School visits for Environmental Education have picked up very well, and this time the staff and volunteers of A Rocha Kenya were in Kahingoni Primary School. As usual the pupils were excited. They assembled in one class where we had our lesson which later on led to a very lively discussion. The lesson touched on the importance of conserving the forest and the endangered animals like the Golden-rumped sengi (elephant shrew), whose habitat is the Arabuko Sokoke Forest.
Pupils anwering questions during the lesson
A Rocha Kenya also donated some tree seedlings to the Wildlife Club of Kenya members in that school. The tree seedlings were of the Bombax rhodognaphalon (East African Bombax) commonly known as 'msufi mwitu' in Swahili and Balanites wilsoniana commonly known as 'mkonga' in Giriama which is the local language here. The trees were planted after the lesson by the pupils.They promised to take care of them by putting a small fence around each of them and watering them.
Mapenzi, a pupil planting one of the tree seedlings
We hope to get more funds to continue sustaining our program which involves a lot of traveling. Our goal is to educate all the schools surrounding the forest on the importance of conserving it since it is an important biodiversity area.
Naomi Wanjiru Gichungu- Environmental Education intern
Public meetings and other social gatherings seem to always happen under the shade of the largest tree in the community. Pretty cool, in both senses of the word.
Ted (a volunteer from Canada) and Tsofa Mweni, ARK's environmental education coordinator. Tsofa is quite a character (as you can see...this blonde wig is supposed to make them look like brothers) and is extremely good at interacting with childern.
After some instructions on safety and where to go, the kids recieved bags and gloves and proceeded to pick up as much trash they could find. Roughly 90 childern from four different schools, as well as childern from Chipande village (foreground), participated in the beach clean up.
Scouring the beach and surrounding area for anything not bio-degradeable.
The kids were quite proud of what they collected.
Over 400 kg of "taka taka" - and a chicken - were collected in only an hour.
After the clean up a couple of tug-of-war games were organized between students and organizations.
Cheering and shouting encouragement, the kids and fans alike had a great time.
The collected garbage was then thrown in a pit and burned. I know, kinda ironic, but it does illustrate the complexity of environmental issues in Kenya. There are limited recycling facilities or programs in Kenya and landfills don't keep the rubbish contained very well.
After the games Tsofa talked to the kids about the effects of pollution on the environment and wildlife. The highlight of his talk was when a live turtle being rehabilitated at the Watamu Turtle Watch facility was shown to the group. Many kids had eaten turtle meat but not many had actually seen a live one or learned that many turtles die from eating plastic bags, mistaken for jellyfish.
At the end of day we handed out biscuits (cookies) and juiceboxes for everyone involved. The faces above sum up the entire day.
While the students were doing their learning through a debate and role play, the parents were seperately engaged in a discussion about the most sustainable way of utilising the forest. Not surprising, the newly selected beneficiaries did not have any idea about the eco-tourism value of Arabuko-Sokoke Forest. They however left the meeting with a new messege for their families that there are people who come all the way from Europe and America to see the Golden-rumped elephant shrew in the forest; what an odd way of spending ones money! they might have thought.
The meetings continue!