As I earlier mentioned in my build-up post about the first ever official STEMng meet-up which was slated to take place on 11th of July, 2018 at the Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC), Lagos, Nigeria. I am happy to announce to you that it held and turned out more intriguing than expected.

I must again remind you that @STEMng is a subcommunity of the bigger @steemSTEM community - a community centered on rewarding quality Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics related posts.

You read right, QUALITY STEM posts!

These being a big task was made achievable by the committed efforts of the community curators helping to filter out quality contents for curation by the community. STEMng - the Nigerian STEM community is capably managed by @gentleshaid and @greenrun who have been fathers to the Nigerian authors through mentoring, guidance and recommendations.

The Meet-up

As mentioned, the Meet up was to hold at Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) and later Elegushi beach. However, the fun and adventure of the natural conservation center witnessed at LCC and the ever-present Lagos traffic made us leave out the Elegushi post LCC hangout. But I must say that the fun at LCC alone sufficed and was indeed enough to experience a memorable day.

The day started with me reuniting with old folks - @rharphelle and @temitayo-pelumi, who were first to reach the venue. I joined them along with @synick - the gentle looking chap who became the first @stemng member I got to meet in person before @dandymee joined looking calm and smark with his full beards.

In no time, the venue was filled with lovely faces allowing me to finally put a face behind the lovely "keypad witches" (as @teekingtv recommended) and truly, each person I met were as intelligent and lively as their online presence depicted. I was able to meet for the first time, @gentleshaid, the main anchor for the day (along with his wife), @emperorhassy - the Yoruba demon, @samest - the electrical boss, @eurogee - the euro nation boss, fresh and looking bright in his rich light skin, @djoi - the accommodating ma'am with a good sense of humor, @agbona - the free-spirited lover boy, keeping the whole experience alive, @funmiakinpelu - the smart agile lady who treated us to lovely scenes of her jumping on the suspended canopy walkway, @herbayomi - one from my Alma Mata who I might be meeting again (that's if I had seen him earlier when we were in school together), @bookie - the good-looking architect who stunned me with her good Yoruba accent. Others were my old folks from school; @amazonaesh - the elegant lady who "fits" all, my engineering mates @rharphelle @real2josh @thurllanie @sogless and @temitayo-pelumi.

The Experience - LCC Adventure

Lekki Conservation Centre, LCC is an urban nature park established in 1990 by the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF) as one of the projects of Lagos State as a means for preservation, protection and restoration of historic properties and cultural heritage in the state. As an icon of nature preservation, it is seen as one of the best urban parks to satiate visitors’ curiosity about nature.

The center serves as a site of unique preservation of the biodiversity, scenic and natural values of the African forest with a wide range of animals habituating the site naturally as preexisting without displacement. This was easily seen with monkeys freely jumping around from trees to trees without restrictions and other animals like the peacock displaying their beautiful presence.

The site spanning a whopping 78 hectares is a resource center serving as a model for the promotion of the environmental education and public awareness as well as understanding the need for a natural environment.

So, what are the special features of this conservation center that allow us to have a wonderful experience enough to make us let the Elegushi Beach visit slide?

The Canopy Walkway!

The 401 m long, 0.6 m wide, and 22.5 meters at highest point Canopy walkway is the longest in Africa and the Second largest in the world second to the Taman Negara National Park Canopy walkway.

The canopy walkway is an amazing swinging bridge walkway with its entrance and exit portals connecting six towers allowing visitors to get a birds eye's view of the vegetation types and a clean sight of the unique wildlife inhabiting the conservation center.

It was here that we spent most of the adventure as members had the chance to see how acrophobic some were (@sogless and @amazonaesh were regular suspects here), while @funmiakinpelu with her petite body was able to even jump while crossing each swinging bridge to the next tower. It was indeed an ecstatic experience standing as high as 22.5m viewing the top of the trees and sighting the landmass in an encompassing view.

Engineering Input

The Canopy Walkway as said is a swinging metal bridge suspended by metal ropes and other guides (fiber ropes) allowing the user to balance his/herself as he/she walks through the bridge. It is indeed a great engineering feat with many safety considerations factored into its construction.

In ensuring safety and a nice experience for users, balance and bridge rigidity was ensured. Looking at the bridge, it was constructed in form of a catenary bridge with ropes holding it in place.

Due to the fact that this is suspended freely and people will walk on it, metal rope with high tensile strength is used so that it stays flexible yet rigid enough to not snap in response to the weight on it. This was well ensured by dictating that a maximum of six people walk on the bridge at once. This is known as a Safety measure in engineering whereby the minimum safety limit is operated on.

The bridge is a swinging one and needs a guide where users can use for balance so as not to topple over from the swinging effect. Hence, guide fiber ropes are placed on the sides of the bridge. The fiber material was used to protect the palm of users from injury while they grip it.

Another engineering consideration is in the foot metal used for which users walk on. It is made of stainless steel with high strength, rigidity and corrosion resistance. The metal needs to be strong enough and not brittle to avoid breakage due to the weight exerted. Its rigidity ensures that as users move on it, it counters the impact forces helping them walk easily. The corrosive-resistant property is incorporated because of the environment where the canopy exists. The vegetation is a swampy forest and there would be a high moisture rate which is a good corrosion tool. So, by using stainless steel with very good corrosion resistant, it will thrive very well. This is further aided by the coating (paint) added to the metal surface for aesthetic and rust protection.

Lastly, the engineering design beauty was also at the forefront with the undulating bridges showing how amidst safety considerations, aesthetic can also have a place in engineering design. Between moving from the entrance portal to the exit, the seven bridges having six towers between was designed in an undulating manner to heightened the climber's experience. The bridges from the first to the fourth were in a rising pattern up to 22.5ft while the succeeding ones drop till we return to the ground level giving the user a nice climbing experience.

What Next?

After an adventurous experience with the swinging bridges, we all gathered at the family park to finally get to know more about ourselves and as well hold a QnA session which was anchored by @gentleshaid - the Nigerian community steemSTEM curator. Here, we introduced ourselves in depth and familiarized ourselves with the expectations of the @steemSTEM management as regards post quality and community engagement. We also had a general crypto world explanation session, with talks on coins and exchange markets been explained in details...

It was then time for further exploration of the nature park. We were treated to the sight of the nature walks, picnic & sporting facilities. The Koi and Tilapia Ponds and the Floor Games which include the Ludo, Snake and Ladder, Draught, Chess and Street Tennis courts were nice sight and we treated ourselves to nice photographs to showcase of excitement and the beauty of the scene.

It's time to return back to the meeting point?

It was already 4 pm when after the whole exploration around the park. We then head back through the 2-km board walkway offering bird watching opportunities and an awesome nature walks with the swamp water so close to the feet and chances of a crocodile or any other water inhabiting animal appearing so high. For a nice photography trick, I could see the reflection of the trees right from the water (thanks to @amazonaesh drawing my attention to it).

Something amazing happened - the Tree House!

When I thought the adventure was over, the Treehouse presented itself and undoubtedly, it was another memorable experience!

The 21 meters high Tree House rolled back the hand of time when I was a skilled tree climber - mostly Mango and Coconut trees. With the aid of the ladder, along with my old school mates, we climbed to the top letting out all the laughs and smiles.

It was more memorable penning down my nick on the tree as a tradition for every climber of the Treehouse. Coming down the tree was equally fun as we watched our steps guiding the females down the ladder.

It's time to depart - what an emotional one!

We gathered under the tree close to the entrance gate just as we did at the start of the adventure. We reminisced about the experience, shared contacts and took selfies.

It was indeed fun getting to meet virtual friends especially in the way we did - having fun together at such a park.

For me, this day will remain forever in my mind!

Thanks to the @steemit community, the @steemSTEM community and of course, the ever exciting @stemng family. It is a pleasure being a part of the group! Let's continue to soar!!!

Cheers!

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Useful Links on Writing STEM content

• Steemstem FAQ by @katerinaramm
• Tips for writing an article for steemSTEM by @chloroform
• Helpful Guidelines for Crafting steemstem content by @steemstem

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REFERENCE

• NCF - Lekki Conservation Center

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_{If you write STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related posts, consider joining #steemSTEM on steemit chat or discord here. If you are from Nigeria, you may want to include the #stemng tag in your post. You can visit this blog by @stemng for more details.}

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^{I'm a proud member of @promo-mentors where you get mentored and guided on how to make quality posts on steemit amongst other benefits. Do join us on discord
. We anticipate your arrival.}

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