If Derek Pomeroy said to meet him at 7am, you were expected to be there by exactly 7am—not a minute later. Punctuality was not just a preference; it was a principle. Whether in a zoology lab, a birdwatching field station, or over tea at Makerere University, order and discipline mattered. Behind that exacting standard, however, was a deeper devotion: to science, to Uganda’s biodiversity, and above all, to the generations of African conservationists he helped train and shape. Pomeroy arrived in Uganda in 1969 to study marabou storks. He stayed for most of his life. What began as ornithological curiosity became a lifelong project of institution-building, mentoring, and record-keeping. His field notes on birds, gathered across decades, became the backbone of the Bird Atlas of Uganda and the National Biodiversity Data Bank. He played a pivotal role in founding the Makerere University Institute of Environment and Natural Resources (MUIENR), a center that now shapes the country’s environmental policy and research. Through civil unrest, political transitions, and global shifts in conservation priorities, Pomeroy remained a constant. He trained hundreds of students—many of whom now lead major conservation efforts in Uganda and beyond. His greatest legacy may not lie in peer-reviewed journals or global assessments, but in the lives he shaped. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s leading wildlife veterinarian, remembered him as a mentor who encouraged her earliest efforts and celebrated her success. Edward Okot Omoya, now a professor, put it simply: “He was more than a supervisor. He was a father figure.” Others…This article was originally published on Mongabay