There seems to be no one answer to this question nor to the origins of its Latin name, Sagittarius Serpentius. Sagittariusnaturally makes one think of the Greek mythological centaur with his token bow, and Serpentius of course of a snake. An unusual combination one might say. To make matters more interesting, the bird forms its own exclusive family: Sagittariidae under the order of Accipitriformes (where other raptors are found). So…
Field Report by Community, Livelihoods and Education Officer, Victor Ndombi who has just returned from an intensive organic farming training course at Baraka College Organic farming and Conventional farming are not comparable. Organic farming not only generates comparable yields, but also produces more income and health benefits for farmers than conventional methods. Conventional farming solely relies on synthetic fertilizers to boost the fertility of the soil and use of pesticides to get…
Field Blog by Elephants and Bees Intern, Purity Milgo 8th March 2020, a Saturday. This was the day it had all been building up to. It was the reason the entire week was buzzing with a flurry of activities with Maureen bustling around making sure all the preparations were underway. It was the day everyone a camp had been waiting for, each with their own reasons and interests ranging from education,…
Field Blog by International Interns, Tara Berthold, Emilia Malmstrom and Louise Warden Sweat covered, red faced, backpack wearing, clinging to our water bottles with one hand and a clipboard in the other. Yeah, that’s us, the interns. We might not always look the prettiest, but rest assured we’re hard at work. For those wondering what it’s like as an intern I have provided some hard and fast rules for you to…
Field blog by Naiya Raja, Mobile Unit Education and Outreach Manager “We all share one planet and are one humanity; there is no escaping this reality.” ― Wangari Maathai Leadership and inclusivity are increasingly recognised as fundamental for conservation success. Women are more than half of the world’s population; responsible for every day environmental decisions about food, water, security and health. Women however continue to be routinely underrepresented in decision-making and…
Field Blog by International Intern, Louise Warden I’ll be honest… I was scared for tonight, just wanted it to be over already! We all suited up in our bee keeper suites with funny netted head pieces, I felt more like a Teletubbies reject than a professional bee keeper. We all spent ages checking our suites for holes and taping up any possible routes in for the angry African honey bees…
Field Blog by International Intern, Louise Warden The day had finally arrived… I couldn’t have been more excited, today is the day I get to visit Tsavo East National Park, Kenya with the Save the Elephants team. We got to the Voi gate at 7am and patiently waited for our tickets to be issued but then… all hell breaks loose! A troop of vervet monkeys come charging through and swing straight…
Field Blog by International Interns, Louise Warden and Emilia Malmstrom So, although we have some very important researchers in camp, our beloved dogs… and Junior, are the stars of the show. The camp wouldn’t be the same without them! Firstly, we have the gorgeous Winky, named after the house elf in Harry Potter for her magnificently oversized ears. She’s the lady of the camp so is far less smelly than…
Field Report by International Intern, Tatiana Chapman Something has been brewing in camp and it’s not been exactly appetising. The smelly elephant repellent has come to Lower Sagalla and last month, we were busy mixing up this, shall we say, exotic substance. Ernest Oniba from WildAid Africa came down from Uganda for his third visit in order to start a pilot project to see whether this unique mixture can help…
Blogpost by Kenyan Intern, Jocelyn Wela Nature conservation can cause conflicts when there are incompatible interests in environmental resources. This mostly occurs when conservation interferes with the locals economic activities (Joas et al., 2012). National parks and related forest conservation programs generally originate in national and international centers, that are established where people live and use resources, and often impose livelihood costs on rural people (Schelhas et al., 2010). However,…