Zoom Virtual Teatime

The FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology on UCT's Upper Campus is home to the largest centre for ornithological research in the Southern Hemisphere. Housed within the Department of Biological Sciences, researchers and students at the Fitz undertake scientific studies involving birds and their conservation. Despite busy fieldwork schedules throughout the year, the Fitz is a close community and, when in the office, people normally meet for tea every day at 10.30 am. 

With the lockdown looming, postdocs Jessica van der Wal and Susan Miller planned to move the daily tea break online. ‘Virtual tea’ is held on Zoom at the same time at it would be normally. It has been a great success, with up to 23 participants for Friday tea (when virtual biscuits are served). ‘It has been a nice way to break up my morning, great to see some familiar faces, and an opportunity to discuss a topic or a statistics problem that we have been struggling with on our own’, says Dr van der Wal, who started her position at the FitzPatrick a year ago. ‘Working from home can be lonely, and this feeling of community has helped me remember we are all in this together, and that I am not the only one having productivity problems’.

The biggest challenge at a virtual tea is that it only allows one group conversation at a time, so finding something to talk about that everybody finds interesting is sometimes a challenge in a bigger group. On Fridays, several members of the Institute normally meet in the UCT pub for a beverage or two to conclude the week, a tradition which has also moved online.

In addition, a WhatsApp group created by a senior staff member to connect everyone in the Fitz has helped to keep up morale, especially for students writing up their theses, and those having to find alternatives to fieldwork-based studies. Drs Miller and van der Wal also organise the Fitz journal club, which is also being run online. The Fitz is doing their best at keeping structure, and their sense of community and collegiality thriving during these strange times.

Story:  Jessica van der Wal