Kenya: Balancing Human Needs and Wildlife Conservation { 16 images } Created 23 Jun 2012
Balancing the needs of local communities with wildlife conservation is critical to long-term sustainability. The researchers and askaris (guards) taught us how to identify spoor; whether thorn trees had been nibbled on by rhino, elephant or giraffe; how to collect data from a plot using various methods; and how to conduct a census. Researchers and conservancy staff also spent considerable effort communicating ways in which the project contributed to the local community. We visited several schools, from tiny schoolhouses built from reclaimed materials, to concrete compounds with students in uniform and previous-generation computers along the wall. Some volunteers brought school supplies, and all were inspired to contribute.