Dear scientists, colleagues, and collaborators,

The beginning of 2026 was rather hectic; ongoing projects needed to be completed here in Botswana and at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. We are now back on track and ready to welcome you at the VTR Research Center. Field research, in situ monitoring, and collaborative development projects with local partners are all taking place in the Chobe Enclave as we are writing these lines.

We are developing a new research theme: lichenology. Lichens are the result of a symbiotic relationship between a fungus (mycobiont) and one or more species of alga or blue-green bacterium/cyanobacterium (phycobiont). This association is discreet but spectacular, and it takes places in the Swiss Alps as well as in the Kalahari Desert. Lichens are present throughout Botswana, particularly in arid areas, where they grow as colorful, dry-resistant crusts on rocks. While formal studies are limited, these organisms are known to grow on rocks and tree bark.

We are investigating research protocols in our labs in Lausanne that we would like to apply in Botswana. This work is carried out by a new PhD student, Matéo Vaucouleur and Prof. Jasmine Berg, who is a biogeochemist using interdisciplinary approaches (with methods borrowed from biology, geology, and chemistry) to solve complex environmental questions related to biogeochemical cycles. Before becoming an assistant professor at the Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, she completed a postdoc at the University Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, followed by a postdoc at the ETH Zurich.

Thank you for your reading time and potential interest in undertaking field research in your domain of expertise in the exciting and dynamic environment of northern Botswana.

John and Rita