Last year, the COVID 19 pandemic has helped establish a new normal in terms of work methods, meetings and exchanges within a professional space. Like most responsible individuals and organizations, virtual meetings and interactions have become the norm around which we organize our work. A distinct downside has been the impact of increased screen time and less physical interaction, usually becoming a mental and emotional drain as well, apart from influencing motivation levels. Working in a field based organization, it is imperative also to not get lost in the virtual world, and maintain our rooting in the field with activities and with the communities we work with. An important reflection – even a few moments in the field (especially spaces we don’t access frequently) allows for some much needed recharging, morale building and provides much needed inspiration to move ahead with vigour.
We managed a small break from the virtual world, with a small field visit before the current set of Lockdown regulations. We were thrilled to be back at the Arepalayam Field Ecology Center, Sathyamangalam between 19-21 April 2021. Our team of 12 was eager to see this landscape and its inhabitants after a long break
Our intention was to orient the new team members to the landscapes, existing work, visions and ideas for the future. We had three, wonderful days of diverse participatory exercises, theme based discussions and sharing of ideas, and visions moving ahead. We had fun sharing about our first visit to Sathyamangalam and connections we were building with existing as well as new team members – was exciting and welcome given the current pandemic scenario. Sharing anecdotes and common memories helped the team to strengthen interpersonal bonds and think of possible new ways of working and collaborating with each other.
One of the highlights of this meeting was the sharing from 3 new members – Habeeba, Natasha and Prasad – listening to stories of Sea Dugong, Swiftlet nests and rehabilitation work done in and around zoo’s was an eye-opener and piqued our interest about other areas of the conservation world we do not engage with regularly.
Being in the process of reforming identity of the team and programme, we had an exciting few days engaging with the landscape, people, brainstorming sessions, approaches and activities of the team as well as looking into the maintenance and working of the field centre in Arepalayam. The trip provided an opportunity for some colleagues to revisit sites from their initial days with Keystone Foundation providing a moment of historical reflection and sharing from within the team to new members. From these beautiful 3 days we took away stronger bonds, interconnected visions and highlighting the importance of collective action and thought, as is much needed in today’s scenario with COVID 19 Pandemic. We hope all of you are safe, happy and well.
By Bhavya George
