Community Outreach Quarterly Report July to September 2019

COMMUNITY OUTREACH QUARTERLY REPORT JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2019

Summary

558 School Children

22 School Trips

30 Desks Donated

Month Report by Samuel Munyao This quarter, SWT carried out 22 School Trips, 6 of which were with school children from the communities neighbouring the Tsavo East ecosystem, and 16 of which were with school children from the communities neighbouring the Tsavo West ecosystem. Through the months of July and September, 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 July SWT donated 150 Neem tree seedlings to our partner KWS (Kenya Wildlife Service), 36 footballs to various schools and 30 desks to Miamba Primary School.

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

29-Jun-2019

Soto Primary School

01-Jul-2019

Soto Primary School

02-Jul-2019

National Park

No Students

No Teachers

26

3

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

Kiboko Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

03-Jul-2019

Kiboko Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

05-Jul-2019

Kanaani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

08-Jul-2019

Kanaani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

09-Jul-2019

Yinzau Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

12-Jul-2019

Kimboo Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

13-Jul-2019

Kimboo Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

15-Jul-2019

Yinzau Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

22-Jul-2019

Ilikoni Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

4

23-Jul-2019

Ilikoni Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

3

27-Jul-2019

Ngiluni Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

28-Jul-2019

Misani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

24

2

31-Jul-2019

Iviani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

2

01-Aug-2019

Iviani Primary School

Tsavo West National Park

25

4

20-Sept-2019

Gedion Mosi Primary School

Tsavo East National Park

27

3

21-Sept-2019

Gedion Mosi Primary School

Tsavo East National Park

27

2

23-Sept-2019

SITA Secondary School

Tsavo East National Park

25

2

24-Sept-2019

SITA Secondary School

Tsavo East National Park

25

2

28-Sept-2019

G. Sowa Primary School

Tsavo East National Park

28

3

30-Sept-2019

G. Sowa Primary School

Tsavo East National Park

26

2

Tsavo West National Park

Throughout the month of September 6 of the school trips had the opportunity to visit the orphans at our Voi Reintegration Unit. Voi is one of the main towns bordering the vast Tsavo East National Park and our Voi Reintegration Unit is just a couple of kilometres from the Voi Main Gate into the National Park. It is among the 3 Reintegration Units within the Tsavo ecosystem created by the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The Reintegration Units reintroduce orphans who have grown up and progressed from the Nairobi Nursery to a life where they familiarize and naturally adapt themselves with wild elephants as well as adjust to the harsh conditions of the dry climatic conditions experienced in some months of the year.

By meeting the orphans, the children learn about the impacts of drought, poaching, and human-wildlife conflict on wildlife and the elephant populations of Kenya. It also gives the children the opportunity to interact with the orphans and learn more about elephants, the process of reintegration and the importance of their survival.

In addition to visiting the orphans, the children were taken on game drives and safari walks. 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, and eland, several different species of birds, 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.

Through July and September 2019, 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 during the heavy 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 a slight decrease in the number of hives occupied.

Date

Village

Total No Hives

Hives Occupied

Hives Unoccupied

20-Jul-2019 and 10-Sept-2019

Iviani

43

22

21

20-Jul-2019 and 09-Sept-2019

Syusyani-Monica

20

3

17

20-Jul-2019 and 09-Sept-2019

Syusyani-Juliana

25

3

22

20-Jul-2019 and 09-Sept-2019

Syusyani-Kivuva

24

2

22

20-Jul-2019 and 09-Sept-2019

Ngiluni

24

2

22

Donations In the month of July, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) donated 36 footballs amongst 8 schools who have continuously shown their willingness to support conservation by planting more trees and performing ecofriendly activities.

In addition to this, SWT donated 30 hardwood desks to Miambi Primary, 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

22-Jul-2019

Ilikoni Primary

Football

5

25-Jul-2019

Kamunyu Primary

Football

4

25-Jul-2019

Ngiluni Primary

Football

5

25-Jul-2019

Syusyani Primary

Football

5

25-Jul-2019

Syusyani Secondary

Football

4

25-Jul-2019

Nthunguni Primary

Football

5

25-Jul-2019

Iviani Primary

Football

4

29-Jul-2019

Miamba Primary

Football

4

29-Jul-2019

Miamba Primary

Desks

30

Seedlings The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) donated 150 Neem tree seedlings to our partner the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), to be planted during the celebration of World Ranger Day. Date

Organisation

No of Saplings

30-Jul-2019

Kenya Wildlife Trust

43