ARL_Wordmark (en)

Internship Offer: Assistant in Resource Management and Environmental Optimization – A Rocha Lebanon, Meksé Nature Park

by with No Comment News
Location: Meksé Nature Park, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
Duration: 1 to 2 months (flexible based on availability)
Start Date: As soon as possible
Type of Internship: Unpaid, with coverage of travel expenses
Context:
A Rocha Lebanon, an NGO focused on biodiversity conservation and environmental education, manages Meksé Nature Park, a 3-hectare green space in the Bekaa Valley. We seek a motivated intern to contribute to technical projects aimed at optimizing resource management and enhancing site sustainability.
Main Responsibilities:
  1. Technical Study on Optimized Water Resource Management:
    • Analyze the park’s water needs (irrigation, community use).
    • Propose sustainable water management solutions, considering local constraints (anticipated drought due to low rainfall this winter).
  2. Assessment of Hygrometric and Sunlight Data:
    • Collect and analyze hygrometric (soil and air humidity) and sunlight data to optimize irrigation and planting.
    • Provide practical recommendations to improve data collection and interpretation.
  3. Optimization of the Photovoltaic Installation:
    • Evaluate the existing photovoltaic system, primarily used to power the water pump.
    • Draft a technical note suggesting adjustments (panel positioning, energy management, maintenance) to maximize efficiency.
  4. Implementation of a Geographic Information System (GIS):
    • Assist in setting up a GIS to monitor environmental parameters (water, soil, biodiversity).
    • Support system configuration for publishing accessible public data, in collaboration with the technical team.
Candidate Profile:
  • Student or recent graduate in environmental sciences, water engineering, renewable energy, geomatics, or related fields.
  • Knowledge of GIS tools (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS) and basic environmental data analysis.
  • Skills in water management, solar energy, or measurement of environmental parameters (hygrometry, sunlight).
  • Independent, rigorous, and interested in fieldwork in a multicultural context.
  • Proficiency in English (written and oral); knowledge of Arabic or French is a plus.
Conditions:
  • Fieldwork at Meksé with possible travel in the Bekaa. Daily on-site presence is not required; remote work is possible.
  • Collaboration with an international team and local partners.
  • Opportunity to contribute to scientific publications or reports.
How to Apply:

Send your CV and cover letter to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) with the subject “Meksé Internship – Resource Management.” Specify your availability and relevant skills. Deadline: June 15, 2025.
Why Join A Rocha Lebanon?
Contribute to a tangible environmental conservation project in a context of ecological crisis and support sustainable solutions for local communities.

Hello 2025 ! Hello new website for A Rocha Lebanon !

by with No Comment News

A Rocha Lebanon has been wanting to completely overhaul its website for a long time. This has now been done in order to align with all the websites of A Rocha organizations around the world, including A Rocha International, and also to benefit from a more welcoming site that is more in line with new visiting habits. It is with a sense of gratitude for all the time spent that we are launching our new portal where we hope our visitors will be able to find or rediscover useful information.

Stay connected, we are coming with great news.

We wish you a year 2025 full of happiness, health and great promises.

© ARL - Tree-lined walkway through the Aammiq reserve

The case of the missing frogs – #2

by with No Comment News

By Phil Good, A Rocha Lebanon volunteer

© ARL – The Aammiq wetlands at dawn

It is akin to a wild goose chase, only it’s a frog. It was thought to be extinct, but now the search is on. We have a recording of the call of this rare painted frog and we will hunt throughout the Aammiq wetlands in Lebanon to see if it is there. We have some clever little boxes that contain a small computer, a microphone, and some AA batteries. These devices can be set up to record the sounds that they hear in the different areas of the nature reserve, wherever we think there might be some of these frogs. We set up the device to wake up every 15 minutes and record for five minutes. This way, we get a five minute sound file four times every hour.

So let’s go to the wetlands in Aammiq, in the western Beqaa region.

© ARL – This shows the locations where I have placed the devices so far

Aamiq wetlands are in the Beqaa valley of Lebanon are a vital world-recognized refuge for migrating birds, as they pass through this fertile valley on their migrations to and from Africa and Eastern Europe every spring and autumn. It belongs to the Skaff family and was restored in the 2000s thanks to a cooperation with A Rocha Lebanon.

Early in the morning, it is very restful to arrive here, having escaped Beirut.

 

© ARL – The water supports much wildlife, especially in the large reed beds

It is a beautiful spot, this fertile valley between the mountains.

© ARL – Mount Lebanon

 

© ARL – Mount Hermon

We stand at 900m above sea level, and in the distance, we can even see Mount Hermon, which is topped with a fresh fall of snow.

We have several types of habitat to investigate. There are the large reedbeds, but the most likely spot is a long drainage channel, where there has been a suspected sighting already.

© ARL – Drainage channel in the Aammiq wetlands

Everywhere, I can hear frogs calling. Especially if the weather is warm, but that could be deceiving as so little is known about this species. We are not sure if the presence of other frogs is actually a negative. This species may prefer to be somewhere where there are less other frogs. All we know is that the painted frog does not live in water, but calls for mating from there. So, I place devices in different locations all over the wetland reserve.

© ARL – Devices for tracking the calls of frogs

Sometimes we can fix them to a branch, but other times we mount them on a stick.

© ARL – Devices for tracking frog calls lay on the ground, mounted on pegs

After five or six days, the time comes to retrieve the devices, so I get to come again and walk around the reserve to find the devices. If I should forget where I placed them, I have recorded the GPS coordinates, and I also have photographs of every location.

© ARL – Tree-lined walkway through the Aammiq reserve

Having retrieved all five devices, I return to the car and take small SD cards out and replace them with blank ones. The batteries need changing, and then the devices need to be reconfigured, as the configuration is lost when the batteries are taken out.

© ARL – I change out the batteries on the devices© ARL – I add new batteries and reconfigure the devices
© ARL – I add new batteries and reconfigure the devices

On one day, we had some youngsters pay a visit to see what was going on.

Yes, we have seen frogs here, though I have heard them more than I’ve seen them.

© ARL – A green tree frog (Hyla savignyi)
© ARL – A green tree frog (Hyla savignyi)
© ARL – The main common frog we see is the Levantine frog (Pelophylax bedriagae), and it is the noisiest kind
© ARL – Stripe Necked Turtle (Mauremys caspica)

There are also Terrapins, and they make a lot of noise as they crash through the reeds and dive into the water when they hear me approaching. The flowers are stunning too!

© ARL – Daffodils (Narcissus tazettas), a kind of Acanthus, and one of Mignonette
© ARL – Anemones

Having updated the devices and enjoyed a drink of coffee, it is time to walk back around the reserve and place them into new places.

© ARL – Entrance of Aammiq wetlands at dawn

When the sun shines, it is a beautiful place. Although different when it rains, it is still beautiful in a different way.

© ARL – Grey skies over Aammiq wetlands

Having placed the devices in new locations, taken pictures of each spot, made some notes, and recorded the GPS coordinates… I can head back to the car and then head over the mountain, back to Beirut. Upon getting home, I carefully copy the files on the SD cards to backup and then load up to the web, where later some scientists will analyze the data for the distinctive sound of the painted frog. So far, we have created 13,000 five-minute sound files, so we will need the help of a computer to find the calls. I have listened to a lot of files, but I haven’t heard one yet. But there are still more locations to listen to and many files I did not open.

© ARL – A walk in Aammiq
© ARL – A thermos of warm coffee in the wetlands

Stopping for a coffee in the middle of the natural world is my dream way of spending time.

It has been a joy to do this, walking in the reserve with my binoculars in hand, seeing the birds and flowers. Thank you to A Rocha for letting me be involved in this small project. We still have to analyze the data in collaboration with A Rocha International. Looking forward for seeing the results!

© ARL – Gear for the survey
© ARL – A makeshift workstation in the trunk of the car
Funded by Synchronicity Earth Grant Paperwork
(Photo: Recording gear sits by an Aammiq waterway. Credit: Phil Good.)

Of Frogs and Princes, and Needles in a Haystack – Journal Entry #1

by with No Comment News

Of Frogs and Princes, and Needles in a Haystack

By Phil Good, A Rocha Lebanon volunteer

Well, hello, I am volunteering to help find a frog! Now this needs putting into context, does it not? It invites several questions. Why? Are you an expert in frogs? Do you like frogs? How do you do that?

Let me explain then. This particular painted frog was thought extinct until it was discovered 50 years later in the wetlands of a nearby country. Now here in Lebanon, we have the Aammiq wetlands, which are relatively close to that site with a similar climate and environment. And there was a reported sighting some 20 years ago. So yes, it is deemed important enough to warrant a thorough research project to see if indeed there are such painted frogs in Aammiq.

I am no expert in frogs, and I cannot really say I even like frogs very much. But I do love the natural world and the complex systems that make up a natural habitat. The interdependence of multiple life forms and how they each contribute to a sustainable ecology is both fascinating and beautiful. So I am very happy to go helping to find a rare frog. Who knows? As I get to know more about him, he might prove to be a Prince Charming and change my appreciation.

How then will we go looking for this frog? Well, I have a lot to learn now, and it has been very interesting. Firstly, like most creatures, frogs make a noise, and also we have learnt that every species makes a distinctive noise. It is possible to identify animals using only the sounds they make. If we make a recording of the sounds in a location, we can then scan the recordings to identify all the species in the location of the microphone. This is very powerful as it no longer depends on a human who might fall asleep or just be looking the wrong way. This is used in the UK to identify which species of bats are living in a roofspace and can then inform the builders and planners of the importance to nature of an old building.

That is what we are doing then. I go to the Aammiq wetlands and place recording devices around the reserve, and every five days or so, I go back extract the recordings and move the devices to a new location. We will do this for a month or so until we have covered the whole reserve. Then we have to scan the recordings and look for the calls of this rare painted frog. This is helped by using software, as there are many gigabytes of data to be reviewed.

(Photo: A recording device is tied to a branch near water. Credit: Phil Good.)
(Photo: A recording device is tied to a branch near water. Credit: Phil Good.)

So Last Saturday, I went to the Aammiq, just to put in place two test devices to make sure things were going to work correctly as planned. I was shocked as immediately we heard frogs calling, or should I say croaking. They were everywhere. There were thousands of them, and at times, it sounded like a wall of noise coming out of the dense reedbeds. It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny day, and the frogs were enjoying the rising temperatures. The wetlands are full of water now after the winter, and the snow on the mountains around is melting, providing a steady stream of fresh water running through this rich habitat.

Indeed, it will be a challenge to find the call of our painted frog, because of the sometimes deafening calls of the other species here. It really will be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

(Photo: A frog - though not the rare, painted species - swims through the Aammiq waterways. Credit: Phil Good.)
(Photo: A frog – though not the rare, painted species – swims through the Aammiq waterways. Credit: Phil Good.)

A few days later, I returned to collect the results and put in place all five devices we have. This was a real delight as the wetlands were looking gorgeous as the sun shone and there was an abundance of life all around. The frogs were calling, of course, but they are difficult to see as they can sense my approach
and go silent as I come closer. There are a lot of birds there, but the migrant season has not really started yet. I saw plenty of species even so. There were lots of turtles, the largest I’ve seen in freshwater; but again, they are very difficult to creep up on, so no pictures of them this week.

The files we created from the first two devices are now being analysed by the team of researchers.
On Monday, I will go again and collect the next batch of recordings and move the devices.

(Photo: Recording gear sits by an Aammiq waterway. Credit: Phil Good.)
Funded by Synchronicity Earth Grant Paperwork