Bidding Kwaheri (Dayton)

Thursday was my final day at Kimanjo Secondary School. With the exception of today’s rapidly approaching farewell to the ndovu (Swahili for “elephant), this might have been the hardest goodbye. Because we have to cover three schools on Thursdays, Helen and I have gone to the Secondary School every single week, letting Alex and Annelies split up the other two.

So this week, like the four before it, Helen and I left the Primary School’s lesson early (they were doing the “Stripe”—pronounced “Streep”—drama mentioned in an earlier post), and traipsed down the road to the Secondary School (this time, unlike the four previous, though of course quite welcome, we were joined by Colleen). The plan was to wander the area with a mzee, and the teachers told us the mzee was on his way. After we explained the lesson to the students, and still stood awkwardly waiting outside, we asked one of their teachers (Isaac, who I’ll miss) if he knew how soon the mzee would get there. He said around 5. Unfortunately, it was just after 4, and Helen and I would have to leave at 5. Whoops!

Luckily (thanks to the prescient advice of Colleen) we had prepared a backup activity. We performed the “Risk” game we had played at other schools, where students would have to determine why each endangered/threatened animal was dying off. We had played this at several primary schools (as dedicated blog readers will know), and it’s fun (though its subject matter’s depressing), informative, and low-stakes.

Playing at the Secondary School had a whole new layer. Students are asked to defend their choice for each animal, but at the primary level these explanations were relatively simple (understandably so). The older students were offering multi-sentence analyses of each potential cause of endangerment, occasionally making non-intuitive but compelling arguments. And no one had more fun than Ouma Vincent, the darling of the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs, in his last year at Kimanjo Secondary and hoping to attend University and then teach conservation in the future.

The fun of the Risk game is that, while there is usually a primary cause of endangerment, there are also secondary and tertiary causes. So while some students might be more right, no one is necessarily wrong. Vincent seemed to pick up on this early, and intentionally picked answers that were less popular. He’d then offer an (often convoluted) explanation of how, in fact, his choice represented the most obvious of threats to the animal in question. It occasionally bordered on the absurd, but was usually quite plausible, and it was an impressive display of creativity and critical thinking.

The other students, too, were always insightful, and it was a good way to end our five weeks there. When we announced we were leaving, Vincent thanked us on behalf of the Club, and several students asked for our emails and/or Facebook names. We said our final goodbyes and hit the road.

We still had one day of teaching left, however. On Friday Helen, Colleen, Alex, and I went to Mpala Academy, teaching a fun lesson on PowerPoint, then playing a game about wild dogs. On Saturday we had “Discovery Day” at the Centre, where researchers and outreach coordinators gave brief presentations on their work for the community at large. I found it quite interesting, and after the talks enjoyed conversing with visiting high schools students from Nanyuki. Saturday afternoon we went on our last game drive with Jackson, stopping by a pack of wild dogs, four buffalo, two secretary birds, and two spotted hyenas, in addition to the usual suspects.

And now it’s Sunday morning and I’m leaving in two hours. After six weeks here, being in New Jersey’s going to be weird. I am excited to see friends and family, to keep working with Kate, Colleen, and Helen, and to start working with Julianne. I’m most of all excited to go see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in theaters.

But there’s a lot that’s not easy to leave behind. I guess the best I can do is keep as much as I can with me, in my thoughts, in my actions, and—as it turns out, quite literally—in my clothes, some of which are still seeped through with dirt (don’t tell customs).

Inspiration Comes in Many Forms (Kate)

On Wednesday, at Lekigi, I had my faith in the future restored by an old man who used to be a poacher, a handful of children growing up in poverty and a teacher who defies all odds.

I wrote last week about Lekigi. It is a small community of squatters living on land that they claim rights to despite the land being owned by a Kenyan rancher. The details of the legal battle that has been waging for the last two decades are not too important. What is important is that there are now close to 70 families living in Lekigi and most of them include children.

Lekigi is the slums of an already poverty stricken area. Other schools don't want to be associated with Lekigi, teachers don't want to teach there and until recently the school was struggling to make any progress with its students. The change came around two years ago with the arrival of a man named Edson Kithinji to be the new Head Teacher at Lekigi Primary. 

Though Kikuyu (the largest and wealthiest tribe in Kenya) Kithinji has moved into the Lekigi community with his young family while many of his teachers choose to live in surrounding communities and commute to work due to the isolation of the community. It was Kithinji who first reached out to Nancy two years ago about starting a Conservation Club at Lekigi saying, "children are children no matter where they are from and under what conditions they are growing up." The students of the Lekigi Conservation Club bring hope and empathy to that statement. They are energetic and excitable, they like giving hugs, and on Wednesday they listened with rapt attention and curiosity as Tenai, a mzee, (elder) told them stories about how the land had changed over the last seventy years.

Tenai teaching the Lekiji Conservation Club

Tenai is of the Masai tribe, was born in 1937 and grew up in the Laikipia region. As a young man, he was a poacher, hunting elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, buffalo and anything else that would bring a price. But in the 1950's he met the Small family when they purchased the Mpala Ranch and through Sam and George Small he learned about conservation and grew to a deep appreciation for wildlife and their importance to the people of Kenya.

To awestruck Lekigi students, Tenai spoke of grasses that came up past his knees and Elephants with tusks taller than he is. He spoke of plethora of birds and rhinoceros and he spoke of rain and forests that these children will never see. He told stories of tracking huge herds of Elephants and of a species of tree that used to live along the river but is now all but extinct in this region. He warned of over grazing, and stooping down, pointed to the little shrubs poking out of the dry red dirt telling the students in quick Swahili that these tiny bits of green are seedlings, which, if left to grow, would become big green bushes taller than them, but that the goats roaming across the land keep any of the bushes from getting more than a few inches tall.

"Keep your herds small," he tells them, "do not raise more cattle and goats than you can feed without destroying the land. The wildlife here, they are my life, they are my friends. I go out tracking them and they come to me to say 'hello' because they know I am their friend." The students all whisper among themselves and Alex, Helen, Nancy and I smile, because a more perfect tie-in to our Lorax adventure from the previous week could not have occurred had it been previously rehearsed.

The students hang on every word Tenai speaks and are so clearly inspired and awed by what he is telling them that I tingle with excitement over the incredible teachable moment I am witnessing and wish desperately that I will still be here next week to see the stories the children write about what they learned from this afternoon with a mzee. 

Watching children be inspired is the reason why I teach and I was so lucky to be a part of this afternoon, but for me personally, the inspiration for the day came not from Tenai and the stories he was telling, but from Kithinji, his enthusiasm, his teaching philosophy and his general demeanor and presence with the children. There are always those teachers that have this undefinable aura of authority and inspiration. After teaching for four years I am beginning to understand that it comes partly from hard work, partly from experience and partly from a deep undying belief in the potential of children and the good that can be accomplished by listening to them, loving them and believing in them.

Kithinji challenging students to think deeper about something Tenai had told them

Kithinji loves his students and truly believes, in the words he used to convince Nancy to start a conservation club at Lekiji, that all children deserve a chance. His optimism is infectious. Once I began talking to him, I couldn't tear myself away. For someone who has not attended school beyond Secondary level, his English is impeccable and his intelligent is evident. We talk about climate change and the international politics that lead to impassable disagreements. China and the US are outputting billions of kilograms of greenhouse gases, while in Lekiji Kenya, the children are forgetting what a "wet season" even is, the birds have moved on, and the trees never get more than a few inches tall.

We talk about teaching. We talk about children, we talk about never ever growing up to the point where we forget what it was like to be a child and in doing so stop really listening to them. We talk about a "sense of wonder" and how we hope to never lose our own while doing everything in our power to keep feeding those of our students. We talk about the pros and cons of examinations and the importance of giving children time to just run. We discuss different ways of challenging our students to think for themselves and of never letting them take the easy way out. He tells me about teaching his eight year old son to play chess and about playing football with his students after school. I tell him about seminar and Ultimate frisbee and the combined pride and terror of sending my students off to university. We share the ways in which we try every day to be the very best role models we can be because really that is the foundation of all that we do.

As I talk and laugh with Kithinji I find tears coming to my eyes because this, for me, this is what teaching is all about. Here I am, half way around the world, in the middle of the African savannah, in an area stricken with poverty in a way my white American upbringing will never allow me to fully comprehend and I am looking into the eyes of a man who understands me and why I do what I do. "Children are children no matter where they come from and all children deserve a chance."

Edson Kithinji and I at the Lekiji Primary School

Stripe the Zebra (Helen)

July 15, 2014

The main character of today’s adventures is Stripe the Grevy’s Zebra. We had his story to share at Olgirgiri and Shiloh Naibor. The story is basically about a young foal named Stripe who grows up to be a strapping young zebra who sets out to find a “boma” of his own. The boma must have a stable waterhole for the pregnant females; Stripe finally finds one, but when he decides to share the waterhole with humans and their livestock, he discovers that the humans had put a fence of acacia bushes around the hole so that the zebras can’t drink. With nursing mothers unable to produce milk for their children and other zebras going thirsty, Stripe decides to approach a Samburu boy by the name of Oboso. Stripe explains that because the humans had blocked off the hole, he and his other zebras were suffering. Oboso says that he will go talk to his chief so that they can decide what to do. The fun part is that the story doesn’t have an ending; the students were asked to write an ending themselves in the format of a drama, using characters such as Oboso, Stripe, the narrator, the chief, and so on.

It was raining and the school buildings have metal roofs, so it can be a huge challenge just to speak in front of the classroom and for the students to hear the teachers. It sounds like hundreds of little hands are beating the roof. Kate, Annelies, and I had to literally shout when we read the story out loud. That’s something that I would have never even thought about in the states. The buildings also rarely have glass, and are just holes in the wall, so if there is wind then some of the rain sprays into the classroom. It makes the students and the teachers here all the more admirable, as they learn and teach in such an uncomfortable environment.

We also had plastic bottles for them to use as tools for drip irrigation for their trees. Raphael, the teacher there, had the great idea to use these bottles as “prizes” for the students whenever they correctly answered a question. There were a lot of laughs when each student who had answered a question correctly during class received a plastic bottle. They certainly weren’t expecting such a grand reward when we told them that we had a prize for them!

In Olgirgiri (which was where Kate, Annelies, and I were at), the students didn’t have enough time to present their dramas. When we had finished reading the story, we split the class into two groups and gave each group a copy of the story. I think the students had a hard time listening and understanding the story because of the rain, and because of our accents. Both groups reread the story themselves, which took quite a bit of time. I’m sad that I won’t be here to see them present their dramas, but I have faith and I know that they will be great. We actually did something similar at Kimanjo Secondary School; theirs was more in the format of a debate rather than a drama, but it was good to see the students begin to formulate reasons and decisions of their own when it came to protecting wildlife.

After we finished at the schools, we went to the sundowner. It was my first (and last) sundowner. We had a huge bowl of popcorn, and we sat on a huge rock that overlooked a beautiful vista of land stretching as far as the eye could see, with the silhouette of the low, blue mountain ranges in the distance.

The wonderful day came to a close with a showing of my favorite Disney movie of all time, “The Little Mermaid.” 

Spot the Ndovu (elephant)! And other life skills

As a history teacher, I love primary sources. My students back in the US might even say I love them a little too much. Unsurprisingly, yesterday’s lesson at Il Motiak Primary School was one of my favorites so far as it was essentially an oral history lesson. A mzee, or elder, named Mr. Richard traced the history of the school, town and environment through his own experiences.

To begin, we were fittingly led to il motiak, the hole, from which Il Motiak derives its name. Mr. Richard first gave a history of the primary school through his own experiences. Born in the 1960’s, Mr. Richard was part of the age group that had to journey to Kimanjo Primary School, as Il Motiak did not yet have a school. For seven years Mr. Richard made the journey to and from Kimanjo Primary School by foot (30 km round trip). He told us that only one person from the Il Motiak group was able to afford to attend secondary school and unable to pay the fees, he began to teach at the nursery school recently founded by a Catholic organization in Il Motiak. He was very proud of his role as teacher, repeating a litany of individuals he had taught and their accomplishments (including a current employee for the county government). He recounted how World Vision came and helped to build the first classrooms for the primary school, which currently serve as the administrative block. He told the students that the community was on the right track now as many Il Motiak students continue their education to the secondary school level and some have continued on to university.

Mr. Richard then began to talk about the agricultural and environmental history of the region. The Maasi are a community based people. Each community is governed by elders who collectively make decisions for the people. Unsurprisingly, land was owned communally. During the 1960’s and 1970’s many Kenyan communities began to organize group ranches, including Il Motiak. There were 59 original members in the Il Motiak group ranch, and the number of members today has grown to nearly 400 (to be a registered member today, you must be 18 years of age and a descendant of one of the original members).

Though the group ranch did bring benefits, there were some serious problems to contend with as well. Overgrazing was widespread and to combat the disastrous effects, the ranchers now utilize holistic farming and rotate where cattle graze and use cow dung as a fertilizer to help replenish grazing lands.

Despite these counter measures, Mr. Richard spoke about how he has witnessed a huge change in the landscape. What was once fertile grassland is now desert-like and animals like rhinos are an anomaly rather than commonplace. I imagine the difference is similar to that which we see when we leave Mpala and head into the countryside. Recognizing the difficulties of overgrazing, the group ranch has also now set aside 5,000 acres for conservation efforts. Conservation rangers also patrol the area to guard against poachers. Mr. Richard clearly valued conservation and traveled several hours the previous day to come teach the lesson.

Mr. Richard also spoke about the role Mpala Ranch has played within the community (Mpala has two parts, the research center and a working ranch with livestock). A tractor brings water to the community each week, saving people from making the long trek to the river. Mpala workers are often sent to help with various community projects and many local people are employed by the ranch and research center in some way (Jackson, one of our drivers, attended Il Motiak Primary School).

The lesson got me thinking about conservation in the community. Conserving natural resources is essential to the livelihood of a pastoral community and seems to be readily accepted. Without grass, cattle can’t eat and farmers are forced to move or witness their income dwindle. Yet, conserving animals is a bit less straightforward. One of my favorite parts of being in Kenya is getting to see elephants, giraffes, zebras and hippos on an almost daily basis from the safety of a car. Yet, many of these animals, elephants in particular, are incredibly dangerous. Being able to spot elephants is an essential life skill for local people. Elephants have killed humans in the past, which often leads to a retaliation killing of an elephant (not necessarily the same one) by the community. The threat of encountering an elephant is ever present for locals. While on our walk, an older Maasi woman came out of her home to warn us that an elephant was nearby, so we walked back a different way. I asked the students how many of them have seen elephants on the way to or from school and nearly every student had. The kids were able to spot another elephant far in the distance (I just thought it was a rock until it started to move). While the students are definitely on board with our message about protecting animals, it’s understandable as to why some adults may be a bit more hesitant. Understanding their perspective and addressing their concerns is key to ensuring the complete acceptance by the community of conservation. The conservation clubs do address these concerns with students through various lessons and we encourage students to bring the message home.



We had a photography lesson on the way back to school.



We arrived a bit early, so Dayton decided to try tire rolling, a popular pastime with the students.



At il motiak for a great oral history lesson!

A donkey tried to crash the lesson at il motiak.

Following the teacher and the mzee to see if we could spot some elephants.



Annelies having her picture taken with some of the students.

The landscape is very desert like due to overgrazing by domestic animals.



 

For the Love of Insects (Dayton)

Yesterday morning, Colleen, Kate, Helen, and I decided to get started on our primary task: modifying the Mpala curriculum for American classrooms. Helen and Kate took a lesson called “A Day in the Life of an Animals,” while Colleen and I addressed “Insects.” Happily, Conservation Club lesson plans (like insects) lend themselves well to adaptation. They include a strong base of information—insect characteristics, classification, social structure, and life cycle—though we’ll need to do more research. I’m excited about that, because insects are really cool. The plans also have several ideas of how to make the lesson interactive, but a lot of freedom is given to the teacher. This is helpful both because it means the four of us have freedom in our adaptation, and because the teachers who will eventually be using the plans will have freedom in their implementation.

Freedom all around—or so it seemed. One activity called for keeping a caterpillar in a jar to watch it undergo metamorphosis (it then suggested freeing the butterfly). I vaguely remember maybe doing something like this in elementary school, but still, it rubbed me the wrong way. A brief Google search validated some of my concerns: monarch butterfly mass breeders, who regularly sell caterpillars to schools for this very purpose, have a higher instance of disease in their insects than would be found in the wild. Thus, when the butterfly is released, it can spread disease to the fragile wild populations.

And what about wild-caught caterpillars? I found that keeping them captive, with the change in diet and lifestyle that entails, can permanently alter their facial structure (though I don’t know whether this is harmful in itself). I also found that many caterpillar species engage in social behaviors; I’m no lepidopterist, but a confined, solitary creature might experience some level of stress from having its natural instincts thwarted. And even if it wouldn’t mind—after all, the jar would be food-filled and predator-free—I think it’s hard to teach respect for nature by kidnapping wildlife from its habitat and placing it in a small jar. It starts with caterpillars, and next thing you know you’ve got zoos and Sea World and factory farms and you’ve reinforced the exploitative outlook on nature that caused this whole ecological mess in the first place.

Or so goes my theory. The point is, after much hemming and hawing, I asked Colleen if we could maybe tweak that part of the lesson, and so we did.

The school I was originally going to, Mpala Academy, had cancelled, and Ol Jogi Primary School, the intended replacement, was out of town. So I hopped in with Kate, Helen, and Alex to the faraway Ewaso Primary School. We read The Lorax again (I voiced the eponymous entity, who I think would also oppose imprisoning caterpillars) and had a great conversation about trees, wildlife, and the balance of what humans need and what counts as greed. We asked students to write down what they learned, and while most talked (rightfully) about the importance of trees, one student wrote “to be unselfish and care about others.” I’d call it a successful lesson!

This was my last time at Ewaso, and—as I’ve been doing all week—I said goodbye to the students. I’d only seen them four times, including Community Conservation Day, but I’d started to get to know the personalities of some of them; I wish I could stay longer! But alas, we’ve got work to do in Princeton, so in a week we'll be going home.

The Once-ler strikes again: what is being greedy? (Helen)

Today we got packed lunches (orange bananas…yum) because we were heading across the river to Kimanjo Primary School, Kimanjo Secondary School, and Ngbolo. Alex and Colleen went to Ngbolo, Annelies, Kate, Nancy, Dayton, and I went to Kimanjo Primary, and because the secondary school is close by (about a 5 minute walk), Dayton, Kate, and I walked over to the secondary school. Our plan for the day was to get feedback about community conservation day so that we could make next year’s even better (if that’s possible J) and to discuss conservation by reading The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. I was a little worried about reading the picture book to the high school students since they are high school students, but Nancy said that it would be okay since the Kenyan students are rarely, if not never, exposed to books being read aloud in class.( Besides, The Lorax is an awesome book and it’s a great book for anyone, regardless of age.)

The students had really great answers for our questions about community conservation day (1. What was your favorite part of the day? 2. What did you learn? 3. What is one activity from the other schools that you’d like to do here?). The Kimanjo Secondary students had worked especially hard to host the event at their school (cleaning up the schoolyard, placing rocks and plants around the yard to make it more beautiful, helping place tables and chairs, etc), and actively participated throughout the day. A lot of the students said that their favorite part was the dance and music. It was also so awesome to hear that the students learned more about conservation.  One student wanted to do “Animal Actions” in class, which is Dayton’s favorite game (apart from “More or Less” of course).

We next read The Lorax. Dayton was inspired with the idea of reading the text in parts. Kate read the part of the Once-ler, Dayton was the lorax, and I was the narrator. It worked out really well, and it was a lot of fun. I think reading in parts is here to stay.

We next had a discussion about the book. We first began with basic plot-oriented questions to make sure that the students had understood the story, and if not, to recap the story so that they could understand. Because the words were made up, the students understandably were confused about the Once-ler and the Lorax (they first thought that the Once-ler wanted to protect the trees), but they definitely understood the main point and heart of the story. We asked them what ‘greedy’ meant, and it was interesting because they associated greed with food (this had happened in another primary school as well). Being greedy was eating more than you needed; we clarified that greedy was also taking more than you needed, whether that was food or trees.

Dayton and Kate pointed out that the message of “don’t cut down trees” was not as clear-cut and black and white as it seemed. It was interesting because when asked the question, “Was the Once-ler being greedy when he cut down one tree?” One student said “yes,” because the tree wasn’t replaced, and another said “no,” because it wasn’t in excess. Both answers were valid, because there isn’t necessarily a correct answer to this question, and both showed that it was ultimately up to the students to decide for themselves.  At what point is it greedy to cut down a tree? For what purposes should the tree be used? How can we take responsibility for our actions, such as cutting down trees? These are important questions with multiple answers, and ones we hope that our students will be able to think out and act upon on their own. 

Lekigi gets all the teachers (Kate)

On Wednesday we were set to visit Lekigi Primary and Ol Jogi Primary but discovered that the Ol Jogi students were visiting another school and wouldn't be around for our Conservation Club lesson, so instead all seven of us descended on Lekigi Primary.

The Lekigi community is the poorest one to host a Conservation Club. The community is unique among the ones we visit in that the entire community is squatting on land that the Kenyan government refuses to recognize as theirs and though there are currently legal battles being fought, this limits the rights of the community and puts them at a disadvantages when it comes to government support for things like schools. While the other schools we visit have primarily stone buildings, Lekigi's buildings are made out of clay plastered on a wooden frame.

One of the Lekigi classroom buildings

The first thing that we encountered when we got there was a bunch of really young boys playing with a soccer ball made out of old newspaper and tape. They were fascinated with our cameras and after posing for multiple shots they wanted to play with the cameras themselves. Colleen took the opportunity to introduce them to the "selfie" and we had a great time snapping photos of ourselves and each other.

Colleen taking a "Selfie" with some Lekigi youngsters

The lesson we taught at Lekigi was the same one we have been teaching all week, a review of Community Conservation Day followed by a reading of The Lorax. Since there were so many teachers in the room we all took turns introducing different parts of the lesson and trying to draw the students out of their shells to share their thoughts and ideas. They loved watching the video and exclaimed every time someone they recognized appeared on the screen, and the reading of The Lorax was received with the same level of enjoyment as it had been at previous schools.

Helen talking to students about Community Conservation Day

Colleen and me reading the Lorax to the class

The students at Lekigi though shy and loathe to speak up in response to questions in class, were clearly engaged with the lesson and picked up on the message of the story. Watching their excitement over the video and the book made me really appreciate what the teachers at Lekigi are accomplishing. Working at a public school in NYC has given me a new perspective on money and funding and the way socio-economic status determines opportunity in America and I constantly feel like I am fighting a vicious never-ending uphill battle to get the resources and funding that my students need to be successful but it is nothing compared to what the teachers at Lekigi Primary are dealing with. I have so much respect for them and such compassion for their young motivated students who despite all odds care enough about learning to stay at school for an extra hour once a week to learn about conservation and the environment.

We ended our day on Wednesday on a very happy note as we all got a chance to attend our first "Sundowner" when the Mpala research staff drives out to a good rocking vantage point to watch the sun set over the Kenyan savannah. Tuttaonana sun!

Climate and Chickens in the Classroom (Colleen)

Yesterday was a day of firsts. I went to the schools closer to Nanyuki for the first time. I saw a school with a park for the first time. I experienced Kenyan rain for the first time. I saw a chicken invade a classroom for the first time. Yep, a chicken.

I hadn’t really thought that there would be much of a difference between the schools closer to the major town and those farther away, and was surprised that there were noticeable differences. The greatest difference was something that is so common in American classrooms that I hadn’t really noticed their absence in other schools—backpacks. A fair number of the students in this particular school had some sort of backpack or bag to carry their things. The mere presence of these bags reminded me that aside from a few homemade satchel-like bags, I hadn’t seen any bags. I was trying to figure out why these students might have them and think the proximity to town is key, as the kids will have more access to various resources there. It may also reflect the ability of teachers to assign homework, which would require students to have some means of carrying their belongings. Dan said most of the rural schools don’t assign homework because students only have an hour or so of daylight when they get home, making completing assignments rather difficult. Again, I feel like the ability to assign homework is probably tied to the proximity of town and greater access to resources.

That said, the school is definitely still rural. The families who live on campus have both goats and chickens (one of which managed to join our class for a bit this afternoon!) and agriculture plays a central role in the lives of the students through their parents. You can’t drive anywhere without seeing a herder with his or her flock of goats, camels or cows (which are especially important to the Maasai). All of these animals are in competition for resources (especially grass and water) with each other and wild animals. This competition has ultimately led to wild animals like Grevy’s zebras becoming endangered and the migration of domesticated animals to areas with more rainfall and consequently more grass. This affects students’ education because if their parents are forced to move with the livestock, they pull their children from school and travel as a family. The head teacher (principal) said that this has already started to happen due to the current drought, and as he said “the parents care more about their cows than education.”

Ultimately, the Northern Kenyan Conservation Clubs can help to address the issues that contribute to the relocation of livestock. The clubs promote awareness about the consequences of overgrazing and how to prevent it. Combined with planting trees and preventing soil erosion, this could all lead to better conditions for agriculture and hopefully minimize the need to relocate livestock. Hypothetically, the actions we encourage our students to take could ensure that their children don’t have to leave school.

This school particularly has been successful in planting trees. The school I visited today received some 500 saplings from the county government. In theory, this is great! Yet, we are in an area full of animals who love to eat trees (especially goats) and an area prone to severe drought. Planting and maintaining 500 saplings is simply unrealistic. The school tried to make the best of the situation and planted many of the trees around the grounds, even cultivated a small park. The conservation club built protective coverings for many of the trees to prevent destruction by goat. The club and its teacher (who has been integrating more experiential learning in his teaching after attending a workshop organized by Nancy) are very proud of their work and the teacher told me to make sure I took photos of their other projects, including a wind vane and a wind sock.

While at the school, I experienced my first Kenyan rain. The school, like many Kenyan buildings, has a tin roof. The rain was pouring so hard that it was nearly impossible to hear the person next to you. Alex was able to mold her teaching into a type of charades and still managed to get some great answers! The rain entered the class room through the “windows” (really just openings between the cinder blocks). I was most stuck by the students’ reactions to the rain. While our students listened (or attempted to listen) to Alex, other students ran out to catch the water in their lunch bowls. Some even took water bottles and tried to fill them with the overflow from the gutters. At Mpala, we are definitely conscious about water use, but it was amazing to witness people who lack water to the point of needing to drink rain water.

Species like Grevy's zebras are becoming endangered because of loss of habitat, often due to competition with domesticated animals. Also, that is NOT a lion in the background.

Students constructed protective coverings for many of the school's newly planted saplings.

The windsock and windvane the club made. The tire rim is used as a type of gong to sound the end of the day.

Clean water tanks are located at all of the schools. Students fill their bowsers with clean water and carry it home, often a journey of several kilometers.

Students attempting to fill their water bottles.

Alex had to use lots of hand movements to teach her lesson due to the deafening sound of the rain on the tin roof.

Dayton playing a four corners game with students, who had to choose which reason they think is contributing to different species' endangered status the most (human conflict, habitat loss, etc.)

Great minds think alike! Kate and Colleen had almost identical rainy weather outfits.

Reading The Lorax (Dayton)

With Community Conservation Day successfully complete, the Conservation Clubs are ready to move forward with a new project. Some schools (including Il Motiok and Naiperere, where we went yesterday) will be doing an “indigenous knowledge project:” next week we will go for a walk with a local Maasai elder who will tell the kids how the landscape has changed over the years. But that’s next week—first we needed to set that lesson up.

Colleen and I accompanied Annelies and Nancy to Naiperere, while Helen and Kate stayed with Alex at Il Motiok. Both schools began with a quick recap of Community Conservation Day; we had the kids write what they liked, what they learned, and what activities from other schools they wanted to try at their school. Predictably, they liked, the poems, songs, games, and dramas. I was somewhat more surprised that several wrote they liked all the speeches (which were mainly by adults and not targeted at the students), but hey, I’m thrilled they had a good time! We also watched a short video about the Clubs made last summer; it seemed super fun for the kids to see themselves on film.

Next we told them about the indigenous knowledge project. To prepare them, we shared a classic Western example of someone old telling someone young how the environment was destroyed: The Lorax! I hadn’t read Seuss’s eco-tract for probably over a decade, though I’d seen—and adored—the recent film adaptation. 43 years after publication, the book still packs a wallop. As Annelies and I read aloud to the kids, I found myself deeply invested. The students, more to the point, also seemed to enjoy it.

The book, in case you don’t recall, is the Once-ler’s account to a young boy of how his greedy younger self cut down all the “Truffula Trees,” filled the air with smog, and dumped “Gluppity-Glupp” into the water (forcing all the local fauna to leave) as he expanded his factory. Specifically, he sewed the Truffula leaves into “Thneeds” (which everyone needs!), multi-purpose sort of sweater-looking things that become inexplicably popular. Inexplicable to both the reader and to “the Lorax, who speaks for the trees,” a fantastical (and fantastically mustachioed) little orange man who tries to stop the Once-ler’s rampage of deforestation. Alas, the Once-ler only stops once he has chopped down every Truffula Tree, leaving the local ecosystem devastated and his own Thneed business collapsed.

This would be a rather dour way to end a Dr. Seuss book, and so the Once-ler ends on a potentially hopeful note: “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” He then gives the young boy a seed—the last Truffula Seed!—and instructs him to plant it, grow it, and protect it: “Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back.” Seuss never wrote a sequel so we don’t know if the young boy listened and became the steward of a thriving Truffula Forest, or if he just turned into another doomed-from-the-start Thneed magnate.

In a way, that’s been for us to decide—and results have been mixed. While the environmental movement has gained leaps and bounds since 1971, there are still whole sectors of the economy that, like the Once-ler, are intent on “biggering and biggering and biggering” in the short-term no matter how great the coming crash might be. This is especially relevant in the States: while we certainly remember Seuss’s contagious love for trees and animals, we forget that he also challenged our role as rampant consumers.

In Laikipia County, consumer culture is less the issue than the more direct message: cutting down trees hurts the animals. People here often cut down trees to burn charcoal, and as population booms, deforestation spreads, and the wildlife (not to mention livestock and the people themselves) suffers. The kids definitely understand this part, and to them the parallels of their situation with that of The Lorax were glaringly obvious. The story probably applies more literally here than it does in the US, where we’ve already cut down most of our trees and the public rarely sees deforestation happen directly.

Despite the good Doctor’s linguistic gymnastics, the class seemed to have followed the book well, and we had a productive discussion afterward. Though when we asked if they could say “Truffula Tree,” the class shot back with a resounding “No.”

The school had a relationship with a school in Limerick, Ireland.

Dayton reading to students

The administrative building. Students line up in rows marked by the rocks.

The Big Event--Community Conservation Day! (Helen)

Community Conservation Day! What a spectacular, fun, and meaningful day! It was great to see the event go so smoothly and hear that the children had enjoyed themselves (or at least the four kids that I asked). It was the result of a lot of hard work and organization by many people, and I have to say that it was a huge success. 

Our day started early since we planned to leave by 7:15 am and get to Kimanjo Secondary School (which was where the event was being hosted) to set things up. We loaded the car with posters, books, and certificates for the students and the teachers. The posters were for each school who worked on a project to share with the other schools. For example, Mpala Academy prepared a poster on the amount of rain around Mpala, showing how the amount differed and how they recorded it. Kimanjo Primary School had created a “charcoal ball” project, in which they found that mixing cow dung and charcoal dust together, rolling it into a ball, and drying it is more environmentally friendly than just burning charcoal. The posters were all taped to a side of a building, with a group of students standing next to their poster to be able to explain what it was all about. I saw students asking each other to explain the posters and pictures (for example, one student pointed to a photo of feathers that Ewaso Primary School had and asked what kind of feathers they were). That’s really the point of Community Conservation Day; to share and teach each other what they’re learning about, and it was awesome to see students get excited about conservation.

Students walking around and looking at what the other schools had prepared (You can see that some of the students of same gender hold hands; that’s completely normal as well as frequent here, and it’s a sign of friendship and affection)

It was great because the students all had their school uniforms on, with their badge. (The badge has a logo that is unique to each school, and the logo has a picture of an animal that is special to the area surrounding the school. Ol Jogi Primary School, which is the newest club this year, held a logo contest - their winner was a cheetah!)

After the students had taken a look at the presentations and had a chance to share and learn about the individual projects, we all gathered together in the middle of the schoolyard. The event started with the Kimanjo Secondary Students who performed a traditional Masaai song and dance. They were excellent, and they had won multiple times in regional contests. After that, schools came up to present a game in which members of the community could participate. For example, Lekiji Primary School had a game called “What Animal Am I?” Each child came up and a picture of an animal was pinned to their back. They then asked some questions to the audience, such as “am I a mammal?” and “Do I live in the forest?” The audience would answer, and the student would then guess what animal he or she was. I thought that it was really great that some of the students would ask “Am I endangered?” since endangered species was a huge part of the lessons that we taught in the schools.

 My favorite game was by Ewaso Primary School called “Animal Actions.” A group of students would come up and imitate certain animal actions such as “tortoise being disturbed by a human,” or “elephants bathing.” It was great because the students were able to show the community the fun, excitement, as well as benefits of interactive and experiential learning. A lot of the students here learn mostly by rote memorization and repetition, and these games stimulate critical thinking (“Why am I playing this game? How does this game relate to the lesson we’re learning about the environment?”). It was great to see the students as well as the audience have fun. I know I definitely enjoyed myself.

After the games the students had prepared songs, poems, and a drama about environmental conservation. The poems and drama were all original and written by the school performing it. There was a drama about cutting down trees; the message was that if you cut down trees, it has negative long term effects, and human lives depend on trees. There was also a drama about poaching and how we shouldn’t hunt and kill endangered species.

Il Motiok performing “How We Conserve the Environment” in Maa. I thought that they were saying “yellow swordfish” in some places, but the whole thing was in Maa, which was great for the community.

Kate taking pictures throughout the event

After the student performances, students were given prizes for their Species on the Edge contests. There were about two students from each school, and they received a book. It was so cute because when the students would come up to shake Nancy’s hand and receive the prize, they looked very stoic and expressionless, but once they were in the crowd and amongst their friends, their faces lit up in huge grins. The winning essays identified an endangered animal, described its habitat and diet, why they were endangered, and what could be done to help them. It was especially challenging because the essay had to be written in the POV of the animal, which required creativity and descriptive language. Congratulations to the winners! 

The teachers then all received certificates as congratulations and thanks for their hard work in teaming up with the Conservation Clubs to educate students about the environment. One of the teachers, Raphael, also gave a short speech about the importance of experiential learning. I thought that it was so terrific how he mentioned that there are different types of intelligence (touching, artistic, musical, visual, etc), and experiential learning makes it possible to reach students by utilizing such differences. Raphael is a superb teacher; one day when we went to visit Olgigiri Primary School (which is where he teaches), we saw him outside with the kids, teaching them about the weather by using wind socks. I'm told that such teaching is rare, since most teachers here lecture in front of the class and check that their students understand and are paying attention by leaving off the last word and having them fill it in. (For example, a teacher would say, "trees need soil and wa--?" and the students would fill in the last word by saying "water.") 

There were also some concluding remarks by various members of the community. Someone pointed out that the point of Community Conservation Day was to share new ideas and learn from each other, but at the end of the day, everyone had to work together to “talk the walk.” Nothing will be accomplished if everyone just talks about ideas; each should take what he or she had learned and apply it to their lives. I thought that this was a great message, and it doesn’t just apply to members of the community but to us as well.

The kitchen; the huge stove is lit with wood, which is then used to cook the beans that the students had for lunch. The students were really excited about lunch, and it made me feel all the more thankful for what we have available to us in America.