Report from EWASO LIONS partners:
Lion Kids Camp Teaches Kenyan Children About Conservation in
New Area (with support from KKOS)
Aug 23, 2016
This month, EWASO LIONS with support
from Kenyan Kids on Safari held a Lion Kids Camp for 24 Kenyan children to
learn about conservation and be inspired by experiencing wildlife from a new
perspective. This Camp marked only the second time an LKC has been held outside
Samburu. We teamed up with Loisaba Conservancy to hold the five-day camp in
the beautiful landscape of Loisaba, located 200km away in Laikipia county.
Children loved watching others play the Conservation Game we
designed, where players pretend to be lions navigating a human-occupied
landscape.
Similar to the
two Lion Kids Camps EWASO LIONS have held so far this year, this
camp focused on young livestock herders from local communities, rather than
school children. The 24 kids, ranging in age from 4 to 16, spent five days with
our team learning all about wildlife, conservation and ways to coexist with
lions and other large carnivores – and, of course, to have lots of fun in the
process!
This was our 8th camp held to date,
bringing the total number of Kenyan children participating in a Lion Kids Camp
to 214.
The kids visited Loisaba’s camels and sampled their fresh
milk.
Excitingly, this Camp coincided with
WORLD LION DAY on the 10th of August. In the hope of showing the children
lions on this special day, we set off early for a game drive on Loisaba. It
wasn’t long before we received a call from Thomas, who works for our research
partner Lion Landscapes, to say he had located a collared female, Victoria, and
her pride. Despite the pride having – somewhat unhelpfully – chosen to rest at
the top of a rocky hill, the kids were all super excited to watch the lions
through their binoculars and asked lots of questions. They spent the rest of
the drive excitedly ticking off other species on their checklists and one car
was even lucky even to spot a cheetah.
This Lion Kids Camp marked EWASO LIONS 8th camp to date and now 214 kids have been engaged in conservation through our camps.
With the Camp taking place on
Loisaba Conservancy, there were also some special additions to our regular
programme in Samburu. Firstly, the children visited Loisaba’s livestock bomas,
where they met the Conservancy’s huge herd of camels and sampled some fresh
camel milk, before watching the frenzy as hundreds of cattle were ‘dipped’ to
prevent disease.
Loisaba staff then talked to the
children about livestock and grazing management. The children also met
Loisaba’s bloodhounds, Warrior and Machine, and learnt how these incredible
sniffer dogs help local communities and wildlife. The kids even joined in a
training exercise that took the form of sniffer dog style hide-and-seek.
Loisaba staff demonstrated their sniffer dogs which are used
to locate poachers.
In typical LKC fashion, the week
closed with the wildlife drama competition, which was performed in front of the
children’s parents and Loisaba staff. It was great to see the community support
for this initiative – the first time Loisaba has run a kids programme. We were
delighted that in recognition of their support, the community even donated a
goat for the children.
It was a brilliant week and we hope
to work with Loisaba Conservancy again in the near future
With special thanks to:
• Loisaba Conservancy – for
sponsoring and hosting this camp. In particular to Tom, Fiona and Mingistu for
their support
• Guides – Sam, Bonnie and Robin, for their support and enthusiasm as team leaders
• Matron – Mama Kelly, for taking good care of the children
• Cooks – Joseph and his team, for ensuring we were all well fed
• Lion Landscapes – our partner in Laikipia for their assistance
• The kids and their families – for embracing the experience and making it such a great week
• Ewaso Lions staff – Letupukwa, Thomas and Jeneria for all their hard work to ensure the camp was a great success
• Todd Cromwell and the Kenyan Kids on Safari programme – for supporting the Camp
• Guides – Sam, Bonnie and Robin, for their support and enthusiasm as team leaders
• Matron – Mama Kelly, for taking good care of the children
• Cooks – Joseph and his team, for ensuring we were all well fed
• Lion Landscapes – our partner in Laikipia for their assistance
• The kids and their families – for embracing the experience and making it such a great week
• Ewaso Lions staff – Letupukwa, Thomas and Jeneria for all their hard work to ensure the camp was a great success
• Todd Cromwell and the Kenyan Kids on Safari programme – for supporting the Camp
24 Kenyan kids participated in the Camp.
Lion Kids Camps are designed to teach and inspire the next
generation of Kenyan conservationists.
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