A highly successful conservation education programme that has benefited thousands of children, run by leading safari operator Wilderness, has broadened its reach to Kenya.
Established in 2001, the non-profit Children in the Wilderness (CITW) programme provides conservation education to rural school children surrounding wilderness areas, through engaging eco-clubs, immersive eco-camps and school and tertiary scholarships. The programme is run in communities surrounding Wilderness’s areas of operation in Botswana, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and now Kenya.
CITW’s weekly eco-clubs have so far given more than 3 300 interested learners a chance to meet, learn, discuss and expand their knowledge of environmental issues. An additional 7 800 learners have participated in the initiative’s annual eco-camps, which see a Wilderness or partner camp being closed for a few days each year to host children for an immersive four-day experience. CITW additionally provides 600 school and tertiary scholarships for programme participants every year, and has trained over 1 200 community members and Wilderness staff in environmental education teaching, as eco-mentors.
The process of establishing CITW in Kenya began by training eco-mentors through comprehensive sessions held at Governors’ Camp Collection (a Wilderness brand) properties in the Masai Mara and at Loldia House on the shores of Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley.
These eco-mentors will go on to train schoolchildren through the new eco-clubs that will be formed around the lodges.
