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
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
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
A Big Thank You
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello all,
This blog today is mainly to say a huge thank you to the responses we’ve had regarding the issue of charcoal. Last week we wrote three blogs focusing on charcoal burning here in Shimoni forest; how it is done, why people do it, and finally a brief introduction into the alternatives available.
We had some great responses, with Kathy informing us that the BBC did a programme related to this subject recently, and that they were offering advice to anyone who would like to know more. And then Sherri pointed out the ‘ending charcoal’ site on our very own Wildlife Direct! The internet here has been playing up recently so I’ve only managed to have a brief look, but at first glance it appears both inspirational and genius!
It never fails to amaze me how lucky we are to be a part of this online network of like-minded people, groups and organisations that are all doing such fantastic work. It makes such sense as well – everyone can ask questions, share ideas, help out and support one another. I’m going to give the ‘ending charcoal’ blogs a good, solid read, and see what ideas I can plagiarise! Once we’ve got a prototype kiln and press up and running we can hopefully do our part by sharing ideas, mistakes and thoughts.
So again, thank you guys for your interest and support, and of course your super ideas. And here’s to us all working together for a brighter future!
Matt
Tags: BBC, charcoal, ideas, kiln, mistakes, network, press, prototype, Shimoni Forest, thoughts
Charcoal - The Alternatives!
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 27 2009 | By: gvikenya
Ok people, so in the last two blogs we’ve discussed how charcoal is made here in Shimoni forest, and how it is done mainly by desperate people with no other choice who, given the opportunity, would gladly do something else. So I’ve spent the last day fighting a battle with our temperamental internet connection to see what kind of alternatives I can find. I shall continue my search relentlessly, until we find an option that will work here.
Kenya’s coastal forests
All of the techniques I’ve manage to find so far all seem to revolve around a similar principle. One puts the organic material of choice into a large steel drum, burns it under low-oxygen conditions (to allow for carbonisation), mixes it with some sort of binding agent, and then presses it into charcoal briquettes. Depending on the organic material used, the methods differ slightly, but not by much. Here are some of the options…
Corn cobs
Get a 200 litre steel drum and fill it 1/3 full with dried corn cobs. Ignite the contents, and burn until the smoke disappears. Refill the drum approximately 2/3 full and reignite. Allow to burn until the smoke disappears. Allow the contents to cool, empty the drum and sprinkle the contents with water. Allow to dry in the sun, and then separate the “charcoal” from the ashes.
These were all the instructions given – they appear a bit basic and I’m skeptical about the quality of the resultant charcoal. Quick and easy though, so worth an experiment!
An earth-mound kiln
Coconut shells
Again, get a 200 litre steel drum. Cut a hole in the top (30cm diameter), and attach poles to the cut section so it can be used as a lid. Drill a series of small holes in the bottom of the drum and place the drum on stones to allow air to enter. Fill the drum 1/3 full with coconut shells, add a little bit of kerosene and ignite. Allow to burn for 5 minutes before putting the lid on. The colour of the smoke should change from black to white. Take the lid off, add more shells (up to 10kg’s apparently) and wait until more black smoke is produced (this means the new shells are burning). Repeat this process until the drum is full of charcoal. After 8 hours, remove the drum from the stones and seal the lid with mud so no oxygen at all can enter the drum. Leave in this state for 12 hours. Remove and sieve contents.
Sugarcane waste (bagasse)
This method is very similar to the above method. The instructions I found however are written by a student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and are very detailed. She gives much more instruction with regards to the different stages and required airflow through the drum. This method differs in that once the initial carbonisation stage is over, the resultant charcoal “fines” need to be mixed with a binding agent. In this case she uses a porridge made from cassava – a hardy root vegetable.
Various organic material
I found another set of instructions that again, is a similar process to the ones above. It follows suit with the sugarcane method, and requires a binder. They suggest using soil with a high clay content. This method claims that almost any organic material can be used (coconut shells/husks, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse, roots of vetiver grass, dry leaves etc.).
So there we have it. Finding all of that took a matter of a few hours. I think with a bit more digging, plenty more is out there. It is time for me to ask a small favour from all of you wonderful readers who would also like to see the end to the destruction of our beautiful forest. If anyone has any bright ideas about what we can use as a binding agent (we don’t have soil with high clay content, and I don’t think cassava is abundant here – I will check though), please throw them our way. Remember it has to be cheap (preferably free…!). And of course, if anyone has any information / ideas / websites / friends / contacts / suggestions about alternative charcoal – you know where we are!
I’ll keep you all updated on our experimentation progress…
Tags: bagasse, binding agent, briquettes, carbonisation, carbonised, cassava, charcoal, coconut husk, coconut shell, corn cobs, experimentation, kerosene, methods, MIT, organic material, oxygen, porridge, root vegetable, Shimoni Forest, smoke, steel drum, sugarcane
Charcoal - The Real Issue…
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 26 2009 | By: gvikenya
So everyone knows about the problems related to unregulated, inefficient and illegal charcoal burning. It’s very easy for one to sit back and point the finger at the people conducting these activities, labeling them criminals. The real issue however, is slightly more complex than that.
We have been conducting research in Shimoni forest for over three years, and have been working with the community group Friends of Shimoni Forest for two and a half years. Through all of this we have had a lot of experience with the issue of charcoal burning, and have countless meetings (both organized and impromptu) with the charcoal burners themselves. What we’ve found in the majority of cases, is that these people do not want to be charcoal burning any more than we do. The difference being, we have the luxury of choice.
The result of a charcoal pit
The vast majority of people in this area are living below the poverty line, and are desperately poor. They have families to feed and school fees to pay for, and they don’t have any choice. They know charcoal burning is illegal, and they know it does huge damage to the forest. Most of them would muc rather be doing something else, but if it comes down to feeding their families – it’s not even a choice. We have been asked by so may of them to find them alternatives, to offer them a choice. And if a choice was offered, they would happily give it up.
An earth-mound kiln ready to light
So that’s our mission. The solution to the problem is clear: find an alternative to charcoal burning. One thing we need to remember is that everyone in the entire area (and most of the country) use charcoal to cook. So not only do we need to find an alternative income for the burners themselves, but we need to find a charcoal replacement otherwise we will have only solved half of the problem.
The obvious way around this is combine the alternative livelihoods with the production of alternative, forest friendly charcoal!
To the internet! I will be back in the next day or two with what I’ve found…
Tags: , alternative livlihoods, charcoal, Charcoal Burning, criminals, Friends of Shimoni Forest, inefficient, poor, poverty line, Shimoni Forest, unregulated
Charcoal Burning - The Technical Side
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 25 2009 | By: gvikenya
If you cast your eyes back through some of the many blogs we’ve posted, you’ll see that plenty of them are about, or refer to, charcoal burning. We assume that most people have established what we are talking about – the means by which charcoal is produced. We thought however, it may be of interest to some people to know a bit more detail about this destructive and highly inefficient form of resource use.
About 47% of Kenyan households use charcoal, and total charcoal production is about 2.4 million tones (or 67 million bags weighing 36kg each). The widespread preference for charcoal is explained primarily by its affordability; it is the cheapest form of household cooking fuel (Kwale Management Team, 2009).
In Shimoni forest and the surrounding area, the majority of charcoal burning is done for subsistence purposes, and therefore on a relatively small scale when compared to commercial operations. The methods these subsistence charcoal producers use however, are basic and highly inefficient. The standard method is that of the earth-mound kiln.
A typical earth-mound kiln
The earth-mound kiln will begin with the digging of a shallow pit, which will be as big in surface area as the producer would like it to be. Just from personal experience, I have seen smaller kilns no more than 2 metres by 3 metres, and larger ones of up to 5 metres by 5 metres. These are quite small when compared to commercial kilns, but still do huge amounts of damage.
Trees are then cut down, cut into small pieces and piled up in the bottom of the pit. A wall, or structure is then built around the pit using lumps of rock and coral, tightly packed with earth. An earth roof is then constructed, sealing the structure. The idea is to starve the combustion process of oxygen, so only a couple of very small holes are left to allow smoke to escape. Some sort of fuel is poured over the wood before it is lit, to aid in the lighting process. I’m not exactly sure what it is, but my guess would be something like diesel, judging by the smell that is emitted. Long pieces of dry grass are fed in through the sides and roof so that once everything is sealed, the grass is simply lit, igniting the contents inside.
One of the smaller charcoal pits
Generally speaking, old, mature hardwood trees are cut down. Only a relatively small portion of the felled tree will actually go into the kiln. Only 10% of the wood that goes into the kiln will end up as usable charcoal. And of that percentage that does become charcoal, 80% of the energy in the wood has already been lost. The rest of the wood, and energy goes to waste.
The end result
Tags: affordability, burning, charcoal, combustion, commercial operations, cooking fuel, coral, destructive, diesel, earth-mound kiln, energy, hardwood trees, inefficient, kwale management teaem, mature trees, old trees, oxygen, resource use, rocks, Shimoni Forest, subsistence
Circumnavigating Shimoni Forest
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Primate Research, Primate census, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 24 2009 | By: gvikenya
About two weeks ago I wrote a few blogs about the colobus census we conducted in Shimoni east forest, for a masters dissertation. Marta, who has been with us for almost 10 weeks, is doing a masters degree in environmental modeling, monitoring and reconstruction. The aim of her dissertation is to assess the effects of forest fragmentation on the distribution of the rare subspecies of Angolan black and white colobus.
The main bulk of her practical work was the census, which we successfully conducted a few weeks ago. To go hand in hand with that, and to provide the information she will need to utilise GIS mapping systems, we needed to get the GPS coordinates of the entire circumference of the forest. It turned out to be a far more challenging task than we imagined…
Myself and Marta spent two days traversing the perimeter of the forest on foot, with out hand-held GPS recording coordinates every 10 seconds. We started at the southern most point, and walked (vaguely) north-east, following the edge that borders Shimoni village, and ended at the very top of the forest, beyond the village of Anziwani. It was enormously challenging! The main reasons were because the edge of the forest is marked by very thick, very dense new growth, shrubs, thorns and thickets! We were very glad to have a sharp panga (machete) with us. The other main reason was because we are just coming out of the main rainy season, everything was green, thick and overgrown, and actually distinguishing between the technical forest edge, and the new growth and sporadic pockets of trees, was nearly impossible.
One of the easier sections… There was actually a path!
It was an adventure though, and we both got back at the end of each day with scratches and bruises galore and very tired legs, but content in the knowledge that once her dissertation is complete, it will be an invaluable source and tool, in the fight to highlight the damage being done to this beautiful coastal forest, and home to these charismatic primates.
Tags: anziwani, Colobus, dissertation, forest edge, masters, modelling, monitoring, reconstruction, shimoni, Shimoni Forest, university
Stop Press: Eco-tourism In Shimoni Forest As Featured In The Lonely Planet!
Category: Coastal Forest, Colobus, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 19 2009 | By: gvikenya
Hello there,
My question for the day: how do you find Shimoni Forest? Well, a good place to start is the Lonely Planet…
A year ago when we were in the early stages of planning community-based eco-tourism with guided walks in Shimoni Forest to see the beautiful Angolan black and white colobus monkeys in their natural habitat as an alternative, sustainable use of forest resources, we had a surprise visitor… a travel writer from the Lonely Planet.
We plied him with as much information as we could about the planned guided walks in Shimoni forest and also community-based cultural tourism in Mkwiro, where we have our marine research base and work closely with a community that has many challenges in accessing the tourism revenue that Kisite Marine Park brings to the area. It is fair to say that at the time, everything was very much a ‘work in progress’ and we have continued to support the development of these initiatives over the last year.
But I am ecstatic to report that the Lonely Planet put their faith in our optimism, and have put both Shimoni Forest and Mkwiro village on the map - or at least in the pages of their latest edition of the Kenya Lonely Planet. This is about the best free marketing we could have hoped for.
In actual fact, the first we knew of Shimoni and Mkwiro’s recent rise to backpacker prominence was when an excited Faridi, our friend in Mkwiro, received a phone call for a Mkwiro homestay booking. Within days Athumani, treasurer of Friends of Shimoni Forest, had an enquiry about a guided walk in Shimoni Forest. It took a few more days before we found out where the leads had come from, and it gives us a huge amount of encouragement. So now the challenge is on to get the communities up to speed and delivering a professional, enjoyable and worthwhile eco-tourism experience, but it is a challenge we are relishing!
As you have been reading we have been out cutting the tourist trails but to ensure we are offering an eco-tourism experience that is both professional and educational, we really need to find financial support for Friends of Shimoni Forest; to access some of the sacred kaya sites over the coral rag we will need to construct a raised boardwalk to keep visitors safely on their feet, we hope to compile signs and information boards and an information centre with restaurant to enable visitors to spend the day exploring the rich forest wildlife on their ‘Shimoni safari’!
We see this as an invaluable opportunity to raise awareness about the conservation of Shimoni’s coastal forest and the wider eco-region and to engage the local community in generating sustainable revenue from their forest resources and wildlife rather than exploiting them through extraction of timber and charcoal. Our coastal forests are a Global Biodiversity Hotspot and it seems only fitting that we tap in to the global community to support their conservation. So we are asking all of you that would like to help contribute to community-based conservation in Shimoni and safeguard the future of the colobus in their natural habitat to consider donating towards this cause.
The support of the Lonely Planet has really instilled the confidence in us all here in Shimoni to make this happen and we hope that it will instill confidence in you to donate the much needed funds.
Here’s to a brighter future in Shimoni,
Corti
Tags: angolan black and white colobus, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, lonely planet, Shimoni Forest
Guided Walks A Step Or Two Away
Category: Charcoal Burning, Coastal Forest, Community Conservation, Eco-tourism, Friends of Shimoni Forest, Kaya, Logging, Mangroves, Shimoni Forest | Date: Aug 12 2009 | By: gvikenya
I write to you all today with very tired legs, blistered hands and an aching arm, but with good news! Today we headed out into Shimoni east to help the members of Friends of Shimoni Forest (the community based organisation we work with) plan, cut and tag the trail through the forest that they will soon be taking tourists on!
Friends of Shimoni Forest have been planning these guided tours though the forest for a while now, and are finally almost ready to go. The idea is to take tourists on walks through the forest to visit the sacred Kaya’s (traditional religious sites), and to experience the amazing wildlife that exists.
A view of the mangroves from the trail
There were times of sadness and frustration, as we confirmed our fears that it simply was not possible to get up to the Kaya’s (which are a couple of kilometers past our normal survey transects) without passing through vast swathes of destruction. The areas of pristine, mature forest are becoming more and more fragmented and patchy. This was expected though, and maneuvering the tourists through only untouched forest would have been a falsehood (as well as difficult!). This way they will see both sides – the results of overexploitation and illegal activities, and the amazing coastal forest as it should be.
Some of the stunning forest the trail passes through
Raising awareness of this forest, and the issues that it faces is the single most important thing we can do. Not only will these guided walks show tourists what is happening, we believe it will raise awareness amongst the local community as well. Not only this, but it will bring Friends of Shimoni Forest valuable revenue which it can use to fund activities like forest patrols, tree planting, school scholarships, and perhaps will aide in finding alternative livelihoods for some of the people charcoal burning and logging.
A charcoal pit ready to burn
The main issue with ideas such as forest patrols, is that the people of these communities simply cannot afford to sacrifice a day earning money for their families, for patrolling as volunteers. And many of the charcoal burners we have spoken to said they would happily give it up if they could earn money in other ways. These problems are not easily solved, but there are many avenues to explore.
Tags: Charcoal Burning, Community Conservation, community initiatives, deforestation, Friends of Shimoni Forest, guided tours, Logging, Shimoni Forest, tourist trails, tourist walks
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