The ZAZA Project
A few years ago, I took a Professional Development course as part of my doctoral training, which is where I met Jody Weir. Jody was a fellow UVic PhD student who had recently finished her Master's studying the behavioural patterns of wild dolphins. She immediately fascinated me with incredible stories about her animal follow adventures in remote places all over the world. While I was off enjoying a clean, and comfortable workspace in European museums (along with weekend trips to the beach!), Jody and her husband Alastair Judkins were hiking through the unforgivable rainforest of Madagascar, sleeping outside in the cold, wet jungle, eating nothing but beans and rice, and spending up to 10 hours per day documenting feeding patterns of the two largest extant lemur species, the Diademed Sifaka and the Indri. Their tales of finding, naming, and watching lemur mums and babies while navigating a dense and challenging landscape are captivating, as are the short videos from their online journal (http://thekiwiandthefish.com/).
But even though Jody and Alastair have contributed what is essentially the very first piece of data on infant feeding ecology for these specific primate species, they are also ambassadors for education in local Malagasy villages. Jody, Alastair, and Jody’s own mom (Jill) started the ZAZA Scholarship Program (http://zazaproject.com) to help local Malagasy children attend and finish junior high school.
Now entering its 4th year (!), the very first cohort of 10 funded students is about to graduate, thanks to the generous support that Jody and her team have rallied since 2011. This year, they are hoping to provide scholarships for 40 students; each scholarship is valued at approximately $100 USD and now, are only a few hundred dollars from reaching their goal. In fact, as I write this, the recent PhD grad Dr. Weir is on her way BACK to Madagascar to check in with her research team and the local communities where Malagasy children attend school.
Jody’s efforts and accomplishments as a biologist, and conservationist are admirable, but more outstanding are her incredible spirit, and dedication to the ZAZA Project. You can get involved too, and should start by watching this:
Contact:
Dr. Jody Weir
zazaproject@yahoo.com
.........................................
Jody is also the Co-founder & Research Director of the Kaikoura Ocean Research Institute (KORI) in New Zealand, which is a network of marine researchers and educators who 1) conduct meaningful scientific research on the Kaikoura marine environment and the animals that live within it, 2) contribute towards the creation of a local database of marine mammal sightings, to be used by local, national and international researchers and students, and 3) integrate local marine research into the community through school programs, field courses and public events.
kaikourakori@gmail.com
