The staff was very welcoming and gave us a tour of their facilities which included a few housing accommodations, a children's camp center and a shared kitchen for all staff and volunteers. We all took advantage of the kitchen and the staff cooked us a lovely meal and braai (traditional bbq), which we all ate around the campfire. The meal was delicious and we got our first taste of two local staples in Botswana: pap (porridge made from maize mealies) and Chakalaka (spicy South African vegetable relish dish)- yum and double yum! November 5, 2011 Saturday morning we spent the day back in Maun, where we had the opportunity to visit a local conservation camp being held by a local organization that specializes in the conservation of predators and hosts local youth empowerment camps with conservation messaging. That day was a soccer camp held at a local grade school in Maun. Denver Zoo

aims to create holistic conservation projects that not only focus on research and species conservation, but encompass an educational and capacity building component. In conducting a needs-assessment in Botswana, I was able to visit local organizations that are currently implementing successful conservation educational activities. Collaboration with existing projects can be more successful then trying to create and start up a new project. Together with the children, we ate the snacks and talked to them about school, sports and life in Botswana. They all agreed that playing soccer was a favorite past time of theirs, and luckily they did not ask us to play, as I am sure with the combination of heat and lack of my athletic ability, the children would have been disappointed or embarrassed by my skills.