Archive for the ‘Environmental Education’ Category
Above: Majoreni Primary School children demonstrate their new knowledge of the dolphin species found along their coast When Kenya Wildlife Service took their Year of the Dolphin education to Majoreni Primary School, it really was something special for the children of this out-of-the-way coastal village. Very much off-the-beaten-track, this was the first time they had played host to Kenya Wildlife Service and had environmental education brought to them, their first opportunity to learn about dolphins and with the aid of DVDs and a computer screen, the first time that many of them had even seen a dolphin! Above: The children cram in to the classroom and gather at the window to watch a film of dolphins and other marine wildlife The KWS team of Rachel and Emanuel, the Tourism Officer, taught the children about the four species of dolphin we know to inhabit this part of the East African coast, their basic anatomy and biology - most of them assumed that dolphins were fish, so it was something of a surprise to learn dolphins had more in common with people!
Above: The enthusiastic children learning their way around a dolphin The teachers were equally enthusiastic and full of praise for the KWS education team and Year of the Dolphin, sponsored by tour operators TUI and Pollmans, expressing their gratitude for coming there to teach their children. Although a long and tiring day, for Rachel it was a highlight of her week, and exceptionally satisfying for her to contribute knowledge to a community so eager to learn. Above: Rachel and Emanuel had to take their class outside, the classrooms not being big enough to take all the children that the school wanted them to teach
Above: Wasini village You’ll have seen in my recent blogs the wonderful Year of the Dolphin events held in Shimoni and Majoreni over the weekend, where the stars of the shows were undoubtedly the children from some of our local schools who used songs, poems and drama to convey important messages about dolphins and marine conservation to their villages. Above: Wasini’s school children in anticipation of their visiting teachers But this was only possible thanks to the groundwork undertaken by the Kenya Wildlife Service team in Shimoni, under the direction of our warden, Yussuf. In the preceeding weeks their team, including Rachel, GVI’s very own former Marine Science Officer and Expedition Manager, and Jillo with the KWS research department, travelled to local schools to educate the children about their dolphins and marine ecology.
Above: The children get to thinking about how their marine life is interlinked First stop was Wasini, to teach about food webs, not only in the classroom, but outside where they attempted to make their very own food web. For this island village that is almost entirely dependent on fishing and the flow of tourists attracted by the many dolphins and beautiful coral reefs, it is invaluable for them to understand how all the marine life, from mangrove trees to humpback whales, are interlinked and dependent on responsible management of natural resources the whole way along the chain. Above: The children start stringing together their own food web
As International Year of the Dolphin is extended by UNEP / CMS in to 2008 to build on the remarkable acievements of last year, Kenya Widlife Service and other stakehloders in Kenya are taking the message of marine conservation to new audiences and new communities.
Above: Majoreni Dolphin Club is launched, their first task to plant the mangrove saplings visible behind them Yesterday took us to to Majoreni, half way between Shimoni and the border with Tanzania, and another poor rural fishing community that is willing to think long term and look after their natural resources. The event saw children from Shimoni, Mkwiro and Wasini schools journey down to spread the messages they learnt last year of dolphin conservation, and the students of schools in Majoreni and neighbouring Vanga perform equally impressive and educational songs and drama. Above: Majoreni’s school kids receive dolphin education books, kindly sponsored by TUI, UNEP/CMS and Whale & Dolphin Conservation Society But the adults are also playing their role, the fishermen having taken the time and effort to receive education on responsible fishing practices - this will be backed by a fishing gear exchange porgramme. And the adult drama group performed a play to highlight the threats to dolphins and spread the message to the whole communtiy, many of whom stood in the rain, then hot sun, all morning to watch the event. A local celebrity was also on hand to spread the word - the local celebrated poet and village elder performed an inspiring traditional swahili style poem that touched both local community members and international guests. And the guests were not just there to observe - the first thing we did was to get our hands dirty planting tree seedlings at the local school, under the guidance of the Kenya Forestry Service - a sustainable alternative to the ecologically important mangroves which are traditionally cut for local construction.
Above: Robert Hepworth, Executive Secretary, CMS, planting bamboo - nicknamed locally as the fisherman’s friend, for it’s diverse uses Another very successful day, the out-of-the-way community of Majoreni were excited to be the centre of attention and to have had so many visitors in the preceeding weeks coming to provide free and valuable education to them. It was an exciting day for all, including my new buddy, Saidi, below, who learnt a bit of photography from me and has welcomed me back to visit their mangroves next time… I can’t wait to go back and see the progress!
Above: local school children are treated to a trip to Kisite Marine Park to look for dolphins Firstly, you may have noticed I’ve been a bit quiet on WildlifeDirect these last few months, sadly the unrest in Kenya forced us to take a break, but I’m very pleased to report that GVI is back in Shimoni and preparing to get the research started again.
Above: Lionel Murage from East Africa Wildlife Society addresses the local communities at Year of the Dolphin in Shimoni Until then I’d like to keep you updated with all the hard work that has been underway in our absence. 2007 was designated ‘Year of the Dolphin’ by UNEP’s Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), an initiative to stimulate international awareness and conservation action. So successful was it, especially right here in Kenya, that it has been extended in 2008.
Above: Robert Hepworth, Executive Secretary CMS, and Yussef Adan, KWS Warden of Kisite Marine Park talk with the local boat operators Last year focussed heavily on teaching the kids, the future guardians of Kenya’s wildlife, but also saw the introduction by Kenya Widlife Service of the first ‘Code of Conduct’ to address dolphin-watching tourism. This year, emphasis is being placed on educating and engaging the local fishermen and tour boat crews, the ones who can make a difference today. Above: local boat operators ready to receive their certificates after attending workshops and lectures on dolphins and responsible tourism by Kenya Wildlife Service On Saturday, Kenya Wildlife Service head quarters for the Kisite Mpunguti Marine Protected Area hosted a wonderful event to link last year in to this year’s activities, attended by the CMS Executive Secretary, Robert Hepworth. The event saw the launch of a new KWS patrol boat to monitor repsonsible dolphin tourism, certificates for the local boat operators and fishermen who have given up their time to sit through some thorough dolphin education, a trip in to the marine park to see dolphins for many of the local children who have been the most avid young conservationists and the launch of new ‘Dolphin Clubs’ in 15 local schools to promote coastal conservation and environmental awareness.
Above: The new KWS dolphin patrol boat In addition to hard work and commitment from KWS, ably supported by Rachel, our former GVI Marine Science Officer and Expedition Manager, the Kenya Forestry Service, Fisheries Department and Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute have all been involved. With support coming from major tour operators and many local boat operators, it all goes to show that Kenya’s commitment to conservation at every level certainly hasn’t been disrupted! Above: Rachel joins some of the local school children on Kisite Island in the Marine Park
Above: Mkwiro Primary School perform dolphin acrobatics alongside thier song ‘Conserve our Dolphins’ I had a wonderful day, with many songs and performances from the local school children to keep us entertained… the highlight for all of us was the official inauguration of the Dolphin Clubs, the kids putting on a full marching drill after an intensive day’s training from the KWS rangers…
Above: Inauguration of the new school Dolphin Clubs
Over the weekend we played host to students from Shimoni Primary School. Friends of Shimoni Forest, who we are supporting in their efforts to seek responsible management of the forest by the community, feel that one of the most effective ways to get their message in to the wider community is by sending home groups of excited children to tell their families what they have learnt. So with the challenge put to us, that is what we set out to do on Saturday… The children begun their day with the theme of ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ before going on to make recyled baskets from paper mache - an activity they found very funny, but once they had dried by the end of the morning and been planted with vegetable seeds, they had the beginnings of their own school vegetable garden. We have started introducing the concept of these little hanging gardens in Mkwiro village, where the goats manage to get to absolutely everything within reach, no matter how clever we think we are getting with fences! The children then settled down to an outside class on the Angolan Black & White Colobus and other primates found in Shimoni before being taken in to the forest to to learn more about it hands-on, including behaviour as they watched a troop of Colobus, and flicking through our books to identify the birds. This is the third such class we have run for Shimoni Primary School and plan to get as many of the children in to the forest as we can to ensure they don’t take for granted their incredible natural heritage.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) declared 2007 the International Year of the Dolphin, an initiative to promote awareness and conservation of Dolphin species around the world. Kenya Wildlife Service took up the challenge, in partnership with corporate sponsors and local tour operators and at around this time last year, the Year of the Dolphin in Kenya was launched here in Shimoni, head quarters for the Kisite Mpunguti Marine Protected Area. We at GVI, undertaking the only comprehensive research on dolphins in Kenya, soon came on board to support the intiative. Since January we have been coordinating monthly schools competitions with Mkwiro Primary School, tapping in to the children’s creativity and love of sport to raise awareness of the importance of dolphins to their coastal community and to Kenya as a whole. Alongside school children in neighbouring Wasini village on the island, and Shimoni across the channel on the mainland, the children have had a busy year designing t-shirts, drawing dolphins in their natural environment, making models, writing poems, rehearsing songs and taking part in football, volleyball and netball competitions. I think my proudest moment was at Marine Environment Day in Mombasa, when they made an incredible sand model of a Bottlenose dolphin and were able to tell us more about Kenya’s dolphins than any other school - proving to us that they really did care about dolphin conservation. Of course the children represent the future of conservation but responsible management needs to start now, and so we have also been targetting the boat crews that take the tourists out to see the dolphins each day. One of the early successes of the Year of the Dolphin was the coast-wide implementation by Kenya Wildlife Service of a dolphin watching code of conduct based on advice we put forward. To help the boat operators and crews understand the code and why for example, swimming with the wild dolphins is not permitted, we have been holding a series of workshops. It was hoped that with the education they received about dolphins and their biology, they would be able to then pass it on to their guests. This not only increases the reach of the environmental awareness, but can also help relieve the pressure they can be placed under by tourists to get too close to, spend too long with, or allow them to get in to the water with the dolphins. We received some great feedback by the crews who have been proud to use the new knowledge they have gained about the animals they have already spent many working years with.
The Kisite Marine Park and adjacent Mpunguti Marine Reserve, where we are working with Kenya Wildlife Service to research the dolphin populations, can attract over 200 tourists a day, drawn by the beautiful coral reefs around Kisite Island. The diving and snorkelling can be exceptionally rewarding with the diverse array of marine life. However it is the resident dolphin populations that are becoming increasingly important for tourism in the area, and therefore increasingly important for the local economy.
Above: A traditional dhow As with all wildlife-based tourism though, if not properly managed the presence of tourists can impact upon the very creatures they have come to see. With this in mind, GVI have recently begun assessing the interaction between dolphins and the tourist ‘dhows’ - the traditional wooden boats that once served the monsoon trade routes between East Africa, Arabia and further across the Indian Ocean. Above: Jim records the GPS position of the dolphins so that their location can be digitally mapped Rachel, our Expedition Manager, was joined by Jim, one of our Expedition Members, as they set off at 9.30 this morning with GPS, binoculars, camera and clipboard, alongside the tourists and, rather unusually, a film crew from the UK! With the kind cooperation of the tour boat operators, who are enabling us to conduct this research, we are also taking the opportunity to educate both the tourists and their crew about the dolphins and our research. These tourist dhow surveys will enabe us to assess their encounter rate (how often they find the dolphins) against their search effort (how long they are out on the water looking for them). We hope to understand more about which species of dolphin they encounter, where they are finding them and how long they get to spend with these incredible wild animals. As well as helping us to understand how the seasons affect the dolphins in the area, it will also help us to detect any longer term changes in their populations or behaviour.
The Kisite reef did not disappoint either, as their snorkelling later in the day was rewarded with some massive parrot fish, as well as clown fish, trigger fish, a puffer fish and a young octupus! |
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