Conservation
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Wildlife Works Rangers Undergo Refresher Training
By Jane Okoth On a daily basis, Wildlife Works rangers go out on patrols to survey the area for anything suspicious such as snares, poachers and charcoal burners. The teams also collect data for the biodiversity monitoring team on any wildlife sightings. This kind of dedication is what it has taken to keep the 500,000 acres of the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project protected. Despite these efforts, the rangers have to live with the fact they might come face to face with armed poachers, an inevitable threat that stresses the need for a well-trained team. In January 2018, Wildlife Works rangers with the support of Ranger Campus Foundation and Kenya Wildlife…
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Carbon Credit Sales Fund New Desks to Two Schools In the Kasigau Corridor
Education matters! Wildlife Works is constantly trying to tackle barriers hundreds of children face when accessing education in our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project. Many pupils at schools in our project area struggled to learn, often because they didn’t have desks and were forced to write on their laps or on the floor during their lessons. This is Meli Kubwa Primary School and Mgalani Primary school, located in a remote location of our project area. When we arrived, the pupils and school administration from Meli Kubwa Primary School welcomed us with songs and dance from the vibrant maasai community which forms majority of the school’s population. In a school that is…
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My Trip to the Kasigau Corridor: Seeing a REDD+ Project in Action
Guest blog written by Vibeka Mair, a Senior Reporter for Responsible Investor who visited our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in February 2018. Jacob Kazungu has been disabled since birth. Now 72, he walks with a stick and has shakes when he stands up. But he insists he will stand as he presents the work of his community group in rural Kenya. The Buguta Disabled Group supports the disabled and parents of the disabled with a place to come to every day, conversation and most importantly a form of income through the making of toys, jewelry and baskets sold in places including popular fashion website ASOS. “We want to be self-reliant and not begging,” he says. Buguta Disabled…
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Simon Kipsang; The Ranger and Co-pilot at Wildlife Works
By Jane Okoth For some, a wildlife adventure may seem like a normal thing, but that seemed an impossible opportunity for young Simon Kipsang. As a young boy growing up in Nakuru County, Simon only learnt about elephants, lions and other wildlife in school. “Since I was passionate about the environment, I would spend time taking care of trees in my homestead and wished that I would one day come face to face with wildlife,” he recalls thinking. As fate would have had it, his dream has come true. Now at 30 years old, Kipsang is a full time ranger and co-pilot at Wildlife Works. When the husband and father…
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Human Wildlife Conflict; Reducing Tension Between Communities and Elephants
By Jane Okoth When Erick Sagwe, the Head Ranger at Wildlife Works, receives frantic phone calls from the local community about elephants invading their farms, he knows it’s time for him and his team to brace for a long night. “We receive phone calls from community members asking us to help drive away the elephants which have invaded their farms. Despite it being a dangerous job, we go because it is our duty to keep communities and animals safe,” he says. Human wildlife conflict is considered to be one of the biggest threats to the continued survival of species around the world. The impacts can be devastating with people losing…
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Son of a Poacher, 26-year-old Fulfills Dream to Become Conservation Pilot
By Jane Okoth Always calm and composed in his demeanor, Daniel Zuma is not your regular character. As a gyrocopter pilot at Wildlife Works, the 26 year old is living his dream and even more impressively, is dedicated to inspiring his community. Being the first born in a family of five, Daniel Zuma has come a long way. He was not born in a wildlife friendly household – in fact, his father was a poacher, who was tragically killed by a buffalo. Daniel came to realize the importance of wild animals, and he wanted to take care of them rather than destroying them. “If I had decided to follow in…
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Highlights from our Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
As we approach the end of 2017, we’re reflecting on all the achievements from our Mai Ndombe REDD+ project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Mai Ndombe REDD+ project is one of the world’s largest projects, and the first in the DRC. It is located on the shores of lake Mai Ndombe, and protects over 740,000 acres of threatened rainforest. A vast array of biodiversity live in the forest, including endangered elephants and bonobos, the closest extant relative to humans. Mai Ndombe is an essential part of the world’s largest wetland of international importance as recognized by the Ramsar Convention, and is also home to over 50,000…
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Shell launches sustainable solution at National Sustainability Congress – Customers can offset CO2 emissions
Original release on Shell Nov 9, 2017 Shell has launched a new service at the National Sustainability Congress 2017 in Hertogenbosch, enabling business customers to offset the CO2 emissions of their automobile useage. Accenture Netherlands is the first customer to use this new service. The service is linked to the Shell Card and works in three steps. First, Shell gives customers insight into their CO2 emissions. Next, we examine how the emissions can be reduced, for example by changing driving behavior. Finally, after each refueling, Shell calculates the CO2 emissions and offsets them on behalf of the customer through one of the partnering CO2 offset projects. “Sustainable solutions are needed…
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WHY BUYING NOTHING THIS HOLIDAY WILL SAVE THE PLANET
A thoughtful gift is something someone could remember for a lifetime. We all appreciate the loving intentions that gifting carries. But the commercialization of holidays has added not only stress but tons of waste to gift giving. Wildlife Works protects the most remote forests in the world and we can’t ignore the impact of our consumption on the health of our planet. This holiday season, we at Wildlife Works are going to slow down consumption in order to give back to our earth and here’s why it matters. The explosive growth and globalization of the apparel industry has accelerated pollution everywhere. This industry is one of the top five greenhouse…
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A Day In The Life of Wildlife Works Rangers
It is a regular Thursday morning at Rukinga sanctuary. A group of nine rangers are already in a green Toyota Land Cruiser ready for their normal patrol in the bush, which starts at 7am and ends at 4pm. John Mwachofi, the team leader for camp 2.0, and his team started the day with some strategic planning at their camp. As the Media and Communication Officer at Wildlife Works, I thought it would be great to join this dedicated team with my colleague, the Executive Office Assistant just to get a glimpse of what it’s like being a ranger. The team is just a section of 120 unarmed Wildlife Works rangers…