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The Vansemberuu trip has offered me adrenaline-fueled adventures that have left me with unforgettable memories. These memories allowed me to appreciate this area that boasts a wide range of natural wonders. As I ventured into the great outdoors, I immersed myself in the beauty of rolling grassland, snow-capped peaks, and dramatic canyons.
As there is no word in Mongolian for “schedule” or “stress,” there was no rush to start. It was only when everyone was present and ready to begin that Naadam commenced.
The plants begin to consume your mind, you walk with your eyes constantly scanning the ground for the tracks of who may have been here before you. There’s this feeling when you began to understand an ecosystem. It is almost as is you start to move through these spaces as if you are one with it, rather than above it.
Conservation is one language. To speak it is to approach the natural landscape through a valuable scientific lens. But we cannot account for the words our language misses. The cultural and historical connections, the footers at the end of the page. This highlights the importance of incorporating traditional ecological knowledge, such as Nyman’s, into conservation efforts. The more knowledge that can be compiled, the more likely we will be to truly conserve these landscapes in their entirety, not just in the language we understand.
The next day we went out to retrieve four camera traps, it was going to be a long day for us all. We packed our daypacks and set off toward the Mongash River, which is still frozen enough to walk on safely. We decided that since we had extra cameras, there was an interest in setting a camera up to watch the ice of the river melt on a timelapse setting to retrieve in a few weeks when the ice breaks and melts. The cameras all went smoothly, and we captured boar, elk, moose, and other smaller mammals.