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Conducting research in another country and taking a group of people
along to participate in the research requires months and months of prior
planning and preparation. The staff at the Oceanic Society has to make
certain that all the logistics for each trip are in place. We double,
triple and quadruple check all the arrangements that have been made.
This includes making sure we have all of the required permits and that
they are up-to-date.
When people sign up to go on a trip we first send them the research
plan so they have time to become familiar with the goals, objectives
and methods of the research project. As the trip gets nearer to departure,
we mail to everyone who will be going on the trip, all the documents
they need. This includes travels plans, airline tickets, packing lists,
etc. We encourage participants to bring school supplies for children
living in the area so we let them know what would be appropriate and
what is most needed.
In the case of the river dolphin trip we have to notify the people
at the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve and tell them when will be arriving
and who is coming on the trip with us. We work closely with the researcher
and the research director to make certain all the research equipment
is in working condition and that we have everything we will need to
conduct the research. All the educational materials for the volunteers
need to be current as well.
It is important for us to reconfirm emergency and evacuation procedures
in the rare event that something happens and we need to get the volunteers
to safety.
Lastly we have to pay for all the services, such as the boat charter,
local guides, hotel reservations and miscellaneous items before everyone
arrives. This is ongoing for us as we do many trips in any given year
but each trip is unique and that is one reason it is so interesting.
The work at the Oceanic Society always continues even though the research
season ends. At the conclusion of each journey we make sure all the
appropriate reports are filed with the local agencies. We also made
sure the research results are disseminated to the general public. Often
we assist local conservation groups with writing position statements
to help protect the environment. All of this keeps us very, very busy.
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