Okavango Extravangaza - Shah Selbe & Gregg Treinish

For scientists, there are many metrics and data points that they can study to estimate the health of an ecosystem. But there is no better way than to visit the location and to experience the landscape inch by inch, which is what National Geographic Emerging Explorers Shah Selbe and Gregg Treinish just did in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. The expedition, arranged by Steve Boyes, another Emerging Explorer, is an annual exploration of the waterways to document birds and wildlife. This year’s expedition added the collection and analysis of water and soil samples. But this year’s expedition was special: Selbe, a engineer who works with Engineers Without Borders installed permanent digital sensors to feed real-time data to scientists, while Treinish, who leads Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation, will train fellows in the field to maintain these sensors. They survived crocs, hippos, and elephants in this pristine wilderness to help ensure the ecosystem’s health in the future.