Conservation
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Wildlife Works offsets all player travel for 2014 World Series
Wildlife Works was proud to work with Bonneville Environmental Foundation and Major League Baseball to offset the carbon emissions associated with the travel of all players for the 2014 World Series games! Since travel of players and fans for games accounts for the heaviest portion of the sports industry’s carbon footprint, the MLB has shown significant leadership as they take a important step towards reducing the league’s footprint. Verified Emission Reductions (VERs) from both Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya and Mai Ndombe REDD+ Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo were used to offset players’ travel emissions to the World Series games.
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A Letter from Founder & President Mike Korchinsky on Our No-Gun Policy
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our supporters and the viewers of ‘Ivory Wars’ for their outpouring of support and encouragement following the initial airings of the series set at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project in Kenya. Elephant poaching remains a serious issue, and we’re glad this opportunity has allowed us to more broadly bring to light its devastating affects. Since the initial airing, we’ve received some questions about the no-gun policy for our rangers. In an effort to ensure transparency and clear communication about our diligent efforts to keep our rangers safe, we’d like to share some detail about this policy, which has developed as a…
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Developing Young Global Leaders at Wildlife Works
We are so proud of our Community Relations Officer Joseph Mwakima, who was sponsored by Barclays to attend the 2014 One Young World Summit and was selected as a Delegate Speaker in the Sustainable Development Plenary Session. Only 36 Delegate Speakers were chosen out of hundreds of applicants. Watch his inspiring speech: One Young World is the preeminent global forum for young leaders aged 18-30 and gathers the brightest young leaders from around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections and develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues. The One Young World Summit has already inspired young leaders worldwide to become change leaders of their generation.…
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A Letter from Our Head Ranger
ELEPHANT POACHING STILL HIGH Elephant and rhino poaching has recently been declared a “national disaster” in Kenya by former head of Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) Richard Leakey. The magnitude of poaching has reached terrifying levels and poachers are operating with outrageous impunity, backed up by an extraordinary network of organized crime. Unfortunately the Kasigau Corridor has not been immune from this increase in elephant poaching. Whilst the year started relatively calmly, March and April saw a significant rise in poaching incidents, totaling 30 elephants by mid May. The worst incident to date saw six elephants shot dead on Dawida Ranch, four of which were youngsters not bearing tusks. A further…
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A Grand Leap Forward for the Chyulu Hills Redd+ Project
Wildlife Works has completed Project Design Document for the new proposed REDD+ project in the Chyulu Hills! The Chyulu Hills REDD+ Project (CHRP) is a multi-partner initiative designed to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, restore biodiversity and create alternative livelihoods under the United Nation scheme of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). It is located in the Tsavo-Amboseli ecosystem, southeastern Kenya and stretches over an area of 410,533.84 ha. Its main geographic feature is the volcanic Chyulu Hills mountain range, from which the project derives its name. The Project Area comprises a great diversity of ecosystems, ranging from montane cloud forests to grassland savannah. A large variety…
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Wildlife Works Marks World Environmental Day With Town Clean Up and Climate Change Education
At this year’s World Environment Day, some of our employees at the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project put down their tools and left the offices to commemorate the day with the community at Kamtonga, a small village located in Mwatate about 50 kilometers from our station. Those who attended the event included the head community Relations Officer, Mr. Laurian Lenjo, Mrs. Emily Mwawasi and Joseph Mwakima (both working in community relations), and the agribusiness manager, Mr. George Maina. From the moment we arrived in Kamtonga, it was very clear that we could not have chosen a better place to commemorate the 2014 World Environment Day. The Mwatate community has…
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Eco-Loans from the Zawadisha Fund to Boost Women Entrepreneurship in Kasigau Corridor
At Wildlife Works, we believe in empowering women to overcome societal limitations imposed on them by continuously supporting and investing in projects that enable women to make an independent livelihood. We are proud to announce the inclusion of our newest partner in these efforts. The Zawadisha Fund, a non-governmental and non-profit microfinance organization that provides affordable loan facilities to groups of women around Kenya, began work in the Marungu area of the Kasigau Corridor late last year and is already tremendously influencing the lives of marginalized women in the area. On their arrival to Marungu, leaders of the organization met with us to discuss the scope of their project in…
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Farmers around the Kasigau Corridor Grow and Sell Seedlings to Wildlife Works
With global warming becoming a more imminent threat, trees and other vegetation remain among our best defense mechanisms. Trees’ ability to absorb greenhouse gases emitted by automobiles, factories, and power plants result in a significant reduction in global climates. As part of the Wildlife Works community empowerment programs, we encourage farmers around the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project to grow and nurture seedlings, which are then sold to our greenhouse team at an average price of ten shillings (12 cents) per seedling. These are then brought back to the Wildlife Works greenhouse facility to be grown until they reach a suitable size for replanting. This seedling collection happens at the end…
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The Rescue of Baby Elephant, Mackinnon
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust recently indicated that an orphaned elephant rescued from the Mackinnon region of our project area is thriving under their care. Mackinnon, as the young elephant has been nicknamed, had somehow become separated from his family and ventured out of the forest before coming upon the town of Mackinnon, which is known for hostility towards wildlife. Fortunately, that night the area chief came upon the stray elephant and immediately called our security department. Usually during such a scenario, plans are swiftly made in collaboration with the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to airlift the elephant to an orphanage in Nairobi, but since night had fallen, the only…
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Marking Milestones, The First Students of Wildlife Works Graduate
The first Wildlife Works Nursery School graduation ceremony was a joyful occasion filled with dance and song along with awards to recognize the student’s achievements. Parents and teachers, among others, used the opportunity to express their gratitude for the nursery school at Wildlife Works. Dressed in navy blue gowns, which had been tailored at the local Wildlife Works clothing factory, the graduating students recited classroom songs while guests took the time to reflect on what the Wildlife Works Nursery School (based at our Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project) means to them. Daniel Munyao, who is the Manager at the Wildlife Works eco-factory, where most of the pupils’ parents work, highlighted the…