Where teachers and students gain conservation tips

Education officer Timothy Karinge taking teachers through conservation lessons at Elsamere Education Centre in Sustainability in Naivasha on February 2, 2019. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

An afternoon lesson is on at Elsamere Education Centre in Naivasha. But this is not a normal class session; both teachers and students are seated before a lecturer, listening and taking notes in the conference hall.

The lecturer, a conservation expert, is taking the group through well-designed infographics and pictures pinned on the walls across the hall. The graphics include those of wildlife and conservationists George and Joy Adamson -- a couple famed as pioneer conservationists for lions in Kenya. The couple lived in Kenya between 1940s and 1980s.

“We host over 150,000 students per year from local public schools and universities. The students visit the facility for free to learn various topics on conservation and saving energy,” says Anam Echakari, the operations manager at the centre. Students from international schools however pay a fee.

There is a lesson in the institution almost every day for the visiting students, teachers and the local community.

In the ‘Eco-Schools’ project, the centre also encourages schools around Naivasha to plant trees, make briquettes using waste papers to replace firewood and rear rabbits in their farms.

“We supply the tree seedlings to the schools through a partnership. The seedlings include for herbal and fruit trees with an aim of improving the health and nutrition for the community in the future,” says Antony Karinge, the officer in charge of education at the centre.

The centre is named after a famed Elsa the Lioness, which was adopted by Joy Adamson. Mrs Adamson is also the author of Born Free, the award-winning book describing her experiences in raising Elsa.

The institution is the former home of the couple. It is also the home of a variety of endangered animal species, including tortoises, over 120 documented species of birds, Colobus monkeys and hippos.

“We teach them the dangers these animals face, how the challenges can be mitigated and the conducive environment for these wildlife. We also have a collection of skeletons for studies,” Karinge says.

He says the centre has partnered with the Ministry of Education, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Museums of Kenya.

“We also have a museum where the work of these conservationists, George and Joy, are kept. These are books on conservation, the paintings entailing Kenyan tribes, the photos on conservation and the famous Elsa the Lioness,” Echakari says.

In the museum, the conservationists’ passports and their personal details, cameras and equipment the duo used in communicating with the lions in the wild and tools Joy used in painting and writing her books are curated and kept.

“The museum has a rich history in tracing conservation work in Kenya -- particularly on lions in the 1950s. It also has rich history that documents Kenyan cultures since Joy Adamson was contracted by the government to paint Kenya’s cultural heritage,” says Chege Kiarie, the museum manager.

Echakari says the centre also rears rabbits and distribute them to schools and the local community to stop them from hunting and “nip poaching in the bud”.