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