Lake Victoria Expedition
Lake Victoria Learning Expedition
The GLOBE Program, YLACES, GLOBE Africa Regional Coordinating Office, and GLOBE Kenya invite you to attend the First Lake Victoria Learning Expedition.
Location: Participants will travel around Kenya en route to Homa Bay, Kenya, including: Hell Gate, Lake Naivasha, Kericho, and the Maasai Mara Game Park. Participants will conduct GLOBE protocols (hydrology, atmosphere, among others), GLOBE teacher trainings, and school visits.
Logistics: Participants will fly in and out of Nairobi, Kenya.
Contact: Mark Brettenny (mark@globe-africa.org) and Kristin Wegner (kwegner@ucar.edu)
About the Expedition
The GLOBE Regional Office for Africa will undertake to train, equip, support, and evaluate schools on the shores of Lake Victoria in water monitoring and to engage schools around the world in learning about the lake and in comparing measurements with data from other lakes. The initial start will be with two schools in each of the countries bordering the lake – Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. A third school in each country will likely be added early in the program. The grant supplies the required monitoring equipment to enable the Lake Victoria Learning Expedition to proceed. All data will be taken following GLOBE protocols and will be reported to GLOBE. (Check out the 2015 Kilimanjaro Learning Expedition here.)
UPDATE: Two scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), Martin Steinson and Paul Kucera, will also join the Lake Victoria Learning Expedition. Following the expedition, we will provide an opportunity to be trained in 3d-printed weather stations at a school in Nairobi the week of 26-30 September. Learn more about their work here (link).
Background
Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake, by area, covering more than 68,800 square kilometers. It is the second largest fresh water lake in the world, by surface area, after Lake Superior in North America. Lake Victoria is the lifeblood for the people of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda who rely on its waters for its huge fishing industry. But water pollution, over fishing and ecological destruction (through invasive species) have many worried about its future. GLOBE students and other citizen scientists in the region will be able to contribute scientifically through data collection and research on the Lake, which is sure to evolve during the course of the expeditions in years to come.
