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
The Frog Blog – Another Amphibian Species in Shimoni’s Coastal Forest
Category: Amphibians, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 28 2009 | By: gvikenya
Last week saw the rainy season begin to creep in. The first few days were fairly tame, with only a few light showers. But towards the end of the week, the dark clouds rolled in off the sea and the true African rains started. This can make some elements of our forest research slightly more challenging, and some – like our primate community surveys – impossible. Either way, its sodden clothes and wet boots all round.
There are however, some advantages to the rains. Not only does the vegetation, fruits and flowers all spring back into life, but the forest sees an explosion in diversity and abundance of amphibians!
We’ve seen several very cool frogs this week, but the highlight has been what we believe to be a Fornasini’s spiny reed frog (Afrixalus fornasini). It is a beautifully patterned reed frog that is usually associated with ponds where reeds and sedges are growing. It has been found in Kenya southward through eastern and southern Tanzania, including the low slopes of the Usambara, Uluguru and Udzungwa mountains, south to Malawi, Mozambique, and north eastern South Africa. Another common name for this frog is the greater leaf folding frog, due to a rather clever way the female protects its eggs. About 80 eggs are laid on a reed leaf, starting at the tip, the edges of which are then folded toward one another and glued together, to defend against predators. This species also has skin that contains small amounts of substances called tachykinins, which are responsible for upsetting the heartbeat and serve to detract mammal predators.
It is a beautiful and very cool little frog, and we look forward to finding more and more as the rains continue!
Matt
Tags: amphibian, biodiversity, Coastal Forest, conservation, reed frog, research
Land to be allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest!!!
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 22 2009 | By: gvikenya
What is the best way to have your voice herd? How do you convince the people in charge that your cause is important? When it’s the health of our rare coastal forest, how to you get the politicians on your side? Answer: Take it to their door step. And that’s what Friends of Shimoni Forest is doing. Last week we told you guys about our meeting with the Area Chief and the four Assistant Area Chiefs. This meeting really encouraged us to keep moving our cause forward with the local administration. The area chief recommended that we speak with the District commissioner and Chairman of the County Counsel. These two men are very influential here in Shimoni and the surrounding area. We immediately scheduled the two meetings for the begging of this week. The meetings were a great success and could be a huge turning point for our group and local conservation in general.
Our first meeting was with the Chairman of county counsel. The county counsel is in charge of the three major districts in the area. They are also in charge of allocating government land. We wanted to discus land ownership and the possibility of allocating a large plot of the forest to our group. We feared this may have been kind of a long shot so we took all necessary measures before raising the subject. We explained that we had the support from our Village Chairmen, Area chiefs and Kenya Wildlife Services. We talked about all the previous work we had done with youth education, patrolling of the forest, and creating sustainable alternative sources of income for the community. This last point really struck a chord with the Chairman. It is part of their mission to help communities grow and create jobs to raise the standard of living within their area. We explained that it was our goal to create sustainable work within the community to deter people from illegal and unsustainable practices such as logging and charcoal burning. Creating jobs and conservation are two very important issues to the counsel and the Chairman assured us we had his full support. He recommended that our group write a proposal for the land and that there is a high probability of placing a large piece of the forest under our protection. Amazing!!!
Our meeting with the District Commissioner was just as rewarding. Our goal for these meetings was to bring our groups intentions to the higher authorities. We want support from the authorities in obtaining this land. Getting the forest protected is a long term goal and will not happen overnight. We realized that as a CBO (community based organization) it can sometimes be difficult to move our projects forward. If this land is allocated to Friends of Shimoni Forest and placed in our protection it will make our group a major share holder and give us a lot more influence in policies written. This will be a huge step towards protecting the entire forest. We are very excited! This will not solve all our problems, illegal practices will not just stop, nor will we. This will show everyone that our community is ready to take major actions to protect this beautiful coastal forest and the animals that live there. We will continue fight for our causes and the further we look the more we realize that we can build the support and make this work. We appreciate everyone’s support and can’t wait to tell you what happens next.
Until then this is Drew and thanks for your support and time.
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenyan Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Working together to end forest destruction.
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Forest fire, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest | Date: Apr 14 2009 | By: gvikenya
Drew here with more information on the fire and what’s happening with Friends of Shimoni Forest. Recently a meeting was held with community members and government officials about the destruction in Shimoni forest. This meeting was lead by KWS and involved many members of the community including Friends of Shimoni Forest. We had a major victory when the community decided to ban all power saws from the Shimoni area. And for a while we were seeing a real decline in logging which showed promise.
Unfortunately the recent fire which burned a large portion of the coastal forest reminds us that there is still a lot of work to be done. Matt, working with GVI who discovered the fire, recently wrote about the fire in our blog. Yesterday Matt and I were called to have a meeting with the Area Chief Rashid Kassim Mklinynyihti and assistant Area Chiefs from the surrounding Kawle district. They were very concerned when word reached them about the fire and they had people soon on the scene. It is known that the fire was started by illegal charcoal pits and logging practices. During the meeting we discussed ways in which we could work together more efficiently to prevent these crimes. GVI and Friends of Shimoni Forest have always worked very closely with local community members and officials. The officers present at this meeting represent a greater area and have more influence in creating polices. Conservation starts at grass root levels and Friends of Shimoni forest is a perfect example of this.
We were very excited when the Mr. Kassim invited us to attend the weekly meeting held at the chief office is in Pongikie/ kidimu. He would like us to report to him personally anytime we have a concern or new plan of action. This is a great sign that the importance of conserving the forest is shared by both the community and elected officials from the greater area. Plans have been made to begin involving more influential politicians in our organization and this is a great step. We are setting an appointment with the district commissioner to discuss our concerns and raise money for saplings. FSF would like to sponsor a forest day festival. The Mr. Kassim is already on board and promises a lot of support. With the district commissioner’s help we think this event could be a huge success. We plan to invite local schools and other community groups and members to come and plant trees and learn more about the forest.
This just one more step towards reaching our goals. Every victory is important to our cause. Conservation is everyone’s responsibility. When communities join together to battle issues like global warming and protection of their environment amazing things can happen. We realize that the task at hand is immense and appreciate every step made forward. With the help of GVI and government officials, Friends of Shimoni forest and the community at large remain determined to put an end to the destruction of our coastal forest.
Tags: Charcoal Pit, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, conservation, Enviornmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest
KWS Helping us patrol
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging | Date: Mar 02 2009 | By: gvikenya
Jambo!
Drew here back again and there’s more great news happening with Friends of Shimoni Forest. One thing that we as a group have strived for is support from both governmental and NGO in the area. We have been very successful in making friends with many local community based organizations who have been willing to support our causes, including Anzwani Women Group and Shimoni Mkwiro Dhow Tours. We are very proud to announce our support now from Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS). We have always worked with KWS and they have been willing to help us from day one, coming to meetings and supporting our projects, but now they have made the next step in helping us protect our coastal forest. Until recently KWS concern was for the welfare of the animals and not protecting the forest itself. This was largely due to the fact they had little authority in matters of conversation of our costal forest. They always helped us any way possible but, fortunately, there is little to no poaching happening in Shimoni forest so there was not much for them to do.
We have no forestry department in Shimoni and the local police station has limited man power making them unable to accomplish what needs to be done in order stop illegal charcoal burning and logging. KWS has always been very busy managing the Kisiti Mpunguti National marine park, located about one kilometer from Shimoni, and has had limited resources to do much else. This has really left no one able to apply pressure on the people committing these crimes and one of the reasons our group was established in 2007. Fortunately, with the growing support from not just our village, Shimoni, but others now as well including Anzwani things are starting to change. We are very proud of the local communities who have been increasing their support for protecting their forest. We have talked about the local area assistant chief who has started his own patrol group brining in charcoal burners. Community members have been putting pressure on police to prosecute criminals to the full extent of the law. And village elders and chairmen have been encouraging the community to no longer allow these people access through their villages in order to reach the forest to begin with. KWS has seen the support for conservation and are now stepping up their game. They are really not responsible for controlling destruction, however they do realize that the wildlife they protect depend on the forest. Yesterday, for the first time, KWS could here power saws coming from the forest and decided it was their turn. Two rangers headed off into the forest in search of the source. They came upon two men logging without permits and immediately made arrests. The men knew they were in trouble, being arrested by KWS; they would not get a slap on the wrist for this one, they will be in court today. We are very happy to have KWS making a stance with us today. The community sees that their voices are being herd and that large government offices are listing to their concerns. Illegal charcoal burners and loggers will think twice about their next move, knowing that KWS is on the case as well. We will be keeping you informed on all upcoming events and as always thanks for your time. See you soon. Friends of Shimoni Forest
Tags: , Charcoal burnung, Coastal Forest, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging
Spotted Ground Thrush Spotting in Shimoni Forest!!!
Category: Birds, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Shimoni Forest | Date: Feb 04 2009 | By: gvikenya
Our team of interns gave up their Saturday morning to catch up with some of our forest research work… Sara reports:
A lovely Saturday in Shimoni was unraveling its mysteries before us… After a sunny and splashtastic crossing of the Wasini Channel for the weekend we arrived well pleased to be back on the shores of our little coastal village. The night before had brought with it surprised concerns for the well-being of this community and the precious forest that surrounds it as we had seen the foreboding pinks and whites of forest fires dotting the horizon. We all know that Shimoni’s coastal forest is a bio-diversity hotspot. It is home to the enigmatic Angolan black and white colobus monkey, the vulnerable Zanj Elephant Shrew and the endangered and notoriously shy Spotted Ground Thrush. These are just a few of the wildlife celebrities that call this track of forest home. On any given day one can easily see Sykes monkeys, yellow baboons, suni, duiker, tortoises, lizards, snakes and so many more exciting animals. So with a little trepidation in our hearts about what we might find after the fires, and the hopes of doing some maintenance work on our transects… three brave interns stole into the forest to do some work. And our adventuring spirit was met with incredible rewards – a spotting of a Spotted Ground Thrush!
The Spotted Ground Thrush is a recognized endangered species and organizations like Nature Kenya are seeking to promote the protection of habitats for this bird. Documented sightings of Spotted Ground Thrushes in Shimoni Forest bring us one step closer to conserving this vital ecosystem.
Heading all the way out to our furthest transect, the goal was to help straighten out the tagging system used to lead surveys on a few sections. While the day was hot and sweaty as is the custom here, there were encouraging sightings of colobus along the way, as well as the challenge of navigating above and below the many trees, vines, branches and coral rag outcroppings. After navigating through the landscape and swinging a few pangas, the work of the day was done and the girls were homeward bound. But not before two very important events took place: Sara P’s first sighting of an Elephant Shrew (those wily little long nosed beauties that hop about in the leaf litter and undergrowth); followed by the SPOTTED GROUND THRUSH!! While there have been two previous sightings in 2008 this was not only the first for 2009 but the first time that multiple people had been able to positively identify the species. Bigger than many of us expected the bird to be, it was easily identified by the double lines of white spots on its wings as well as a number of other identifying characteristics. We were graced with several extended moments of the birds elusive presence – first seen, unsurprisingly, on the ground itself (thus the name!), and then hopping from one low branch to another. A graceful and charming animal that immediately won us over and inspired us to go racing back to the cottage to share our very exciting news with the rest of the team. The next step is to compile more data about the thrush to be shared with Kenya Wildlife Service and beyond with the aims of protecting both these amazing animals as well as the unique forests that it calls home!
Tags: , Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest, Spotted Ground Thrush
Metting of Friends of Shimoni Forest
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Feb 03 2009 | By: gvikenya
Friends of Shimoni Forest held a meeting this week, and were beginning to put a lot of our plans into action. With the help of Mr. Adini Mgeni, Assistant area chief, our forest patrols are on their way to being a regular scheduled event. One of the problems we have been facing has been a lack of man power. Our members are committed to conserving the forest; however, they also have their own well beings and those of their families to be concerned with. We are unable to compensate them for the day’s work they miss while patrolling. We are working currently on a schedule that will work with member’s availabilities and still leave sufficient time to patrol until we can find funding to help pay them.
Some of our members.
Another topic we discussed, which is really exciting, is the training classes we have set up for some of our members and locals from the community. With the help of Corti, GVI country director and Friends of Shimoni Forest secretary, and Rachel, a previous GVI expedition manger, who raised the money, we will be sending people learn how to make soap from the Neem tree. Out of the people being trained some of them are charcoal burners so we are really excited to be getting them into a new sustainable field of work. Those who are being trained have also agreed to bring the skills they learn back and train more community members. This is going to be a great way to get the community involved in conserving the forest where these trees grow.
Chairman Matta on patrol.
Our guided nature walks are also well on their way starting, which is another way we plan to help people into sustainable work. Training started this week and the guys are really anxious to get started. Mr. Athumani Omari and Madme Mwanamkuu saidi are our fist to tourist guides, their knowledge of the local communities uses and history with the forest is going to be a great asset. I started teaching them a little more about the wildlife in our forest, particularly about the Colobus monkey. They already knew a lot of the animals in the forest and were really interested in learning more about them. As a group we are always trying to stay busy. Coming up on Saturday we have a meeting with the local village elders. They’re going to speak with us about using the Kayas, sacred areas, in our forest walks. We are still looking for funding to get some people training in bee keeping, the woman of Anzwani are ready to go. Soon Mr. Corti, Athumani, and Matta, Friends of Shimoni Forest Chairman, will be heading to a bank in Ukunda. We are going set up a bank account in our groups name. This is going to be a great help with our fundraising. Other meetings with the district commissioner, local teachers, and village chairmen are being planned as well and proposal for community toilets and conservation are being written left and right. I’m really pleased with all the hard work these guys are doing and were going to be making some big changes soon. I’ll let you all know how it goes. See you later. Drew.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Shimoni Forest
Politician personally patrols coastal forest.
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Jan 26 2009 | By: gvikenya
Friends of Shimoni Forest here again and still were working hard on our goals. I mentioned once that the local assistant area chief, Mr. Adini Mgeni, was devoted to helping us in our efforts to conserve the coastal forest. Well, for the first time in history a local politician has personally patrolled the forest in search of charcoal burners and illegal logging.
Athumani and I had a meeting with Mr. Mgeni the other day and talked to him about his efforts and plans for the future. Mr. Mgeni has been into the forest twice since coming into office, this month, and has had a firsthand look at the destruction in the forest. As he is very busy, he created a volunteer community policing group, mostly youth, to do patrols more frequently. Twice now this group has brought in charcoal burners. After talking with the charcoal burners, Mr. Mgeni discovered some interesting things. The charcoal burners are fully aware what they’re doing is wrong and would be happy to stop. The issue is that the unemployment rate in Kenya, especially among youth, is extremely high. This is why finding alternative sources of income are so important, and these guys will be some of the first we train as guides when we begin our forest tours.
The assistant area chief Mr. Mgeni has been very helpful and shared with us his thoughts on some of our plans. He really wants the forest tours to get up and running soon and agrees we should include the local Kayas as well. Kayas are sacred areas of the forest which in the past were used for prayer and worship. These are still used today by local elders, and they are very concerned about the future of the Kayas. The Kayas represent the culture heritage of Shimoni and are at risk of being destroyed, one has already been lost due to destruction. We would like to include the Kayas in our forest tour, so we are arranging a meeting with the village elders to discuss their hopes and concerns.
Active charcoal pit
Mr. Mgeni has been very active in conservation throughout his career, including being chairman of Shimoni Youth Conservation group. He has a few ideas as well which he would like our help with. One of his goals is to raise enough money to plant 5,000 saplings in local schools and public areas. This will be a way Shimoni can support environmental education, as well as the villages own way of fighting global warming. We think this is a great idea and we will help raise as much money as possible.
As always we appreciate you taking the time with us today and on behalf of Friends of Shimoni Forest, and our new partners, this is Drew saying thanks and talk to you soon.
Tags: , Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Kenya Wildlife Service, Logging, Shimoni Forest
New friends for Friends of Shimoni Forest
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Jan 21 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hey there it’s Drew again back with more from Friends of Shimoni Forest. The amount of destruction in the forest is reaching new and higher levels every day but we’re still pushing for protection. The importance community plays in reaching our goals is not never forgotten. Saying that, we realize that the Shimoni coastal forest does not belong to one community, other villages use the forest as well. It is just as important for these communities to get involved. When I think about it, they’re a part of our community as well. I mean why not? We share water, matatus and other resources. So we’ve decided to extend a hand to these local communities, particularly a women’s group in the nearby village Anzwani.
Yesterday, Athumani, Friends of Shimoni Forest treasurer, and I took a trip up the road to see how we could assist another community group and to ask for support for our cause. We had a meeting with about 15 women from their woman’s group. First we explained to them what are group was about and the importance of protecting the coastal forest. We told them about how there are people from outside their community coming and using their village as a passage into forest to cut down timber and burn charcoal. This really seemed to hit home. They use the forest to collect firewood for cooking and traditional medicines, but that is for their community and is a sustainable practice. They did not appreciate the idea of others coming and destroying the forest for profit when the community is still struggling. They quickly agreed to work with us. We asked that they help spread the word of conservation. Now there will be a log kept when they see charcoal burners and power saws, and these people will no longer be welcome in Anzwani. They will no longer stand by and let this happen.
Like I was saying before the importance of community is not lost on our group. We have asked for assistance from this local group and we feel it is our responsibility to show our support for them as well. We talked about ideas they have for capacity building and other options for sustainable use of the forest. They really got on board; many of the women are anxious to get involved with bee-keeping and want to be sent for training as soon as possible. We talked about ways to raise the money to get this started and we will be putting our ideas into action soon. We also met with some of the youth from the village. They too had strong feeling about conserving the coastal forest. A few of them will be first on our list when we begin training tourist guides for the forest tour we are creating. Alternative livelihood is the best way we can encourage conservation, and the people of Anzwani village are ready and willing. We made some really great friends today and I can’t wait to start working with them.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community group, conservation, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest
Friends of Shimoni Forest back to work in the Kenyan Coastal Forest!!!
Category: Birds, Butterflies, Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Elephant Shrew, Environmental Education, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Logging, Primate Research, Shimoni Forest, Uncategorized | Date: Jan 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
Greetings from Kenya!My name is Drew; I’m an American from California currently living in Shimoni, a small village on the south coast of Kenya. Shimoni is home to a very important coastal forest and is believed to house the second largest population of Angolan Black and White Colobus monkey in Kenya. Kenyan coastal forests have a number of endemic species, including 10 birds, 34 reptiles, 75 butterflies. We also have the rare zanj elephant shrew in Shimoni an animal in which very little data has been collected.
I work with a local community group called “Friends of Shimoni Forest” dedicated to conserving the forest and educating the community on its importance. Our group was created near the end of 2007 when local community members began to realize that the destruction of the forest was no longer sustainable. The forest had always been used for its natural resources, but in recent years the amount of charcoal and timber being removed has increased nearly 300%, much of which was not being consumed by local people. This inspired the community to take action in conservation to insure that the forest would be available for generations to come.
2009 marks a new beginning and our group has big plans for the year to come. In January a new Area Sub Chief, Adini Miongo Mgenti, was designated to Shimoni sub location. He has shown himself to be dedicated to conservation and is committed to working with us towards our goals. His support will be critical and we are very fortunate to have him with us. With the new school year starting, we will move forward with our community education. Lesson plans are being created and soon we will be in classrooms working with the youth and creating our Friends of Shimoni Forest youth group, very exciting. Alternative livelihoods for community members is always a priority so things like bee-keeping and creating a forest walk for tourist are also in the works. It’s amazing to see our members’ dedication and determination to protecting this beautiful environment. We invite you to come along for the ride this year and share in this incredible experience.
Talk to you soon,
Drew.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, colobus monkey, Community Conservation, Environmental Education, Forest, Logging, Shimoni Forest
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