Geologists from Planet Earth

We belong here too: women in field geology - Gillian Becky

• Julie Hollis

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Gillian is a Nairobi-based geologist who didn't exactly stumble into the field, but rather, geology found her, from a phone call that led her on a new path to discovering her purpose. Gillian's early experiences of fieldwork in a remote Kenyan landscape include a heart-pounding encounter with wildlife. And she shares her insights on overcoming challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field. If you're a woman considering a STEM career, Gillian's honesty about carving out her space is essential listening. Gillian’s story isn't just about rocks, it's about her resilience and passion for understanding our planet. 

Teaching resources (questions prompts) for 12-16 year olds can be found here:  https://lnkd.in/e9_ChNPk

Julie:

What do you know about geology? What does a geologist do? And who are these people who are so interested in rocks? In this podcast, I ask geologists from around the world to tell the stories that mean the most to them. And well, it turns out they're not who you might expect. the remarkable things they've done, the experiences they've had, and the passion that every one of them feels for the planet that we live on. But it's not about what I think. You decide for yourself. My name is Julie Hollis, and you're listening to Geologists from Planet Earth.

Gillian:

Hi, my name is Gillian. I am a geologist based in Nairobi, Kenya.

Julie:

Welcome, Gillian. What are you going to tell us about?

Gillian:

I'd like to tell you the story of how I landed myself in geology. I've always wondered, how did everything come about? I've always been curious. I feel like geology is part of it. It is the why of why things are happening. Geology really does answer a lot of questions for us.

Julie:

So when did you get into geology?

Gillian:

We all have that story where you grew up just loving the environment and you're like, I want to make the world a better place. But back then it wasn't clear to me as much. But once you get there, you realize like, this is my purpose and this is what I came here to do. As I was transitioning to campus and I was expected to choose a course, I didn't know what to do. And everybody was like, be a geography teacher. And it sounded exciting, but I wasn't sure. Then it just so happened, my brother had a friend and she was a lady. Her name was Jackie. She was doing geology at the time. So I remember that day I was so confused. We just made a phone call. Hi, Jackie. I did geography and physics, and I'm having trouble choosing what to do. Jackie was like, you can try geology. It's not a popular course, but it's very promising. Back then, Kenya had just discovered oil. And I remember Talu came to the geological department, and they needed people to do the exploration work, and they actually chose everybody from the class. And all of a sudden, geology became popular in the university. So I was like, okay, the field seems to be getting traction. It's something I can maximize on.

Julie:

So you had some interest at this point. What happened then?

Gillian:

Well, the mentality shift happened is now in third year when we started our fieldworks. Every geologist will attest they love fieldworks. So during our fieldworks is when most of us were able to really understand what geology was all about. Finally, it was making sense.

Julie:

So fieldwork really helped you to understand the relevance of geology?

Gillian:

What to do in the labs. It made sense to get into the field. That just was the turning point for me. And since then, I have loved the subject.

Julie:

Can you tell us about one of your early experiences of doing fieldwork?

Gillian:

The one that really, really made me love this, it was in 2019. Just before graduating, we went to Kajiado. It's in the south western part of Kenya. It borders Tanzania. We were actually going to study the Tanzanian crater, which is one of the oldest rocks in the region. It dates back to the Precambrian. That's around 3.6 billion years ago. So we were there for three weeks and we were divided into groups because it was supposed to be student-led.

Julie:

So you were doing fieldwork in groups in this fairly remote area?

Gillian:

We were given portions of land leading up to the border because you can only study the creton that is on the Kenyan side. Each group, we were about seven. We were supposed to cover a width of around seven kilometers, but you can go inside for as far as you can be able to reach. It's a very mountainous region. So that was actually when I learned how to hike.

Julie:

So this was very new to you?

Gillian:

Yes, it became a life skill at the point.

Julie:

And what was the daily work like during this fieldwork?

Gillian:

At that time, we used to follow a routine where we have to be up by six. By seven, we are picked from the camp and then we are dropped. Once you're dropped, you won't see the bus again until 6pm. Before you go the previous night, you have to sit with your group, discuss the regions you're going to cover and things like that. And I remember this one time, we had already planned our route for that day. We are ready, good to go. It was a very deserted region. And apparently, we didn't know there were wild animals in that place until that day.

Julie:

Oh, that doesn't sound good.

Gillian:

As usual, we were dropped there. We started making our way inside, collecting our samples, following our route until around 2 p.m.

Julie:

What happened at 2 p.m.?

Gillian:

That is when we knew we are in trouble. First of all, we couldn't see, at least when you move like a kilometer or less, you can see like a hut somewhere. So, you know, there's still civilization. But at two, we were looking around. There's no one. It's completely quiet. And then you realize the grass is getting taller. We didn't know that until someone was like, hey, guys, I feel like we need to leave here now. I was like, what do you mean? This grass is getting taller. And apparently... The taller the grass, it's where actually the lions hide because you can't see them.

Julie:

Oh, no.

Gillian:

I remember when we started, the villagers told us if we see any fences, we don't cross. That is, they said for the wild animals, then they live on the other side because these people even go hunting for antelopes. So you can imagine. So they were like, if you see any fence, don't go over the other side. But we had not seen any fence. So we were like, how come we are in this zone? So we're like, we have to find our way out. And I kid you not, we were actually lost. We spent two, three hours, but somehow we found an abandoned road. That was around 4, 5 p.m.

Julie:

Okay.

Gillian:

And we started following it. It's a very rough road and you have less than an hour before pickup time. The stress is getting worse. It's almost six. It's getting dark. We're still not seeing people. And at the same time, we are having our samples, because again, if you don't deliver the samples the following day in camp, you'll have to go back and collect them the following day, because this will add up to part of our grades at the end of the semester.

Julie:

So it's getting late and getting dark. What happened then?

Gillian:

We've been climbing these mountains the whole day. We are really tired, but guys, we have to walk fast. It's like you can hear the grass moving at the back. We were still at the grassy region, but we were like, why is the grass moving? Why is the grass moving? So we were like, guys, something is following us, but don't panic because I can't run. Okay, yes, I can run if my life depends on it, but I don't think I cannot run like a lion. I cannot. So we were like, let's not make any sudden movements. Let no one scream. But the good thing is we had... something we can use as a weapon, which in our dialect we call a panga. It's for cutting grass in case there's grass. It could serve as a weapon, but you don't use it unless you feel like you're really endangered. It followed us. When you could see back, you could just see the eyes, but one of us was very experienced in the community. They still have the tradition of during as a rite of passage, you have to kill an animal. So it was like, that's a lion, but guys don't panic. We saw the first civilization. We've never been so happy. And it's not like even our hearts, it was just like an old track that was passing.

Julie:

Okay, so what did you do?

Gillian:

And we were just like, stop, stop, stop, stop. And we were just like, take us to the nearest station. We are really lucky. Nothing happened to us at that point. But it's one of those moments where you become more aware of your environment. But I've never been so scared my entire life.

Julie:

Wow. So while you're early in your career, you've already experienced a lot in terms of the kinds of work, including fieldwork that you've done. In geophysical surveying for hydrogeology projects, working with artisanal miners and mineral prospecting. And this is in a field where women are still quite underrepresented as geologists, particularly in Africa. How do you think your early experiences of fieldwork have shaped your career path?

Gillian:

This is a big challenge. I feel it happens to women geologists along the way. Sometimes we do get overlooked. You're going to the field and these areas can be termed as hardship. So you'll find most employers taking up men for such roles because they believe men can be able to do it better. And it can be very discouraging, but I'm here to tell them, you just have to push. You just have to push. And for a minute, I got discouraged and I stepped out. But then I was like, no. I belong in this space too. I can survive those harsh conditions. So just believe in yourself and put yourself out there and be ready to learn and be willing to learn. Because as long as you're willing to learn, you can still grow regardless of the challenges that come along the way. We can all grow.

Julie:

Gillian Becky is a consultant geologist specialising in the sustainable exploration and exploitation of geo-resources. Over the past year, she's been involved with the Bee Visioneers Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, a global program to support young innovators in developing and implementing planet-positive projects. My name's Julie Hollis, and you've been listening to Geologists from Planet Earth.