A few weeks back I performed two back-to-back snake talks at Victoria Girls High School with Luke Kemp. The aim of the talks were to expose  the Grade 11 students of the all-girl high school to the wonders of the reptile world. The talk, that ran for 30 minutes, consisted of general information about Grahamstown reptile diversity, followed by information pertaining to snake biology, taxonomy and snakebite awareness. The presentation was capped-off with an overview of the most common snakes in Grahamstown. The talk was followed by a 15 minute show-and-tell session, that saw Luke and I showcasing some live specimens to the class.

Overall, it was a great experience that tested my public speaking skills as much as my general knowledge of the animals that I have grown to love. Special thanks goes to Eileen Shepherd (WESSA) for organising it, Dr Sarah Hanton for opening up her Life Science class for the presentation and Victoria Girls’ High School for hosting myself and Luke for such a fun and enjoyable day.