In Greenery We Trust
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Floral surveys, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Nov 18 2009 | By: gvikenya
If anyone has ever tried to read and understand a botany book (botanists excluded), then you will understand what I mean when I say it’s nigh on impossible, and vaguely similar to reading a foreign language. This is the problem we have encountered for quite a while now…
As part of our forest research programme, we conduct fruit and flower surveys along our transects. This involves spotting any tree, shrub, plant or vine within 10m either side of the transect that is in fruit or flower. We then collect a sample, take loads of photos (of the fruit or flower, the leaves and the bark) and take it back to base where we press and dry it. Once pressed and dried, we back them onto cardboard and add it to our herbarium catalogue.
Solanum incanum
We do this to establish the floral makeup of the forest, monitor the presence or absence of species over time and in relation to disturbance, and to correlate with sightings of animal species, specifically the primate species.
Of course all of this is useless if one cannot identify the species! So instead of spending countless days fruitlessly battling with the botany books, we have started making regular visits to a friendly local botanist, who effortlessly breezes through our samples and puts us all to shame!
George assessing a tree species
The man’s name is Sayeed, and he works for National Museums of Kenya Coastal Forest Research Unit, and is based in Ukunda which is about one hour fifteen minutes drive from Shimoni. National Museums of Kenya is the governmental organisation that is responsible for all of Kenya’s cultural and heritage sites, monuments, areas and issues. The have a vested interest in the coastal forests of Kenya, due to the presence of Kaya’s, which are traditional religious sites and shrines in these forests. If you would like to know more about those, you can visit some of our earlier blogs which go into them in more detail.
One of the more spectacular flowers!
Sayeed finished high school in Kenya, but did not go further in his education than that. He has been working for NMK for 16 years now, and everything he knows is pretty much self taught. And trust me when I tell you it’s a lot! We must have been in his office for at least 6 hours, and we probably went through several hundred specimens and photographs, with only 3 remaining ‘unidentified’ at the end. And all of this – without a book! Occasionally he would go rifling through his extensive herbarium (which puts ours to absolute shame!) to pinpoint the exact species, but most of them he would simply tell you after a moments thought.
Measuring the Diameter at Breast Height (DBH)
When asked how he became so good, or why he does it, he simply replies “I like plants”. Good answer I say! Some of his other duties include maintaining and updating the herbarium and looking after the hundreds upon hundreds of indigenous saplings in the NMK tree nursery which is used for replanting in degraded areas.
People like Sayeed truly inspire me, by their unrivalled and awe inspiring knowledge, as well as their dedication to their work. And some of the work Sayeed does is really quite amazing. We are currently raising money for tree saplings on behalf of Friends of Shimoni Forest, and when we have enough to buy and plant these saplings in Shimoni forest, I know exactly whose advice I am going to seek!
*if you would like to help Friends of Shimoni Forest or to find out more please visit www.justgiving.com/shimoni
Tags: , animal species, botanist, botany book, Coastal Forest, Coastal Forest Research Unit, correlate, cultural and heritage, degraded areas, diameter at breast height, floral makeup, foregin language, forest research programme, Friends of Shimoni Forest, fruit and flower surveys, governmental organisation, herbarium, herbarium catalogue, indigenous saplings, Kaya, Kenya, monuments, National Museums of Kenya, photographs, primate species, relation to disturbace, replanting, shrines, shrub, Solanum incanum, specimens, traditional religeous sites, transects, tree, tree nursery, unidentified, vine
Taming of the Shrew
Category: Coastal Forest, Elephant Shrew, Shimoni Forest, Shrews, Small mammals | Date: Nov 17 2009 | By: gvikenya
For about a year now we’ve been experimenting with a method of trapping the elusive and shy Zanj elephant shrew. This particular shrew is technically a sengi, and is a species that is not only endemic to the east African coast, but is also listed as ‘rare’ and ‘data deficient’ by the IUCN.
Shimoni forest boasts a significant population of this small mammal, and sightings of it by our forest teams are fairly regular (especially at this time of year when visibility is good). So we did some research and decided to procure ourselves a 50m long, very finely threaded fishing net with which to catch them with!
One of the cleared patches that mark the habitual pathway
We set the net up in a large semi circle, and either ‘beat the bush’ towards the net hoping to drive a shrew into it, or we sit nice and quietly and wait for one to wander in. This method works because the Zanj elephant shrew uses habitual pathways, which it will travel along each day clearing them of obstacles. So if one was to encounter the net, it would most likely attempt to get through or over the net, causing it to get entangled. Once caught we would take its measurements, weight, and then clip a small patch of fur on a designated spot on its body for mark-recapture purposes.
Some zanj elephant shrew droppings that are found around the paths
Unfortunately we haven’t caught one yet, but I do not doubt the method itself. Due to the amount of time needed to complete all of our regular surveys, we only get a chance to do this survey perhaps once or twice every three months. This is obviously not even remotely enough to stand a chance of catching a shrew. Especially because until recently we did not know what their trails looked like and therefore could not strategically place our net.
But a couple of weeks ago we saw one of the little chaps running away from us, and so we had a closer look at the exact route it took through the undergrowth. To our surprise, the path was quite obviously marked. Approximately every 30cm, there is a cleared area of dirt. A patch where all the leaf litter and twigs and other debris is cleared, leaving a bare area of dirt approximately 10cm long. And these cleared patches headed off into the undergrowth!
Several of the patches leading off into the undergrowth
Now we know what to look for, we have been spotting the shrew trails all over the forest! This has given us motivation to get back into shrew netting, and allowed us to strategically place our net across these trails, greatly increasing our chance of catching one!
We’ll keep you posted!
Tags: , beat the bush, data deficient, debris, droppings, East African Coast, elusive, endemic, entangled, fishing net, good visibility, habitual pathways, IUCN, leaf litter, mark-recapture, measurments, method of trapping, obstacles, rare, regular surveys, research, sengi, Shimoni Forest, shrew netting, shy, significant population, small mammal, strategically, trails, twigs, undergrowth, weight, zanj elephant shrew
The Road To Destruction
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Nov 16 2009 | By: gvikenya
Today saw our forest teams heading back into the forest after a nice weekend off, and heading down to transect 2 and 4. However the optimism of the start of a new week was dampened somewhat by the devastating progress being made by the private developers who have their hands on the coastal plots that run along the southern and eastern edge of Shimoni east forest.
It was almost 9 months ago now when we first saw the plots being fenced off and cleared, and the appearance of several large roads that connected all of the plots. Since then all of the plots are getting destroyed slowly but surely, and one of the sites that was mere foundations a few months ago is almost a fully fledged hotel that can be seen by our marine teams out on the boat when they head north up to Funzi Bay.
One of the most shocking things our team noticed today though, was the progress that has been made on the roads. The original ones have become larger, wider and more cleared, and more such roads have sprung up forming large intersections and leading to new locations. If this continues at this rate then fairly soon the whole area near the coast will be flattened. And our surveys have shown that this area is widely used by colobus monkeys, yellow baboons, suni’s, Harvey’s duikers, Zanj elephant shrews and countless other species.
A section of the new road. In the distance you can see the smoke from the burning of cut vegetation
It is so sad that the people doing this cannot see what irreversible damage they are doing. I cannot believe that one can use ignorance as an excuse, as my 4 year old nephew could guess that what they are doing is ruthlessly destructive. We are going to attempt to get in contact with the owners of these plots as soon as possible. We are not going to lecture them or demand that they stop – it is their land after all. We will try and meet with them with our close partners Friends of Shimoni Forest, who can ask on behalf of the community that they at least try and do things more eco-friendly and try to minimise their impact.
There are simple measures they can take to reduce their impact, such as leaving some of the large trees standing so as to allow a consistent canopy or “corridors” of canopy over the plots. This will allow primate species to get across from one side of the plot to the other without having to go onto the ground.
We’ll let you know how it goes!
Tags: , cleared, coastal plots, colobus monkey, community, consistent canopy, corridors, eastern edge, eco-friendly, excuse, fenced off, foundations, Friends of Shimoni Forest, funzi bay, harvey's duiker, hotel, ignorance, irreversible damage, large intersections, large roads, large trees, lecture, Marine team, minimise impact, nephew, new locations, north, other species, owners, primate species, private developers, ruthlessly destructive, Shimoni east forest, southern edge, Suni, transect, yellow baboon, zanj elephant shrew
Wildlife Club Head Into The Forest
Category: Butterflies, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Environmental Education, Shimoni Forest, Wildlife clubs | Date: Nov 14 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday was Friday. And that meant one thing – environmental education! For the last few months or so, we’ve been swapping our boots and clipboards for chalk boards, songs and games and heading into the Base Academy (a small primary school in the village) to teach the children about environmental issues and some basic science.
We feel it is really important to give the children this sort of knowledge and awareness about the environment around them because firstly, what they learn in school about such issues is minimal and basic, and it doesn’t cover the things that affect their everyday lives.
This is why we have been focusing our lessons on areas that the children can relate to such as coastal forests, the importance of forests and the animals that live there, effects of deforestation, pollution etc. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to re-brand our weekly lesson, and form a wildlife club for the kids. This means they are now part of the Shimoni Base Academy Wildlife Club! We felt this would encourage a sense of ownership and pride in the children who come, and would really make them feel a part of something.
The children coming back from the forest
We think it has worked really well, as we now have a regular group of about 30 children that are there every Friday, who all wear their Wildlife Club badges with pride, and sing the Club song through the village! And since forming the Club, we have been putting an emphasis on actually taking the children into the forest every week. The idea behind this is to get them out there, seeing the plants and animals for themselves, and getting them out of the classroom and excited about nature, the forest and the wildlife.
So far its been a huge success; the kids absolutely love being taken out into the forest, and they have really enjoyed the topics we’ve covered so far. We’ve been going over basic plant biology (as this was in their syllabus and their exams were coming up so we thought that would help), where we actually showed them the different plant species and the different parts. Then we gave a lesson on butterflies, followed by sweep netting in the forest – they absolutely loved that (and were rather good at it…I’m considering using them for our surveys!), where we also showed them how to get the butterflies out of the nets without hurting them.
And then yesterday we tried to touch on the subject of colobus behaviour. We managed to get across the basic idea of why we study their behaviour, how colobus behaviour is adversely affected by things such as disturbance, and then what possible impacts this could have. It went surprisingly well, and they grasped the concept really well. It was a very simplified version of course, with the basic premise being if the colobus are undisturbed they will spend more time feeding, resting, sleeping and socialising, whereas if the forest around them is being disturbed, they may spend more time alert or travelling.
They are a great bunch of kids to work with, all so eager to learn and take part. Hopefully we will be helping these children to grow up into environmentally aware adults, who understand about their surroundings, and take pride in the beautiful areas they live in.
Tags: , adverse effects, alert, basic science, boots, butterlfies, chalk boards, clipboards, coastal forests, colobus behaviour, deforestation, disturbance, Environmental Education, environmental issues, exams, feeding, knowledge and awareness, nature, ownership, plant biology, plants and animals, pollution, possible impacts, pride, resting, shimoni, Shimoni Base Academy, simplified version, sleeping, socialising, songs and games, surveys, sweep netting, syllubus, travelling, wildlife club
1KM Into Shimoni West!
Category: Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest, Transect cutting | Date: Nov 12 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hey everyone,
Well I hope you’ve enjoyed the last couple of blogs about our marine team working with the Funzi Turtle Club. I’m rather jealous I wasn’t able to go along with them! I have had my hands full here on the mainland, carrying on with our coastal forest research.
We have been pushing on through the heat and the sweat towards our goal of setting up survey transects in Shimoni west forest. The last time I spoke about this I think we’d got about 600 metres up our future north / south spine.
Andy having a swing
We went in with a GPS a couple of days ago to continue plotting our progress, and to our delight we found that we had gone 1037 metres! We’ve broken the kilometer mark! By our estimations the north / south spine is going to be approximately 1.8 – 2 km long, allowing for up to 10 survey transects!
This highlights how far we have yet to go, as each transect is going to be longer than the spine, but we are not backing down! Our panga (machete) arms are bulging and our hands are blistered, but the future of research in Shimoni’s beautiful and unique coastal forest is in our hands, and every hour we spend in there takes us closer to assessing the conservation status of Shimoni west.
Andy and Chelsea
Once we’ve uploaded the GPS points onto the map, I’ll stick them up on the blog so you can all have a look for yourselves!
Tags: coastal forest research, conservation status, Funzi turtle club, gps, machete, Marine team, north / south spine, panga, Shimoni Forest, Shimoni west forest, survey transects
Dead Baby Genet Found In Shimoni Forest
Category: Shimoni Forest, genets | Date: Nov 05 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday our forest team went out in the late afternoon to see if we could get some colobus behaviour done, as we are lacking data for that time of the day. We didn’t manage to get a sighting good enough, but on our way back we got a sighting we certainly did not expect – a dead baby genet!
It was lying directly on our north/south spine, so there was no way we could have missed it. Having only ever seen one genet in the forest before (during a night walk), I was truly excited, albeit rather sad. I immediately guessed it was a young one purely based on its size, and it had a relatively large hole in its upper body.
This photo shows the broad-based, rounded ears
It was getting late and the light was fading, so we covered it in a temporary tomb of coral blocks, to protect it from scavengers until the next day when we could come back and inspect it in more detail. So this morning we went back to the same spot, armed with a camera, a measuring tape and a spring balance.
The genet being weighed using a spring balance
Its measurements were as follows:
• Head-body (from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail): 24 cm
• Foreleg: 6 cm
• Hind leg: 10 cm
• Tail: 20 cm
• Weight: 175 g
From the photographs we got, it is clear that it is either a common genet (Genetta genetta) or a blotched genet (Genetta tigrina). Personally I’m leaning towards the blotched genet, for the following reasons;
Common genets have rather coarse fur whereas bloched genets have much softer fur. I touched the fur, and it was definitely soft!
Common genets have a short crest of longer fur along the spine, and the blotched genet does not. We did not see a spine of longer fur on our genet.
The common genet has small, numerous and linear spots on a sandy background. Although our genet did have small numerous spots, they do not appear as tidy or linear as the picture in the book suggests (Kingdon, 1997).
The blotched genet has broad-based, slightly rounded ears in comparison with the more pointed ears of the common genet.
The common genet has a small patch of pale or white fur at the tip of the tail, when the blotched genet does not. Ours appeared to have a black tip of the tail.
Furthermore, the coat of the blotched genet can be extremely variable with regards to colour and pattern, and different coloured morphs exist in the same area. This had led to the naming of many subspecies.
This shows the extent of the wound
All of this said, I think it is very difficult to say for sure, purely because of the age of the animal. It is obviously very young, as its body and tail length are approximately half the minimum length of an adult of both the common and blotched genets, and its weight is approximately one seventh of the minimum weight of an adult of either species. So many of the key features for successful identification may have not have developed yet.
Anyway, it was incredibly interesting to see one of these shy, nocturnal animals so close. They are truly beautiful little creatures, that are found in the Viverridae family that includes all genets and civets.
If there are any genet experts out there who have any thoughts, please do let us know!
Tags: , , blotched genet, camera, civets, colobus behaviour, common genet, dead genet, foreleg, Genetta genetta, Genetta tigrina, head-body, hind leg, measuring tape, nocturnal animals, shy, spring balance, subspecies, successful identification, tails, Viverridae, weight
The Beauty Of Butterflies
Category: Butterflies, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 23 2009 | By: gvikenya
When I first came out here to GVI Kenya in July 2008, I never thought I would become an avid fan of butterflies. To be honest, I would have laughed at the thought (as would many of my friends back home in England!), but I now proud to say otherwise.
As part of our biodiversity research in Shimoni east forest, we monitor butterfly diversity and abundance. We are trying to put together a comprehensive species list, as well as record any changes in species presence, distribution, or changes in abundance. We do this for several reasons.
Charaxes brutus. Here you can see its proboscis very well (the curly red thing) which is used for feeding.
Firstly, butterflies are a very well studied taxon. They are also easily identifiable (they are 90% identifiable by external characteristics), and we can do it ourselves relatively accurately using a book (Larsen 2006). They are also excellent ecological indicators due to their very specific plant and habitat associations. So by monitoring them, we can indirectly monitor the health of the forest.
Charaxes brutus
And finally, they have a trait that plays straight into our hands. They can only take off upwards. This means they are very easy to trap! We use things called canopy traps, which comprise of a board with a pot of bait in the middle. A couple of inches above the board is a cylindrical tube of mosquito netting. So the butterflies fly onto the board to feed on the bait, then when they attempt to fly away, they fly straight into the net!
The face of Charaxes brutus
Once caught, we remove them from the net, and take photographs of the upperside and the underside for later identification. Getting them out of the trap is fairly easy. You grab them by the sides of the thorax, which is the middle section that houses all of the muscles for the legs and wings. You can then use your other hand to slide your finger between the wings and get a grip of the thorax from the top and bottom. The butterflies we catch in the traps tend to be the larger species, and they are very strong! It still surprises me how solid their thorax is, and the strength of their wings. By using this method, we can be sure not to touch their wings or harm the butterfly. Once photographed, we let them fly on their way. An example of the grip we get is shown below.
Papilio demodocus demodocus
I decided to write this blog because Andy (a new edition to GVI) has a camera with an amazing macro setting, allowing us to get some really cool photos of the butterflies. Enjoy the close ups!
Tags: , abundance, bait, biodiversity research, Butterflies, butterfly diversity, canopy traps, cylindical tube, distribution, ecological indicators, habitat association, health of the forest, identification, mosquito netting, papilio demodocus demodocus, plant association, Shimoni east forest, species list, species presence, taxon, thoraxcharaxes brutus, underside, upperside
Cutting Our Way To Shimoni West
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 22 2009 | By: gvikenya
Well my arms are aching and my hands are blistered, yet I feel the need to let everyone know about why…
We have been doing primate and biodiversity research on Shimoni east forest for almost 4 years now, and are getting some robust data. Yet just across the road on the other side of Shimoni village lies the uncharted, and mysterious realm of Shimoni west, ever beckoning us to it. We have been planning to expand our research into Shimoni west for a while now, and have finally begun the adventure.
The girls ready for the day
The western forest is almost twice the size of its counterpart, and teaming with flora and fauna that are crying out for recognition. There is definitely a viable population of our beloved colobus monkey, as highlighted by the censuses conducted in 2001 by Julie Anderson and in 2007 by GVI. That is the only time GVI have officially done research in West, and Anderson’s census is the only other event.
We have on occasion, ventured into Shimoni west on fact finding missions and with the intention of making preliminary assessments into the possibility of starting research in there, and one thing we have noticed is the high level of disturbance ranging from charcoal pits, pit saws and snares. This only increased our sense of urgency.
Katie getting stuck in
So as of last week, we have officially begun our preparations. By preparations, we mean donning work gloves, sharpening our pangas (machetes) and practicing our angry faces and heading into West to begin the long and tiresome process of cutting transects. Transects are an essential part of research (specifically for distance sampling – the method of survey we use for the primates), which involves cutting paths in a grid system that allow us to pass relatively easily through the research area. We do try and minimize the damage we cause, so there is always plenty of crawling and climbing!
Matt’s panga face
We’ve started cutting our north / south spine, which will run approximately 1 – 1.2 km through the centre of the forest, off which our research transects (that run east-west) can cross. We have done two days so far, and have gone approximately 600 metres! That may not sound like much, but trust me on this – it’s not bad! This endeavor will take many months to complete (as we still have to carry on our surveys in East), but we’ll keep you updated on our progress.
Once more into the breach dear friends!
Tags: , adventure, angolan black and white colobus, biodiversity research, census, Charcoal Pit, climbing, colobus monkey, crawling, distance sampling, disturbance, fauna, flora, grid system, Julie Anderson, machete, panga, pitsaws, preparations, Primate Research, research area, Shimoni east forest, Shimoni village, Shimoni west forest, snare, snese of urgency, transects, western forest, work gloves
Mysteries Of Death Remain Unsolved
Category: Kenya Wildlife Service, Shimoni Forest, yellow baboon | Date: Oct 20 2009 | By: gvikenya
Yesterday saw an interesting discovery for us GVI folk here in Shimoni forest. We were at the end of the negative sections of transect 5, innocently conducting a butterfly sweep net survey, when we were stuck with a very intense smell of decay. We spent a good few minutes trying to establish the source, but soon discovered where it was coming from. Tucked away right at the foot of an impressively sized baobab tree, lay the semi-decayed corpse of a yellow baboon!
Baboons are a very widespread and successful group, who can be found in most places across sub-Saharan Africa. They are certainly abundant in Kenya, and there is a lively population here in Shimoni. In many places in Africa, they are a bothersome crop pest, and are even listed as vermin in some countries. Here in Shimoni however, the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus) are found in the actual forest itself, and are still wild and shy, avoiding humans at all costs and surviving on the fruits of the forest alone. This makes them a fantastic animal to see when in the forest, and a relatively rare one.
This photo shows the whole body in the foetal position, with the left arm out behind its back
So you can imagine our surprise when we stumbled across this poor fellow! Its very difficult to say exactly what happened to it, especially as none of us here are experts in dead bodies or establishing causes of death! There were no obvious injuries or wounds that gave it away (we did look quite closely), although there was a lot of dry blood around the body. It was at the foot of a big baobab, so perhaps it fell out of the tree? It was also right on the edge of a shamba (farm), so the idea of it being killed by a vengeful farmer is not impossible either.
This shot is from the other side, again of most of the body
What did strike us as strange was the apparent lack of scavenging of the body. Almost all the skin was in tact, with none of it appearing to have been eaten. Perhaps it was the location of the body – in the shadow of a big tree – that has allowed it to remain invisible and untouched by the many scavengers in the area.
A closer look at the head
It was a very interesting find; never before have we been allowed such a detailed look at the anatomy of a baboon, yet I fear the mystery of its death will remain unsolved. We will be informing the Kenya Wildlife Service of our find. I am however, going to ask their permission to bury it, and then to keep the skeleton (once it has fully decomposed), as it would be really interesting to have a full baboon skeleton to use as an educational tool. I’m not sure what protocols they have regarding dead animals, so this may not be allowed, but there’s no harm in asking!
If we come to any conclusions about the cause of death, we’ll let you all know!
Tags: abundant, anatomy, baboons, baobab tree, butterfly sweep net survey, cause of death, crop pest, decomposed, dry blood, educational tool, farm, farmer, foetal position, injuries, Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Papio cynocephalus, protocols, scavenging, shamba, shimoni, shy, skeleton, skin, sub_Saharan Africa, vermin, wild, wounds, yellow baboon
A Room With A View
Category: Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Oct 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
If you cast your eyes back over a few of our blogs recently you’ll read about the tourist trail that Friends of Shimoni Forest are creating. This trail is going to run through Shimoni forest to show tourists some of the amazing flora and fauna to be seen, it will take them on a visit to a couple of the sacred Kaya’s or traditional religious sites, and it will take them past some of the amazing mangrove forests that run along the whole eastern coastline.
An example of some of the mangroves
Mangroves are some of the most amazing trees in the world. They tend to inhabit coastlines, estuaries or river mouths, and form some of the most critical habitats on the planet. They act as nurseries and hunting grounds for countless aquatic species, as well as a home to many terrestrial species such as baboons and genets. They also act as a buffer zone between fresh water bodies and the sea for runoff, silts and pollution. They are also the only tree species that can exist in salt water!
Mangroves happily exist on beaches
Because of their importance, coupled with the fact they are exceptionally cool, means they are a site not to be missed on the tourist trail. There is one particular spot where the tourists are going to be taken where at least five different species of mangrove can be seen, and where they extend unbroken for kilometers.
The original idea was to create a boardwalk through the mangroves, which the tourists would be taken along. This idea was scrapped, mainly because there are several mangrove boardwalks already in the area, and we wanted ours to be extra special. So we have come up with the idea of a viewing platform! We want to build a very tall (and very safe of course…) structure of some sort, on which the tourists can sit, drink a cup of chai and look out over the huge expanse of mangroves to the east, and the towering trees of shimoni forest to the south and west. We think this will deliver a unique experience to people who have come to see this stunning area.
One of the magnificent trees of Shimoni forest
Of course there are going to be many issues involved in the creation of this structure. We are not sure yet what materials will be used in the construction, but bamboo has been suggested already. The structure will need to be built on coral rag (fossilised coral), which will not be the simplest base for a tall structure…! Then of course there is the issue of finances, which as ever, will probably be the hardest to overcome. But overcome it shall be! It will be the best view in Kenya (excluding Mount Kenya perhaps…)!
Tags: aquatic species, baboons, bamboo, boardwalk, buffer zone, chai, coastline, coral rag, critical habitat, estuaries, fauna, finance, flora, fossilised coral, fresh water bodies, Friends of Shimoni Forest, genets, hunting grounds, issues, Kenya, mangrove forest, materials, Mount Kenya, nurseries, planet, pollution, river mouth, runoff, sacred Kaya, Shimoni Forest, silts, structure, terrestrial species, tourist trail, traditional religious sites, unique experience, viewing platform
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