16-Day Biodiversity of Kenya

Biodiversity is a widely recognized priority for global conservation and a focus for environmental studies. The proposed course is an intensive field-based experience that is designed for students to learn about: 1) the natural history and ecology of tropical ecosystems in Kenya (e.g., grazing mammals, large predators, tropical savanna vegetation-biological diversity); 2) the indigenous cultures and human relationships with Kenyan environments (e.g., Maasai, Kikuyu, Kamba, Taita-cultural diversity); and 3) conservation issues from interdisciplinary perspectives (cooperative actions for local communities and natural ecosystems-diverse approaches to conservation). Students learn about biodiversity in Kenya through field observations, interactions with field experts (researchers, guides, and local people), service activities with local communities, group discussions, field research, and outside readings.

Day 1 - Wednesday, 14 May- HOME / SOME PLACE IN EUROPE
The study program to Kenya begins with an afternoon departure from our homes to an evening departure for Europe. These flights will be booked early in February when the course is confirmed. During the Trans Atlantic flight, the time clock changes quickly so be sure to sleep on this flight.

Day 2 - Thursday, 15 May- SOME PLACE IN EUROPE / NAIROBI
We arrive this morning in Europe with (hopefully) a morning departure for East Africa (reserve your space early so we can get these flights booked) This evening we land at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, clear customs and are met by our driver-guides who transfer us to the Boulevard Hotel.

Day 3 - Friday, 16 May- NAIROBI / TAITA CORRIDOR

Following breakfast at our hotel, we gather for a pre-trip briefing with our naturalist guides and then walk down to visit students and faculty at the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Nairobi. We will then drive off the highlands surrounding Nairobi to the arid bushland of Southcentral Kenya, home of the great Tsavo Ecosystem. Our accommodations are at Rockside, on a high overlook over the Acacia-Commiphora bushland in a corridor between Tsavo East and West National Parks and near Mt. Kasigau, one of Kenya's oldest mountains and a global biodiversity hotspot. In the evening we will climb to the top of the rock for an orientation and introduction to the landscape.

Days 4 - 7- Saturday, 17 May through Tuesday, 20 May- TAITA CORRIDOR-- Some possible activities

Bushland Survival and the Local Ethnoflora
We will join the educationalstaff and local Kasigau Taita expers for a lesson on the essential skills needed to move through the bushland and obtain resources in a safe and responsible manner. During this session our guides may demonstrate the traditonal method of fire making, we practice orienteering, and we study the art of game tracking. With help from the Kasigau Taita, we will explore the selection of plant resources for foods, medicines, and other timber and nontimber uses.

Community Service
It is essential for us to understand and appreciate the fact that huge tracks of protected lands, such as the Taita / Rukinga Conservancy, exist only with the collaborative support of local communities. Maintaining the balance between wildlife needs and the needs of the human population is fundamental to the long-range goals of every successful conservation effort. In order to encourage cross-cultural interaction between Kenyans and yourselves, we will work with a nearby village on a designated community service project. Negotiated through discussions village representatives and the participating schools, our work activity may include planting trees, painting a school, road maintenance, digging ditches for water pipelines and in other ways working with the local people in positive ways. We will be working with and spending the day with the Kasigau Taita people, an agricultural ethnic group that farms the lower slope of Mt. Kasigau. Miami University has contributed to the construction of one main school room in Bungule, and the refurbishment of the school buildings at Kiteghe Primary. Through your efforts, we can continue to work with these communities. During this visit we will also explore some of the different villages as we drop off some books at the community libraries.

Wildlife Diversity and Elephant Conservation
The resident elephant population still uses the ancient migration routes from Lake Jipe across the Taita Hills and into Tsavo National Park. During their migrations they come into conflict with local farmers around Mt. Kasigau as they leave a trail of crop destruction. In addition, this migratory population of some 1000 elephants consumes about 20 gallons of water per animal each day in a landscape that holds very little water. How do we justify to the local African community why they should assist in conserving wildlife, such as elephants , when for them it seems, these animals do nothing but drink water and eat and damage their crops and livestock? We will monitor the presence of elephants and other wildlife in the bushland surrounding the mountain and in nearby Tsavo East National Park-- How do these landscapes differ? For one possible solution, we will meet the managers of Wildlife Works on the private Rukinga Ranch-- a U.S. clothing company that provides employment, water for the elephants, and promotes conservation in the region.

Day 8- Wednesday, 21 May, TRANSFER TO THE GBM LANGATA CENTRE, THE EDUCATIONAL BASE FOR THE GREEN BELT MOVEMENT IN KENYA

The Green Belt Movement (GBM) is one of the most prominent women's civil socity organizations. Prof. Wangari Maathai began the grassroots organization in the 1970s and in 2004 won the Nobel Peace Prize for its success. The GBM advocates human rights and supports good governance and peaceful democratic change through the protection of the environment. Its mission is to empower communities, especially women, worldwide to protect the environment and to promote good governance and cultures of peace. (Photo courtesy of the green belt movement--see www.greenbeltmovement.org.

Day 9- Thursday, 22 May- MT KENYA FOREST TOUR / COMMUNITY VISIT

The morning will begin with briefings about the Green Belt Movement. Later we depart for Mt. Kenya and the Ragati forest ecosystem, where the local community and foresters share their experience on the effects of climate changes and the challenges of conserving forest resources in Kenya. Forest comprise less than 2% of the country's land cover. In the afternoon, we depart for Nyeri and arrive to our host community where we will settle in homes for conversations and lessons about village life. (photo courtesy of the Green Belt Movement-- this is our first trip)

Day 10- Friday, 23 May- PARTICIPATION ON THE GBM PROJECTS

In the morning after breakfast we meet with GBM Network members who will share their experiences and outline the essential steps in a tree planting project: tree planting, food security, and civic education. After lunch, we will proceed to the projects that focus on improving incomes. In the evening, as in any rural village, we will assist with the chores, such as collecting firewood, fetching water, and preparing dinner. Social activities and overnight accommodations will be at the hosting homes.

(photo courtesy of the Green belt movement-- this is our first trip)

Day 11- Saturday, 24 May- GBM COMMUNITY TO LAKE NAIVASHA

In the morning, we will assist with the chores, joing our hosting families for breakfast and departfor Lake Navaisha. On the way we drop off the escarpment and enter the Great Rift Valley. Lake Naivasha is one of the few freshwater lakes in the rift valley and the home of a great diversity of birds and other wildlife. The African Fish Eagle (similar to the Bald Eagle) is common here as are many ducks, shorebirds, herons, kingfishers, and storks. Nile Hippo spend their days partially submerged in the lake but will graze the grasses near our accomodations at night. We may even see the beautiful Black and White Colobus monkeys in the yellow-barked acacias near the lake shore. We will spend the afternoon compiling our notes from the first part of the trip and exploring the biodiversity of this region. Our accomodations are at Elsamere, the former home of Joy Adamson, and now a conservation learning center on the lake. (the hippo photo is from Sam Bugg, 2006--nice one Sam)

Day 12 - Sunday, 25 May- LAKE NAIVASHA TO MASAI MARA

Following an ealrly morning bird walk and breakfast at the hotel, we depart on a four-hour drive across the floor of the Great Rift Valley and through the town of Narok to the Masai Mara Game Reserve and our accomodations for the next three nights at Base Camp Masai Mara. On the way, we will stop to view the past work activities of a Miami University Peace Corps volunteer in the regional center of Narok. The tented camp is situated near the Telek river on a Maasai Cooperative ranch just north of the reserve. Because of its close cooperation with the Maasai, who essentially run the camp, this eco-certified camp provides great opportunities for cooperative learning and service activities about wildlife conservation and human livelihoods. We will get our first sunset game drive as we approach the camp from Narok.

Days 13 & 14 - Monday and Tuesday, 26 & 27 May- Masai Mara Game Reserve
We awaken before dawn to the morning chorus of birds, and are soon out in the reserve doing just what we came to Africa to do - find, photograph, observe and learn about the plants and wildlife of this dynamic savanna ecosystem. "The Mara" is famous for its concentration of grazing and browsing animals and predators - lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena. Our objective is to gain an understanding of the conditions and adaptations that permit specific groups of organisms to thrive in this environment. Afternoon discussions focus on the diversity of the plant and animal communities found here, and some very important relationships between the land and the Maasai people. We will try to join the Friends of Conservation on a community service activity, and will have opportunities to learn directly about the lives of the Maasaipeople from our camp staff and during a visit to a traditional village. Maasai life revolves around their herds of cattle and other livestock. Their diet consists of milk, meat and blood. Hides provide clothing, containers, mattresses for their bedding and sandals for their feet. Cow dung is used to plaster the walls of their loaf shaped homes and cattle are used to pay fines, establish marriage bonds and as sacrifices to their god Enkai. A common Maasai greeting, "Supa" is "I hope your cattle are well".

Day 15- Wednesday, 28 May- MASAI MARA TO NAIROBI
Our morning game drive gives us a final opportunity to spend time with the wild herds of this special area as we depart the Mara for Nairobi. We will check into dayrooms at the Boulevard Hotel to clean off the bush dust. Here we can synthesize our field notes from the trip and prepare for the evening departure. Photo by Sam Bugg-- 2006

Day 16 - Thursday, 29 May- SOMEWHERE IN EUROPE/ HOME
We arrive this morning at a stopover in Europe, and where we will depart for the U.S. The flights should bring us home by mid afternoon.