SPONSORSHIP
Our stay in Kenya would not be possible without some incredibly generous sponsors, particularly due to the nature of my research (which is part of my degree, not paid work).
Our biggest benefactor is &Beyond and their two Kenyan camps, &Beyond Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp and &Beyond Bateleur Camp (www.andbeyond.com). I would like to specifically mention Les Carlisle at &Beyond headquarters in South Africa, who gave the initial go-ahead, and Niall Anderson, the regional manager for Kenya, who readily agreed to take us on and provide us with food, accommodation and much valued advise and assistance. A big thank you also to the entire team at &Beyond’s two Kenyan camps for making us feel entirely at home, treating us like family and letting us tag along on game drives. &Beyond take their commitment to the people, wildlife and habitats surrounding their camps very seriously and arguably have the best trained team of guides in the Mara.
Given that the majority of my work is conducted in the Maasai Mara, entry into various parts of the ecosystem is a necessity. The cooperation of the Oloololo Game Ranch and the Mara Conservancy (who manage the Mara Triangle; www.maratriangle.org) is another invaluable asset. A big thank you to Brian Heath, William Deed and the rest of the Mara Conservancy team. Their support of my research – and remittance of park fees – is also an aspect of our stay here without which this would not have been possible.
My research also necessitates travel to a few other protected areas in Kenya. A number of lodges and camps have agreed to host us during short stays: Southern Cross Safari’s Satao Camp in Tsavo East National Park (www.sataocamp.com), Southern Cross Safari’s Satao Elerai Camp in Amboseli National Park (www.sataoelerai.com) and Severin Safari Camp in Tsavo West National Park (www.severin-kenya.com).
We have also been provided with product sponsorships from Kathmandu (www.kathmandu.com.au) and Lonely Planet (www.lonelyplanet.com), for which we are very grateful. We have also been offered balloon rides over the Mara plains from Skyship (www.skyshipcompany.com), an experience we will continue to treasure no matter how many times we are able to go.
Last but certainly not least, a number of individuals have helped make this a much smoother transition for us than it could have been. There are lots of you, but I’d like to especially thank Muriel & Julian for providing us with a home away from home in Nairobi and to my parents for flying us back to Europe for the occasional break. I’d also like to extend a belated thank you to Dr Aidan Davison for being an excellent friend and mentor during the past three years. Finally, another huge thank you to Aidan, Stewart, Elaine, Kevin, Lorne, Michael, Emma, Kristen, Peat, the support team (Dave, Tracy, Trish, Annette, Kate & Pauline) and a number of the students at the School of Geography & Environmental Studies (University of Tasmania) for putting up with my endless questions and helping me figure out what to do with my life. I think I’ve got it more or less worked out now.
PROJECTS
My main research area during this year in Kenya is gaps in
perception in tourism and conservation. Specifically, I’m interested in finding
out whether values and preferences of visitors to Kenya’s protected areas are accurately
perceived by their drivers and guides, or whether the latter make assumptions
that are not always true. I am mainly looking at two aspects of this:
unsustainable tourism practices (such as breaking of park rules) and community
involvement and influence (both positive and negative). Why? Well, if such gaps exist, it could suggest that practices could be made more sustainable without incurring a conflict of interest between tourism (satisfaction of visitors) and conservation efforts. If there are no such gaps, we ought to put greater efforts towards educating and informing visitors (and drivers!) better with regards to the consequences of their travels on people, wildlife and the environment.
Since being here provides an excellent opportunity to help out with all kinds of projects, we have begun to work with, or plan to work with, a number of different ones in Maasailand.
In the Maasai Mara, we have begun to work with a number of different animal monitoring projects. Two of these are quite well-established: Living with Lions (www.lionconservation.org; www.marapredatorproject.blogspot.com), in which several of the &Beyond guides have become involved, and Elephant Voices (www.elephantvoices.org), where I soon hope to make myself a bit more useful. We are also assisting &Beyond and the Mara Conservancy with monitoring of leopards and black rhinos in the Mara Triangle and the Oloololo Game Ranch.
The &Beyond Foundation also runs a number of community projects that we intend to start working with – more on that later. For now we primarily help by teaching English and computer skills, which has become very popular.
We spend a fair amount of time helping out with projects run by the Anne K Taylor Fund (www.aktaylor.com/ak_fund). This is a fund run by - no surprises here - Anne Kent Taylor, focusing on community based conservation. The main goal is the protection of predators, primarily killed by Maasai herdsmen, and this is done by fortifying livestock enclosures - bomas - with wire. They also help run the anti-poaching & de-snaring patrols and support a number of community projects, including biogas and education. Well worth supporting!
A particularly interesting project that we have come across is Walking with Maasai (www.walkingwithmaasai.org), a series of community initiatives facilitated by our friends Hennie & Becky in the Loita Hills. This is arguably the most remote Maasai community in Kenya, and the projects there involve skills sharing (of all kinds – currently mainly agriculture and ecotourism), building (a school, a bridge and an ecocamp), medical aid (a mobile clinic with a nurse) and lots more. A wonderful project to get involved with or visit!