Conservation

#Guides4Conservation is the brainchild of our Secretary, Lenny Njeru, and officially adopted by SGPAK. The inspiration was initially to clean NNP on the 2nd of June 2020.

On approaching KWS, a bigger problem was highlighted, – Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive weed that is quickly threatening to colonize the park.

The weed carries allelopathic properties, which means it inhibits growth and reproduction of other competitor species, including unbalancing soil composition. Moreover, it has no natural predators as no animals or insects feed on it. The weed poses a real threat of choking out vegetation that animals feed on.

Chemical control of the weed is not an option as it does almost as much damage to the environment as the weed itself. Therefore, the best way to eradicate it is mechanically, – by physically uprooting it. That is where we stepped in, providing the much needed and passionate workforce.

The spread of the weed quickly made us realize that we had to have many more clean-up activities if we are to rid the park of this invasive weed. We have mobilized guides from across all associations who are ready to stand for our environment. We will keep doing it until the weed is eradicated.

The Nairobi National Park (NNP) is the only natural park in a city anywhere in the world, and we are very proud and blessed to have such a God-given endowment.

The park is very important to the city, because it plays an important role of purifying the air and bio-filtration of rivers that run through it. Essentially, the park is part of the city’s natural “lungs and kidneys”, protecting us from the poisons of pollution.

To the North West of the park is Ongata Rongai, where several rivers pass through before flowing through the park. There are many landlords there who spew raw sewage onto the roads that then runs into several rivers that flow through the park. We appeal to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to do their job and stop this irresponsible and dangerous activities and play their mandate of protecting our environment.

The Nairobi National Park is also an important educational resource where many students, Kenyans and even researchers learn from.

It is also an important entry point to tourism for many people, with the Animal Orphanage, Safari Walk and Park providing many with an opportunity to see wild animals for the first time. Like many of our other parks, it is a refreshing and therapeutic beauty.

As guides, we recognize that we are key custodians of Mother Nature and we need to protect her. We also need to raise awareness and teach the public on how to protect her for posterity. It is our duty. If we sit back and let invasive weed species and litter choke our environment, our animals will have no food. They will migrate out of the parks and we will have higher Human-Wildlife Conflict.

Likewise, if we make noise only on Twitter and other social media, we will not be making any difference other than being a distraction to the people who are genuinely trying to protect our environment. That is why we rolled up our sleeves and partnered with the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) to actually have a positive impact.

In our efforts, we would like to remind all park visitors to observe park rules. They are designed to protect the environment. If we all littered and drove off-road, we will be destroying our environment. Noise disturbs animals in their environment. Please take a guide to make your visit more knowledgeable and enjoyable.