Community Outreach Quarterly Report January to March 2020

COMMUNITY OUTREACH QUARTERLY REPORT January to March 2020

Summary

250 School Children

10 School Trips

30 Desks Donated

Quarterly Report by Samuel Munyao This quarter, SWT carried out 10 School Trips, all 10 of the school trips were with school children from the communities neighbouring the Tsavo West ecosystem. Through the months of February and March, SWT continued to work with bee farmers to ensure that the hives are remaining healthy and effective in order to continue mitigating human-elephant conflict. Lastly, throughout the month of February SWT donated 30 desks to Mtito Andei D/Boarding and Rehabilitation Centre.

School Trips These trips help educate the growing kids on the importance of wildlife conservation as well as creating an opportunity for these children to see and learn about the different plant and animal species within the Tsavo ecosystem and on occasion meet some of the orphans based at one of our Tsavo Reintegration Units.

Date

Name of School

National Park

No Students

No Teachers

08-Feb-2020

Miangeni Secondary School

Tsavo West National Park

26

2

29-Feb-2020

Miangeni Secondary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

03-Mar-2020

Matangini Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

04-Mar-2020

Matangini Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

05-Mar-2020

Maia Atatu Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

06-Mar-2020

Tsavo West Secondary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

07-Mar-2020

Tsavo West Secondary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

09-Mar-2020

Maia Atatu Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

24

4

10-Mar-2020

Matulani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

11-Mar-2020

Matulani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

In the months of February and March, the children were taken on game drives and safari walks. The safari walks and game drives teach the children the importance of nature and about the many ecosystems you would find in the wild. They are also able to learn about the different animals and how they eat and live.

During these nature walks and game drives, each of the children are given a field guidebook on the Tsavo ecosystem and at the end of the day they are awarded a Certificate of Participation for spotting and identifying a variety of wildlife and bird species.

The children were able to spot many grazers such as impala, eland, oryx, and zebra, several different species of birds, some browsers such as elephants and giraffes, some predators such as lions and many other animals. They were also able to learn about the different terrain within the Tsavo ecosystem.

Bee-hive Fencing Project Bees are found in habitats ranging from forests to deserts and flourish in areas where there is sufficient pollen, nectar, shelter and water to fulfill the needs of the colony. Mostly, rainy seasons tend to provide the mentioned supplements for the bees’ survival. With the continued rains, the weather has been more favorable for the bees.

Through February to March, SWT continued to work with bee farmers to ensure the hive project remains healthy and effective. SWT community staff carried out an inspection to investigate the occupancy of hives and collect any possible data on its effectiveness. They were also busy cleaning the hives in the continued rains and preparing them for wax lacing as the farmers await the coming summer season. It is important to keep the hives cleans, in order to ensure that they keep attracting the bees despite the extreme weather changes. The SWT team saw an increase in the number of hives occupied.

Date

Village

Total No Hives

Hives Occupied

Hives Unoccupied

06-Feb-2020 and 25-Mar-2020

Iviani

43

33

10

06-Feb-2020 and 25-Mar-2020

Syusyani-Monica

20

9

11

06-Feb-2020 and 25-Mar-2020

Syusyani-Juliana

25

16

9

06-Feb-2020 and 25-Mar-2020

Syusyani-Kivuva

24

12

12

06-Feb-2020 and 25-Mar-2020

Ngiluni-Ndetei

24

15

9

Donations In the month of February, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) donated 30 hardwood desks to the Mtito Andei D/Boarding and Rehabilitation Centre, a school neighbouring the Tsavo Conservation Area. The desks will hopefully assist teachers who are tasked to manage overcrowded classrooms where pupils are mostly seated on the floor. The school management could not fail to thank the trust by helping them to achieve their dream of comfortable learning, and it was a great pleasure to see the reaction of all the students to the arrival of their new desks.

Date

School

Item Donated

Number

11-Feb-2020

Mtito Andei D/Boarding and Rehab Centre

Hardwood Desks

30