During the last two years I have learnt that the process of doing a master‟s degree is so much more valuable than just the knowledge which you gain in the particular field you are studying. I have learnt about life, about conservation, about people, about project planning, professionalism and communication, self-discipline and self-motivation. It has been exciting, draining, interesting and mind-numbing, an all-round great experience of growth and self- discovery.
One of the biggest lessons I learnt, with regards to science in general, was that science is not perfect, it does not have all the answers and people‟s egos often get in the way of practical problem solving through science. One of the big problems I have observed is that the context-specific nature of research is not always recognized or explicitly stated and overarching claims are sometimes made, seemingly providing “one-size-fits-all” solutions to extremely complex problems. This was challenging to learn, and to then take into account, when reading, processing and trying to understand copious quantities of literature. I was especially challenged to apply this that I learnt to my own research. There are times where I would have liked to make all-encompassing statements about experts, or landowners, but what I found is not necessarily applicable to other contexts. This was a valuable lesson. Arriving at accurate and precise understanding of concepts and how I view and understand them, and just developing a general understanding of conservation planning and spatial prioritization was a challenge. This was greatly helped by attending the Biodiversity Planning Forum in 2011 and 2012, as well as through numerous conversations with my supervisor. This gave me insight to the practical implications of the research I was doing. Through
89 gaining this bigger picture context on my research I was much more motivated to do my work excellently so as to try and contribute to conservation planning.
I learnt that you have to have an open, enquiring mind, but that you also have to be able to critically engage with ideas, evaluating the merits, especially taking into account the
differences in contexts between the research you are doing and what others have done. This ensures that you can learn from other people, even when the work they did does not directly relate to one‟s own.
Through organizing the expert workshop I learnt a lot about communication, how to address people with varying levels of professional qualifications and how to effectively organize an event, especially seeing as though it was in a city 1000km from where I lived. I thoroughly enjoyed the interaction with the experts, and gained valuable insight into diverse jobs in the conservation field in South Africa.
One of my favourite parts of my master‟s research was interviewing landowners. The large majority of the people I interviewed were very open, friendly and interested in my research. I drank a lot of coffee, ate a lot of biscuits and even had a few meals thrown in. It was
refreshing to be in a completely different environment than what I had been living in for the last six years. The area where I did the interviews was also a beautiful place, which was an added bonus. Everywhere I went, I was welcomed with a smile and it was great to just experience that hospitality.
Another valuable lesson from the interview process was learning how to best go about interviewing people, how to make them feel comfortable to express their views honestly and openly. I learnt a lot about farmers, their challenges, perceptions and general attitude towards conservation that was not really possible to record or communicate through the research, but will help to inform how I interact with farmers for the rest of my career. This is all on top of me having grown up on a farm in the Eastern Cape myself.
I was very struck by the passion that farmers have for their land, their animals and the natural environment. Farmers are often pointed too as the people who are messing up the environment through their agricultural management practices, but I found that in the cases where that is true, it is mostly just from a lack of knowledge, and definitely not from a lack of caring about the natural environment.
Through the process of carrying out a literature review I learnt to pay attention to detail and a great deal of patience. It was a very challenging, time consuming process, but was valuable in providing an overview of the use of experts in spatial prioritization. I would never want to do that again though!
90 Although I have gained extensive knowledge about conservation planning, spatial
prioritization, experts and expert knowledge, decision-making and the dynamics of how people perceive and interact with nature, conservation and environmental issues, the most valuable skills I have learnt are how to gather and process information, and how to critically engage with a problem in order to find the best contextualized solution, which is informed by previous research. I truly believe that these are the most valuable skills that I have learnt that will stand me in good stead in the working environment.
One of the very pleasant things that I experienced and learnt is that people are very willing to help and offer advice to students. I was very fortunate to have numerous conversations and meetings with people that gave me advice, helped me to understand concepts, gave insight into different contexts, especially in terms of the realities of conservation planning in South Africa and who were just generally willing to assist with my research. I learnt that if you are willing to listen to people they are willing to offer their wisdom, support and general
assistance.
I appreciate the opportunity that I have had to complete my master‟s studies under the supervision of an excellent supervisor who is very knowledgeable, was very understanding and gave me great encouragement, always motivating me to do better. It has been a valuable learning experience and I believe that I have grown both „academically‟ and personally.
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