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Conservation News10/1/2022 Conservation Through Education
December marks the end of the school year in most African countries, and students are looking forward to a summer break after the rigors of the academic year. With remote learning virtually impossible in most rural areas, the opportunity to return full time to in-person learning in 2022 was greeted with universal enthusiasm!
Camp is back in Session Eighty young learners from four schools in Rwanda's Kinigi area, near Bisate Lodge, were recently hosted on two successful Conservation Camps. The students were divided into two groups of 40, each participating in a three-day program. Early each morning the children were collected by bus from their respective schools and transferred to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where a number of the workshops took place.
During their workshops, the students learned about gorilla behavior and ecology, the different national parks of Rwanda, threats to biodiversity in Volcanoes National Park and actions to help protect it, plus the importance of birds in ecosystems. The students also visited Volcanoes National Park Headquarters, and took a field trip to Buhanga Eco-Park, which is a forest of hidden treasures of biological and cultural significance to Rwanda, and especially the surrounding areas of Volcanoes National Park. Buhanga Eco-Park is located in an ancient and sacred site that was used for the coronation rituals of Rwandan kings.
The closing ceremony of the Conservation Camps took place in the presence of Innocent and Augustin, the Executive Secretaries of the Kinigi and Nyange sectors, the Headmasters of the four schools, and journalists from the local newspaper and radio station.
Celebrating the Mara Elephant Project
To date, MEP has arrested 463 poachers and seized 2,191 kilograms of elephant ivory. In 2021 alone, MEP covered a total of 110,453 kilometers in patrol vehicles, 17,696 kilometers on foot patrol, and 37,945 kilometers on motorbike. A permanent ranger unit protects a critical forest habitat in the Mau Forest, and the only helicopter dedicated to wildlife protection operates over the Greater Mara Ecosystem. Thanks to their efforts, no elephants have been poached in the past two years within the Maasai Mara National Reserve and surrounding conservancies. For guests interested in learning more about this incredible organization, it is now possible to include a number of exciting activities as part of your safari in the Mara.
In addition, over the past few months, the EcoStove team has been tackling some of the remotest communities in South Luangwa. The EcoStoves are made from local materials and communities participate in their building, creating a sense of ownership. Each stove significantly reduces carbon emissions and only requires a small amount of wood to cook on, reducing deforestation and producing a far more efficient flame. This saves (predominantly women) a lot of time in cooking and reduces the risks of going deep into the bush to collect firewood. A reduction in pulmonary illnesses as a result of less smoke inhalation is an additional benefit. To date Project Luangwa has built and registered nearly 2,500 stoves and planted 750 trees in local villages.
Elephants for Africa collaring project in Botswana's Makgadikgadi Pans National Park
Natural Selections recently supported an "Elephants for Africa" (EFA) collaring project, during which 10 bull elephants were collared in the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, home to Jacks Camp. This collaring initiative will not only help gather insight into the movements of elephants in human and wild landscapes, but the collars have been fitted with accelerometers, which will record elephant movements consistent with feeding and other activities. After two years EFA hopes to have an extensive database, which will assist in assessing areas of ecological im portance to elephants, locations where they are likely to come into conflict with people and the areas they use to migrate to and from the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park.
Let us help you plan your dream safari. call toll-free: 888.227.8311 or email us today
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The end of the school year also presents some students with anxiety and uncertainty about the future – secondary school is not free of charge in many African countries, and a significant number of families simply cannot afford the costs (school fees, uniforms, text books, etc.) to send their children to school, no matter how gifted and talented they may be. In rural areas, this is not only a tragedy for the children, but it also represents major challenges for conservation as poverty leads to poaching, non-productive farming techniques, and other practices and mindsets that pit humans against wildlife.
As the temperatures rise in the Luangwa Valley, 
