June 02, 2005 | Dr. Michael Stokes
"Our students are really excited about both South Africa and Kenya."

It's been a busy day on the African project. We just learned yesterday that we were awarded a Phase I (planning) grant from the EPA for their People, Prosperity and the Planet program. This is exciting because we will take a student team to DC this spring to compete for Phase II funding, which is longer-term and higher level than this initial $10,000 award. We'll be competing with probably 50 other universities and colleges, including some of the most prestigious in the country. Last year's winners included MIT, Michigan and Berkeley. However, this grant will pay for some followup travel, but won't fund this summer's program. Because this is judged by a panel from the National Academies, it really puts us in the spotlight. MSNBC covered the competition last year.

Read in the Daily Nation that Kenya is about to embark on an ambitious elephant translocation project (400 from Shimba Hills to Tsavo), so have emailed Nguli to see if we can get involved. Got Allison's survey questions translated into Kiswahili today, so the HSRB approval should be imminent.

Still pursuing funding for this year—we hope to be able to have enough $$ to maximize participation by UoN students, but will likely have to cut back on that for the first week of the trip. Our students are really excited about both S. Africa and Kenya—Doug and I have worked on this well past the point of excitement. Being there will be restful compared to the prep work. Am still trying to get plane receipts from some of the students.