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Going green: Purchasing and planting tree seedlings in Kenya
As part of Wildlife Works’ reforestation efforts, our greenhouse team regularly purchase and replant tree seedlings from around our project area in rural Kenya. The greenhouse staff travel to communities around our Wildlife Sanctuary in Rukinga to purchase the seedlings from local farmers at Ksh10 per plant, providing a source of income for some community members who can not find stable work. After the seedlings are purchased, they are kept at the Wildlife Works greenhouse, nourished and prepared for replanting. Once the seedlings are ready, the team distributes them for free to local schools, churches, environmental groups and individuals for planting. On November 23, the greenhouse team hired a canter,…
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Health, Wealth and Happiness: Rukinga Sanctuary hosts a health and finance management seminar for employees
Living in rural Kenya can mean limited access to formal institutions such as hospitals and banks. The closest hospital to Rukinga is St. Joseph Shelter of Hope located in the town of Voi, along with the closest bank. With Voi several hours away, many staff members at the Wildlife Sanctuary are paid in cash and find it hard to save money for the future. The Sanctuary’s Human Resources Department decided to host a special seminar bringing in speakers to teach Wildlife Works staff members how to stay on top of their health and finances. The goal of the talk was to provide employees with the tools needed for success. On…
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Tragedy strikes Rukinga Sanctuary
WARNING: The following blog post contains graphic photos of elephants killed by ivory poachers. View at your own discretion. As the new year kicks off, we take a look back at the challenges and accomplishments of 2012. We were proud to start the year by building a nursery for Wildlife Works’ employees’ families, and thrilled to be partners with PUMA for their Creative Factory project. We welcomed our first female Wildlife rangers and happily received validation and verification for the first REDD+ project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The greatest challenge we face going into 2013 is the growing threat to wildlife from the increasingly violent ivory trade, and we…
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A Journey into REDD+: Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project, Kenya
By Rachel O’Reilly, part of the Wildlife Works Carbon Business Development team This October, I was assigned to visit our REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) project in Kenya to document the essence of the project through imagery with world-renowned “cause-related” photographer, Lisa Kristine. Lisa’s work is focused on the vast diversity and hardships of humanity, resulting in photos that connect audiences to the dignity that exists in us all, regardless of the conditions. The Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project is located between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks in Kenya. It acts as a vital wildlife corridor for a fantastic diversity of over 50 species of large mammals,…
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Students from Marungu Secondary School take a walk on the wildlife side
Part of Wildlife Works’ community enrichment strategy includes ensuring that underprivileged students get a chance to view their beautiful ecosystems and see wildlife in their natural habitat. Students in rural areas do not enjoy the comforts and opportunities that the more privileged students in urban areas regularly experience. The schools surrounding Rukinga, including the Marungu Secondary School, are located almost two hours inland from Mombasa, deep in the Kenyan bush. Students at Marungu are boarded for four years, and many of them never get the opportunity to travel or visit the most picturesque parts of Kenya. Last month, the Wildlife Works’ Human Resources Department organized a group of 30 Form…
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Grace Wanjala: Sewing her own future
Grace Wanjala began school as a young girl, but was forced to abandon her studies at age 14, due to a lack of funding. Grace, now 22 years old, remembered putting away her school uniform at Class Eight, knowing in the back of her mind that she would never put it on again. This was a real blow for the young girl, but Grace had no one to pay her school fees expect for her father who had lost his job. Grace accepted her situation and tried to make the best of it. Regardless of the setbacks, Grace had hope that there would still be a great future for her…
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Not a drop to drink: Building water tanks in arid lands
For the people of the Kasigau area where our Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary is located, a normal day involves walking many miles to collect or purchase clean water. With urbanization and changes in lifestyles, water consumption is increasing at a tremendous rate. Kasigau is considered an ASAL (arid and semi-arid land), where water shortages are the norm. The lack of clean water leads to unhealthy living situations, forcing humans and wildlife to drink contaminated water, which can lead to water-born diseases. Our conservation strategy that falls under the REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) carbon offset marketplace includes the implementation of community improvement projects that aim to ameliorate these…
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Cleaning day: Everybody do your share!
With no real infrastructure to manage waste, residents of many rural towns are neither motivated nor educated about why they shouldn’t litter. As a result, many towns, like our neighboring town of Maungu, are overburdened by noncompostable trash thrown in the streets. Part of Wildlife Works’ community education initiative focuses on teaching students how to reuse and recycle plastic items. On Oct 27th, duty called upon the residents of Maungu to join hands and remove all the polythene paper bags and plastic containers that constantly build up around the town. Wildlife Works and Marungu Hill Conservancy organize an event each year to ensure that the town is clean, and all…
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Kasim the gardener creates works of living art
Kasim has been a gardener at the Wildlife Works Rukinga Sanctuary Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project for only a few months, but already his work speaks volumes. Kasim is a true artist, blessed with an innate sense of beauty that allows him to create imaginative landscaping including fun, natural signage that create a warm welcome for staff members and visitors to the sanctuary. The 47-year-old father of seven never got to finish his studies, due to lack of funds to pay school fees. He managed to get by, working security jobs at various institutions until he began working for Wildlife Works. Kasim doesn’t let his lack of formal schooling interfere with…
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Madam Colleta: Caring for the future of the community
One of the greatest comforts to a working mother is knowing that your child is safe and happy while you are away. No matter which corner of the globe you’re in, there is a constant need for affordable and reliable childcare. For Wildlife Works staff members in Rukinga, the free on-site preschool has been a blessing. Madam Colleta leads the team of 2 dedicated teachers who spend their days entertaining and educating 21 children aged 2-5 . Madam Colleta has been with the Wildlife Works preschool since it opened in January, 2012. The widowed mother of three spends her days teaching and feeding young children, while simultaneously providing for her…