DSWT Community Outreach Report June 2016

COMMUNITY OUTREACH MONTHLY REPORT

JUNE 2016 SUMMARY: The DSWT’s Community Outreach projects are aimed at conservation education, sustainable support to livelihood projects and human-wildlife conflict mitigation.

In June, the DSWT hosted nine fully sponsored school trips, five wildlife film shows playing ‘The Elephants of Tsavo’ reaching out to 1,152 school children, and donated 56 sustainable desks to schools bordering the Tsavo Conservation Area.

JUNE 2016 SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS

The DSWT’s school field trips have been one of the most effective ways of encouraging environmental conservation awareness in the communities living in the greater Tsavo area.

Conservation awareness is important in developing a positive attitude towards the environment and positive messages can be successfully carried through school children and the younger generation.

The majority of children in the Tsavo Conservation Area have never seen wildlife in a natural environment, despite living is an area hosting the largest elephant population country wide.

In June, the DSWT carried out 9 fully sponsored school trips for children living in the Ithumba and Maktau areas, also offering them a special opportunity to visit the DSWT orphan elephant stockades and experience a guided tour in Tsavo East National Park.

SCHOOL TRIPS Kalamba Primary-1 Mrabenyi Secondary-1 Mrabenyi Secondary-2 Mnengwa Primary-1 Mnengwa Primary-2 Kyandulu Secondary-1 Tsavo Primary-1 Tsavo Primary-2 Kyandulu Secondary-2 TOTAL

DATE 9th June 2016 13th June 2016 15th June 2016 17th June 2016 21st June 2016 23rd June 2016 25th June 2016 27th June 2016 29th June 2016

STUDENTS 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 225

TEACHERS 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 27

JUNE 2016 WILDLIFE FILM SHOWS

The continued survival of wildlife in Kenya depends largely on the peoples’ understanding of ecological processes and the economic value of wildlife. Through the media of film, the DSWT is making sure that communities living in the Tsavo Conservation Area recognize that the existence of wildlife benefits the people. Creating awareness of the link between wildlife and increased prosperity will encourage involvement in wildlife conservation, bringing up a generation who are conservation-responsible community, committed to the sustainable protection of the Tsavo area.

In June, the DSWT showed the film ‘Elephants of Tsavo’ to five schools reaching out to 1,152 children and teachers. The film is narrated the local Swahili language documenting the importance of elephants as keystone species, the early works of David Sheldrick and the poaching crisis in Tsavo.

Name of School

Film

Date of Film Show

Kingoni Primary Mnengwa Primary Katiliku Primary Tsavo Primary Kimweli Primary

Elephants of Tsavo Elephants of Tsavo Elephants of Tsavo Elephants of Tsavo Elephants of Tsavo

10th June 2016 19th June 2016 24th June 2016 28th June 2016 30th June 2016

TOTAL

No. of Audience 95 361 200 240 256

1,152

Most schools in the TCA cannot afford even the essentials like study desks for their classes. In a bid to encourage education as a means of improving the living standards of the communities bordering the Parks, the DSWT often donates desks and books amongst other learning materials and sports equipment.

In June, the DSWT donated 56 long lasting metallic framed learning desks to two schools in the TCA who have shown a commitment to protecting their natural environment and have been working hard on their tree planting programs with help from the DSWT’s tree nursery.

Name of School

Date of Desks Donation

No. of Desks Donated

Metava Primary School

16th June 2016

25

Matulani Primary

18th June 2016

31

TOTAL

JUNE 2016 DESK DONATIONS

56

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is reliant on your kind support in order to keep our community outreach projects running.

For more information about these projects please visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.com/community or email info@dswt.org