Our wildlife dude have also managed to get some breathing space and digest everything that was accomplished in Tsavo this summer. Bit thanks to Steve Mwasi and Peter Kalenga for putting this together and all the amazing staff who are the heart and soul of Camp Tsavo…

Rukinga Wildlife Sanctuary where Camp Tsavo forms a critical migratory corridor which contains more than 50 species of large mammals including: African Elephant, Lions, Leopards, Buffalos, Giraffes, Cheetah, African wild Dog and Antelopes. Once upon a time it used to be a cattle ranch and overgrazing turned this ecosystem into a dust bowl the field into dust, Camp Tsavo its at the heart of Rukinga ranch , the camp is dedicated towards supporting the existence of the conservation work done by Wildlife Works .

BRILLIANT MOMENTS OF THE SUMMER SEASON AT  CAMP TSAVO

The summer season began well with gap volunteers and students ready to work and explore biodiversity through our conservation projects. This round was the time to ensure that the biodiversity of Rukinga ranch is totally explored and protected. Our work was based on species monitoring and identification through road transects.

Road clearing:

This led to the opening of more roads in the ranch by road clearing. So far we have collected data and we are still collecting more data. However, we  managed to spot and record some of the endangered species in Kenya like the grevy’s zebra, during this activity. It was quite encouraging to realize that species abundance is improving in the ranch.

Wildlife monitoring:

Uprooting of invasive species

During this summer our work didn’t only focus on wildlife species alone. We were so mad about the way invasive plant species have had negative impacts on the habitat within the sanctuary. These species cause a lot of destruction and if not well managed they usually colonize and destroy an ecosystem vital for the survival of indigenous wildlife species. So this time we dedicated our efforts to the manual removal of the Opuntia  engelmanii which is spreading fast in this migratory corridor.

Rukinga waterhole project

We also gave priority to the existing water holes within the sanctuary. Our mission was to improve water drainage systems by digging out trenches to conserve the little amount of water received during short rains on the sanctuary. By implementing this strategy, proper rain would lead to the flow of large amounts of water to these waterholes which is estimated to stay for a period of 3 months thus, animals end up benefiting in Rukinga.

Bush adventure

After a two hours drive, it was followed by a bush lunch. After lunch it was time to learn some interesting aspects of on how to survive in the savanna. We discovered that guys still had more energy, they were stretching bows and arrows like never before. Lucky enough we didn’t loose any dikdiks! Bush shelters were made and fire was produced by our newly qualified bush experts.

Sasenyi primary school

Our programs also included visits to Sasenyi primary and in that location great things have been achieved. This summer we managed to control massive soil erosion in the area that affected the school for some years, through building up gabions.

A new classroom is now under construction in that its foundation was dug out by the teams this summer. Above all a new pit latrine toilet is expected to be completed soon so that the pupils can have adequate toilet facilities to use.

The crazy summer season is over although we won’t forget the way we ran up and down like nocturnal scrub hares! Bravo to all the teams who relentlessly used their efforts to contribute to the protection and conservation of one of Kenya’s most vital ecosystems.

We wish you all the best in your programs ahead and wherever you are, let everyone know that we have a strong mission ahead: To conserve and protect this planet which is in peril.

Asante Sana and Tsavo camp conservation crew is always looking forward to welcome anybody willing to take a step ahead towards conservation.

KWAHERINI.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 at 11:37 am and is filed under Family Volunteer, Gap, Gap Year, Kenya, Life, Project Diary, School Expedition, Team, Teams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.