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