THE VIEWFINDERNEWSLETTER: ISSUE No 43, MARCH 2006 [Joan Root Tribute] [Order out of Chaos] [Testudinal Surprise] [Weird Weather] JOAN ROOT: TRIBUTE TO AN EXCEPTIONAL FRIEND, NATURALIST, CONSERVATIONIST, AND FILM MAKER We join the world in grieving over the loss of one of Kenya's finest women. Much has been written in the wake of her horrific death, much of it true, some of it hearsay. It is distressing that more of this national and international recognition and admiration did not materialise while she lived, for she was one very remarkable woman. Joan was essentially a very private person, who kept her thoughts and her friends very much to herself. She was quiet and reserved, genuine, honest, fiercely loyal and caring. Her friendship, trust, and love had to be earned, but once she had decided you were worthy in some way, she would never ever let you down. Joan's life fell apart in the 1980s when she and Alan parted after some 20 years of award-winning wildlife film making. For a while she retreated from the world, but then she started to venture out again, slowly, slowly. She flew for hours over east and central Africa on wildlife counts and surveys; she went to the Antarctic, to Ethiopia, and all over the Sahara on three different trips photographing rock art. She also started championing the conservation of her own environment, Lake Naivasha. To Joan, everything in nature was sacrosanct and she did more to keep it safe than many people realised. Whenever a fledgling bird needed help, or a wild animal with an injured wing or leg; whenever some creature was brought to her to care for, she took it on and did her best. Domestic dogs and cats or parrots in cages were not for Joan, but she nurtured anything wild, especially if there was a chance that she could eventually release it. Many times she stayed here, bringing wildlife with her - a pair of baby weavers, a rare Sudanese duiker, a young house snake, a newly hatched Crowned Crane. The first time she stayed, we spent an hour on our hands and knees in the garden gathering crickets and worms for the weavers. The crane had to have tiny fish, which had to be warmed in the microwave for two seconds only. One time we found dozens of hairy caterpillars and she took some home to see which type of Emperor moth they would hatch into. A typical entry in the guest book would be "it rained and the termite alates emerged" - rather than a more traditional "thankyou for having me".
A moving celebration of her life was held at her home on the shores of Lake Naivasha on Saturday, 4th March. Nearly 300 people came from far and wide, including overseas to pay their deep respects and to say a final farewell. There was no music, except the screams of the fish eagles, the grunt of the hippos and the bubbling song of Black-headed Orioles. Her two cranes danced on the lawn, howling their own kind of lament, and one of them consistently pecked at a photo of Joan that was on display. The worlds of film, conservation and nature and the lives of all of us have been changed forever. We miss you Joan. Further to our September 2005 newsletter, Des and Jen Bartlett came to Kenya in January for a month. This was to go through the old Armand and Michaela Denis film that was retrieved from Michaela's house. With the help of some antiquated rewinding equipment from Bob Campbell and an incredible amount of patience, they managed to rescue no less than 92 rolls of film. Many of these were original colour prints with sound, dating back to 1952. Also found was a black and white feature film from 1941. All the rolls are now individually listed, wrapped and numbered, awaiting shipment so that they can be transferred to a more durable format.
Further to our March 2003 newsletter, when we introduced our tortoises, 12 February 2006 brought a surprise. Sid, long thought to have been a male, was seen laboriously digging a deep hole in the rose garden at dusk. To the Bartletts' and Jean's amazement, 'he' then proceeded to lay 15 eggs which were then covered up in the traditional way. We now settle down to a long wait - we are advised that it could be 12 months before we can expect the patter of 60 little feet. Much has been said in local and international press about the drought in eastern Africa. The long rains in November were very sparse, and there followed what has been described as the worst drought in two decades. Parts of northern and eastern Kenya have been badly affected, and Kenya had something like 4 million people on famine relief. Then out of the blue came a cyclone in the Indian Ocean, which resulted in heavy downpours in much of the country during the first week of March - we measured 160mm. This has settled the dust, filled the rivers, and brought a welcome flush of green to the parched earth. We are now told that we must wait until April/May for the "proper" rains, but that these will be inadequate. |
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