Miller Hull offers a Length of Service Award when employees reach their five and 10 year anniversaries at the firm in the form of a travel stipend. The purpose is to get away, to get inspired and to bring back renewed enthusiasm, energy, and a fresh perspective. The obvious route for an architect is to go see any of the myriad of architectural gems, old and new, the world over. But with the firm’s blessing (and a bit in advance of my 10-year anniversary), I was able to explore my other passion: wildlife conservation. It’s not such a far stretch. Sustainable building and environmental sensitivity is a requirement of architecture today and a signature of Miller Hull’s work before it was ever fashionable. As human populations swell, communities develop and the natural environment — its flora and fauna — can be, and often is, sacrificed. Deforestation occurs. Water sources are cut off. Migration paths are blocked. Animals go extinct. Architecture and conservation are intertwined and in Africa, the human — wildlife conflict is a problem of outstanding proportions.

The lion population is decreasing at an alarming rate: from 200,000 lions throughout the continent of Africa in the 1970s to somewhere between 20,000-30,000 today. That’s a decrease of 80-90 percent in just four decades. Several countries have lost their lion populations completely, and several others are expected to lose their populations in the next decade if nothing is done to save this most iconic of all animals.

ALERT is trying to save lions and offers an amazing opportunity for people to lend a hand while experiencing travel in a completely unique way. You work hard, really hard. Our work days were 12 hours long starting at 6:30am, and in two weeks we only had one afternoon off on the 10th day (come to think of it, maybe the schedule is not so different from architecture!) You work alongside the local staff and get to hear their stories, share laughs, and make friends. You also work alongside other volunteers from all over the world, bonded in our love and appreciation for this vulnerable species. And, yes, we got to work with lions — something I never imagined I would ever have the honor of doing.

We went on daily walks with the cubs (it gets them out in the bush and hones their hunting skills), and collected behavioral data. We cleaned lion enclosures, prepared the meat they eat, repaired fences and roads, and went on snare sweeps. We were privileged to take out some of the adolescent lions at night and witness them stalking and successfully killing prey. We were able to go out with the research team to collect data on ALERT’s Stage 2 release pride, the Ngamo pride. We also had the opportunity to spend time with the four rescued elephants at the park, and go horseback riding through the bush.

Working up close and personal with lions is without a doubt, a top highlight of my life that will be difficult to out-do. It is absolutely magical to interact with these amazing cats. But what I didn’t anticipate is how this would alter my perspective on travel. Maybe we didn’t see all the major sites the guidebooks recommend, but we stayed in one place and really got to know it until it felt like home. We met the people who work, live, and struggle in a country that has seen, and continues to see, so much turmoil. And yet, you realize everyone is the same, and everyone wants the same things: decent work at a decent wage, the ability to feed their families and send their children to school, the need to find some laughter and joy in life.

We had minimal internet access, we had power outages daily, and we had few useful tools for repair work. We were hot, sweaty, dirty, and exhausted, and yet there was nowhere else we’d rather be. The only thing that mattered was the lions and to know that, maybe, in some tiny way, we were helping this amazing species to not only survive, but to once again thrive.

And ultimately, it wasn’t just about the lions. It’s also about the human spirit. Meeting people who have less than we do in the form of possessions and freedoms, and yet their spirit and good nature soared above those with seemingly so much more. It was a beautiful lesson to learn in a severely damaged country, where there is a group of dedicated people working tirelessly to save Africa’s heritage.

If you’d like to know more about our trip, ALERT, and the perilous future of lions, follow our personal blog: Africa or Bust!

From any one of the 40,000 exquisitely detailed Buddhist temples in Thailand, to the absolutely spartan stilt houses on Tonle’ Sap in Cambodia, the architecture could not be more of a contrast to what we do at Miller Hull. This is what inspires me, and why it is so important to “get away from it all” from time to time.

I am forever grateful to my partners and colleagues who covered for me while I was away. Now in its tenth year, our sabbatical program is a small but important part of the Miller Hull culture, and why I like coming to work every day. (Okay who wouldn’t, after a five week trip to Southeast Asia?)