DSWT Community Outreach Report January 2016

COMMUNITY OUTREACH MONTHLY REPORT JANUARY 2016 SUMMARY: In January 2016, the DSWT donated 30 long lasting study desks to the Tsavo Primary School in Ithumba, which is a very poor school located in a remote area on the border of northern Tsavo East not far from the Trust’s Ithumba orphan stockades.

The DSWT also hosted 5 fully sponsored schools trip to the Tsavo West National Park during the month and initiated the construction of a new 800-metre-long elephant-beehive fence in Kyusiani village, whilst continuing to look after the already established fence in Iviani village.

JANUARY 2016 SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS

Every month the DSWT hosts fully sponsored school trips into the National parks. In January we carried out five fully sponsored trips for schools in the Mtito-Andei area.

For children from Mtito-Andei, they are taken to Tsavo West National Park where they start with a participatory session at the Kenya Wildlife Service Education Centre at the Tsavo West Mtito Andei gate. At the centre, the children are given a brief introduction about the activities in the park and what is in the park; they also have a chance to view various wildlife specimens and other geological collection.

From the education centre, the children are taken to the Shetani lava flow where they learn about volcanic activities and vegetation colonization processes, before heading to Mzima springs where they learn more about aquatic wildlife. The journey through the park then takes them to Chaimu Hills and lastly Roaring Rocks where they can have a bird’s eye view of the park.

SCHOOL TRIPS Kamunyu Primary School Ngiluni Primary School

DATE 22/1/2016

Ngiluni Primary School

25/1/2016

Muthingini Secondary School Muthingini Secondary School TOTAL

29/1/2016

23/1/2016

30/1/2016

PARK VISITED Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park Tsavo East National Park Tsavo West National Park Tsavo West National Park

STUDENTS 26

TEACHERS 3

26

2

26

2

26

2

26

2

130

13

JANUARY 2016 BEEHIVE FENCES

For the last two months the Tsavo Conservation Area has experienced very high rates of human-elephant conflict, a factor which can partly be associated with the on-going construction of the standard gauge railway across the Tsavos (West and East). The railway construction has blocked elephants from moving freely between Tsavo West and Tsavo East causing elephants to find routes through community farms.

With a very good crop harvest after the el-Ni単o rains, communities living along the park boundaries have had to keep vigil in their farms day and night ensuring elephants do not raid their crops. The DSWT has played an important role in coordinating communication between the KWS and community members whose farms are getting invaded by elephants.

Additionally, the DSWT has provided aircraft assistance to KWS to drive out elephants out of community farms.

In January, we initiated construction of a new elephant-beehive fence in Kyusiani, in two community farms covering a total of 800 metres. We also continued with maintenance of our initial beehive fence at Iviani village. The beehive fence at Iviani has recorded substantial success, for the two months that other farmers have been experiencing elephant invasion, the farms covered by our fence recorded few incidents. Maintenance of the beehive fence involving hanging more hives up on trees to catch more bees, and improvising with more effective ways of controlling honey badger destroying beehives, has been ongoing.

JANUARY 2016 DESK DONATIONS

In schools bordering Tsavo National Park, children struggle to learn while sitting on the floor or on crowded broken desks. For over a decade the DSWT has been improving learning conditions in schools in wildlife areas through the provision of sustainable long lasting learning desks. The DSWT desks are made of metallic frames to last longer and reduce pressure on the use of timber/trees in making desks.

In January, the DSWT donated 30 to Tsavo Primary school in Ithumba. Provision of enough desks in schools, where children can learn, encourages more children to go school, whilst at the same time improving comfort in class leading to better performance.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is reliant on your kind support in order to keep our community outreach projects running.

For more information about these projects please visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.com/community or email info@dswt.org