Net-work it

Former Botany Department

This week is the Biodiversity Southern Africa conference at UCT. About a year ago the former Botany (which officially formed in 1903 after starting in the late 1800's) and Zoology (also started in 1903 but with only one person and one room it wasn't something to brag about) departments merged to become the all new Department of Biological Sciences. What did this mean for me and my fellow 'botzoos', not that much, well at least not until the new tea room opened; now we all mingle at 10:30 over restorative tea or coffee from the neon green coffee machine (environmentally friendly - but I haven't used it yet because frankly it's a little intimidating). Until this conference which is to showcase the fab new department and all the amazing work we are doing... No really...

Former Zoology Department
(My office window is the one
with the fab balcony above
the arch! - AWESOME)

I have mentioned before in "added bonus" that conferences are an opportunity to remind yourself how exciting and awesome your field really is. There are people doing really cool, sexy research, and you know, there are probably people that will think you are doing really cool, sexy research because they don't have to deal with the nitty-gritty, brain-numbing, data-punching, 1000-dissections repetitiveness. The conference had a number of really brilliant, inspiring talks. 

Marcus Byrne and the cooler-than-you-would-think dung beetle

After one of the public lectures I was so excited about the work that had been presented I was just buzzing. Marcus Byrne from WITS University gave a presentation entitled "'Jika ne Langa' - Turn with the Sun - Like a Dung Beetle". I was gushing about dung beetles like a teenage girl with a crush after his talk. He has a real gift for making science exciting and engaging his audience. What I particularly like about his research is how real it is. I know that sounds weird, but one of the things that I have always loved about science is the sexy experiment, manipulate the environment this way or that to find out what's causing the patterns you see.

Recently I have felt a little more removed from that so it was nice to see some great experimental research.

Beautiful (but not indigenous) Jacaranda.

Another aspect of it is hearing all the things that still need to be done. It is a different kind of inspiring when you realise that there is so much exciting and (from a conservation point of view) urgent work to be done. People need to do science, good science!!! There is so much we need to know. I took away from the one of the talks is that although we feel frustrated by a lack of changes resulting out of research, some things require patience. John Hoffman of UCT spoke of various biocontrol methods being used to mitigate the spread of alien plant species. From where I sit, we still have a huge problem with alien vegetation, but he convinced me that there has been a remarkable change, it is just that people forget how things were before. My laboured point is, conferences really are a great way to remind yourself how cool your field is. 

Of course, the thing about conferences is, you can't really just sit and soak in other people's work. Chances are, you are going to have to present your own work at some stage too, which many people find to be a nerve-wracking occasion. This may seem like a bad thing, but there are unexpected positives: having to present your work means you will have a hard deadline by which you have to do your work, always useful in a world of procrastination. It also means that  people will finally cotton on to what you are doing (and in my case, hopefully realise that I am no longer working on African Penguins - come on people, it has been 5 years!!!) and maybe even have ideas for you or will remind you that your work is exciting too! If nothing else, I suspect that the more often you present the easier it becomes. There are people better suited to telling you how to ace a talk. (Check out thesis whisperer) I am still trying to figure out how to struggle through these things myself. Of course, the usual hints are redundant because you should know them by now... practice, make eye contact, ooze enthusiasm, avoid slang, don't put too many words on a slide etc. 

I think the biggest unforgivable presentation faux pas is to go over time. Chances are you will be rushing towards the end so are more likely to make mistakes/mumble and no one will be listening to you after your time is up anyway because they are watching the reaction of the session chair or wondering how they can sneak out quietly. Having listened to dozens of presentations, your audience will have little sympathy for you if you trespass on their time for longer than you are allowed. If you practice anything, practice timing.

After the talk, avoid the "I should've...", "I meant to... " self abuse, it is finished and  probably went well. Organise to go to the pub and have a glass of wine (completely out of character I actually had hot chocolate instead but that was because my smart "presenting-dress" was ill suited for the ridiculously cold evening - unexpected in southern hemisphere December.) I tend to agonise over what I should have said, and what I forgot to mention, it isn't a healthy practice. I think, the best is if you have a friend that you can trust to tell you in a nice, non-critical, constructive way whether or not you have any bad habits, but other than that, just put all your post presentation angst in a bubble and blow it away...

Delheim's un-irrigated vineyards. 

As an aside, I was part of the organising committee for this conference which was great because I met and worked with people I wouldn't have otherwise known. It was also good during the conference because on the evening of the cheese and wine I was pouring wine so many more people came to speak to me than I would otherwise have spoken to.

WWF - BWI doing great stuff!

Yummy lunch at Delheim

It also meant that I could suggest/organise (I forget who actually suggested it, but I ended up organising it - with help of course) a field excursion to the winelands as an official outing. (We learnt about the Biodiversity and Wine Initiative and what Delheim is doing to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious, but we also got to drink wine!!!) Actually, I was really impressed with what they are doing, they seem to really care about their impact on the world and aren't just ticking boxes. It is a family farm and they seem very passionate about the environment, and I didn't realise how complicated making wine could be. I would have been convinced that they were cool people just by the number of very happy looking dogs and cats that had the run of the place. So I will leave you with the suggestion that you really should drink more Delheim wine - and since it is Friday afternoon, you may as well start now...

Yummy, guilt-free wine!