24 Jan '11- 30 Jan '11

We started of by meeting everyone with whom we will be working this year, meeting Academy Chef, Chef Edward, who is our MOD (manager on duty) for the first four weeks of the course. we also met most of the staff at Sondela and the girls at the girls house where I am currently staying.

Chef Edward told us all about the history of Sondela. We also went on our first game drive and went to see the Tambuki four by four camp site, approximately 8km from reception. We also went to the wildlife centre... The one place I would give anything to work at. We give feedback to the class everyday. it is a method used to improve our people skills. We also went through all the policies and procedures of Sondela. Our first handing over meeting was Friday 28 January '11, where they give each HOD (head of department) their work for the weekend, we also did welcoming, where we gave guests pancakes at their arrival at Sondela.