Grinnell College in Namibia
In 2000, Grinnell College established what would become a long-standing partnership with the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre in Namibia. Initially, the program sent Grinnellians to either the Windhoek-based Desert Research Foundation of Namibia or the Gobabeb Research and Training Centre. After a few years, the program focused exclusively on Gobabeb, though DRFN remained a close partner. Two Fellows would spend one year working at the station in different capacities: Training and Outreach Support (TAOS Fellows) or Research and Information Technology Support (RITS Fellows). The best description of the program was a 2014 article "Supporting a teaching and learning community across borders: Grinnell College at Gobabeb," written by several of the people who helped run and support the program over the years. In 2017, the College concluded the Grinnell Corps: Namibia program. During the program's 17 years, 34 Grinnell College alums spent a year (sometimes staying on after their official tenure) supporting DRFN and Gobabeb's environmental monitoring and training programs.
A note on this "archive"
This is really just an incomplete hodgepodge of things I've put together but it's my best attempt to compile various stories in the words of the Fellows who were there. Over the years, dozens of Grinnellians have passed through Namibia on work associated with the college (I have kept a personal tally of Grinnellians I've run into at Gobabeb and as of December 2017, the count is 28, including current students, alums, faculty, and administrators). In addition to the Grinnell Corps program, the College hosted a faculty seminar in 2004, sponsored a class with course-embedded travel in 2012, and in 2015, the school awarded an honorary Doctor of Science to Gobabeb's long time director, Mary Seely. My hope is that this little web-page can serve to archive the diverse experiences of the Grinnell Corps fellows over the years and perhaps to bring back a little nostalgia for the folks who once worked there.
A note on this "archive"
This is really just an incomplete hodgepodge of things I've put together but it's my best attempt to compile various stories in the words of the Fellows who were there. Over the years, dozens of Grinnellians have passed through Namibia on work associated with the college (I have kept a personal tally of Grinnellians I've run into at Gobabeb and as of December 2017, the count is 28, including current students, alums, faculty, and administrators). In addition to the Grinnell Corps program, the College hosted a faculty seminar in 2004, sponsored a class with course-embedded travel in 2012, and in 2015, the school awarded an honorary Doctor of Science to Gobabeb's long time director, Mary Seely. My hope is that this little web-page can serve to archive the diverse experiences of the Grinnell Corps fellows over the years and perhaps to bring back a little nostalgia for the folks who once worked there.
Notes from the Namib
Over the years, many fellows kept blogs documenting their lives and work in the Namib. These blogs are no longer active, but they still have some really cool stories, photos, and general descriptions of what it's like living at Gobabeb over the years. I've compiled some of them below. If you have anything else I should add to the list, please shoot me an email!
"Notes from the Namib"
Also check out his Flickr account
by David Montgomery (2010-2011 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Days Like These"
by Sachi Graber (2012-2015 technically a Peace Corps Fellow but also a Grinnellian who worked nearby)
"A Sand Country Almanac"
by Noah Fribley & Anna Day (2012-2013 Grinnell Corps Fellows)
"A River Sometimes Runs Through It"
by Robert Logan (2013-2014 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Sand Sea and Me"
by Kathryn Vincent (2013-2014 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"An Inordinate Fondness for Stars and Beetles"
by Patty Murphy-Geiss (2014-2015 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Tayler's Thinks & Tinkers"
by Tayler Chicoine (2014-2015 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Magano"
by Meg Schmitt (2015-2016 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
Gobabeb Research & Training Centre
General information
"Notes from the Namib"
Also check out his Flickr account
by David Montgomery (2010-2011 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Days Like These"
by Sachi Graber (2012-2015 technically a Peace Corps Fellow but also a Grinnellian who worked nearby)
"A Sand Country Almanac"
by Noah Fribley & Anna Day (2012-2013 Grinnell Corps Fellows)
"A River Sometimes Runs Through It"
by Robert Logan (2013-2014 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Sand Sea and Me"
by Kathryn Vincent (2013-2014 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"An Inordinate Fondness for Stars and Beetles"
by Patty Murphy-Geiss (2014-2015 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Tayler's Thinks & Tinkers"
by Tayler Chicoine (2014-2015 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
"Magano"
by Meg Schmitt (2015-2016 Grinnell Corps Fellow)
Gobabeb Research & Training Centre
General information