Mountain Dispatches January to March 2017

We simply cannot let our forest burn.

Fires all over the western side of the mountain have been a constant battle. High winds and dry vegetation mean even a small fire spreads quickly and fiercely. Black charcoaled moorlands and forest is becoming a regular occurrence in the Reserve and Park. Ancient trees that have taken centuries to grow can burn down in hours.

We are lucky that a strong partnership between Kenya Forest Service, Rhino Ark and ourselves exists, who rally every time a smoke plume appears with manpower, rations and aerial surveillance. More focus is required on the causes of the fires, not just the symptoms. There are harsh penalties for deliberately or accidental fires within the National Park and individuals need to be held accountable. A fire management meeting will be held to assess the situation of fire breaks, firefighting equipment, and government law enforcement.

We are most grateful to those of you who sent donations via mpesa to help with fire fighting rations and fuel this quarter.

African Ascents did another superb job guiding the 11 climbers to Lenana and Nelion. Due to icy conditions, the attempt to summit Batian was abandoned. The climb was a huge success and raised over 1 million KSh for the Horse Patrol Team. Big hand to Gwili Gibbon, Jamie Manual and Julian Wright for organising the participants, training and final climb. Special thanks to Elephant Co-operation for your surprise donation which gave sponsorship efforts from the team a massive boost!

A finale fundraiser was also held at One Stop Nanyuki with a raffle, auction, carboot sale and great evening entertainment featuring the ‘The Itch’. The event drew a great crowd from the local community – all in support of the Trust. We are indebted to One Stop Nanyuki for hosting the event. Huge thanks to all the local businesses and supporters that donated prizes for the raffle and auction and everyone who came along!

Join us next year – dates set for Aberdares training weekend on the 22nd to 25th February 2018 and the Three Peak Attempt on the 5th to 7th March 2018. Please contact bsummers if you are interested in putting your name down.

A two day first aid course was held for the MKT rangers by St John’s Ambulance. The teams were taught how to recognise life-threatening situations and offer vital assistance before more help arrives. Topics covered included CPR, broken bones, burns, soft tissue injury, seizures, head injuries and bleeding.

Thank you to the Thin Green Line Foundation for providing the funding for this vital training.

Olivia Horwood raised over 430,000 KSh for the Trust in memory of her brother Jasper, winning the Jasper Horwood Trophy at the 10to4 this year. She more than doubled her initial target and has made a huge contribution to the work of the Trust. Thank you Olly for this huge effort in honour of Jasper.

Team "Over 60’s" made their own impact by raising over 800,000KSh winning the trophy for the team who raised the most sponsorship taking home the trophy for the team raising the most. The team was made up of Terry Davidson, Martin Dunford and the Trust’s Chairman Jeremy Block.

Going the extra mile to raise sponsorship for participation makes a BIG difference to the event’s total proceeds and therefore our project capacity. Many thanks to all of you who appealed to your networks for sponsorship!

Pictured left is Olivia with her friend Edith before they tackled their big race in February.

With drought conditions declared in Kenya, it was deemed fit to start our education programme with the film titled ‘Running Dry’. The film shows Mount Kenya as a vital water tower for the entire country and highlights water pressures, cycles and threats due to deforestation, pollution and the abuse of water reserves or sources. Running Dry was produced by the African Environmental Film Foundation.

The schools were given Mount Kenya environmental booklets, kindly donated by Safarilink, comic books and a calendar to boost their knowledge on the ecology of Mount Kenya as well as to teach the community on how to handle human-elephant conflict. A total of 20 schools were reached and over 4000 students. The team were assisted by George Kamau, a KWS ranger, and Edwin Kinyanjui, one of our rangers from the Joint Wildlife Protection Team.

Our Horse Patrol Team ponies had their teeth examined and cleaned once again thanks to North Kenya Vet Services and the team from Equine Dental Services from the UK. They visit Kenya once a year and provide a free service just for the the Mount Kenya Trust ponies. Thank you guys!

Batian Level Donors
The US Fish and Wildlife Service

Nelion Level Donors & Fundraising Events
CHASE Africa, Timaflor, Elephant Cooperation.
Fly540 10to4 Sponsors: Fly540

Lenana Level Donors
Hugh Sloane, Safaricom Marathon via Tusk Trust, International Tree Foundation. European Outdoor Conservation Association, Disney via the World Conservation Society, Thin Green Line Foundation

Coryndon Level Donors
Eden Wildlife Trust, The Woodcock Family, Tusk Trust
Fly 540 10to4 Sponsors: BATUK, Tropic Air

Point Piggot Level Donors & Event sponsors
International Elephant Foundation, The Rufford Foundation, BATUK.

Point Dutton Level Donors & Event Sponsors
Safarilink, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kisima Farm, Marania Farm, Ol Donyo Farm, Steve Strong, Emily Marston, Bunson Travel.

Fly540 10to4Sponsors: Kisima Farm, Borana Conservancy, Highlands Water, Farwell, Ol Donyo Farm, The Born Free Foundation (Kenya), Rift Valley Adventures, Commercial Bank of Africa, Masscor, Cunningham Safaris, Bayer, Agventure, Equinox Flowers, Shimano, Dormans, Driftwood, Bikes & Outdoor Adventures, Huduma Services, Mpala Ranch, KFC, Carlson Wagonlit Browns Cheese, Karisia Walking Safaris, Saab, Rhino Ark, MatBronze, Ngare Ndare Forest Trust, Uhuru Flowers, AMREF, Laikipia Wilderness, Laikipa Wildlife Forum, Sky Health Center, Aga Khan Hospital, Gundua Foundation, Tambuzi, Savage Wilderness, Marania Farm, Raka Cheese, Mawingu, African Ascents, Sirai, Hamptons School, Ol Pejeta, Annabel Pope.

Thanks to the following people and organisations for their assistance for Fire Fighting rations so far this year: The Mountain Club of Kenya, Maggie and Tim Hobbs, Samchi Nanyuki, Rhino Ark, Sparky and Celia Behrens, Nicola and Morten Jensen, Kenneth Adcock, Lynne Mitchell.

Congratulaions to Beth Lewis, John Mugambi and Martin Waiganjo for climbing to Point Lenana in early March and raising over 80,000 Kenya Shillings for the Horse Patrol Team!

Thank you to everyone who is visiting our tree nursery and buying seedlings at Turaco Farm.

To all our friends and supporters who took part and / or contributed to the 3 peaks climb for the horse patrol team, many many thanks. Thanks to the following people and companies who supported the One Stop fundraiser:
Rutundu Lodge, Samatian Island, JS Hardware, Solio Lodge, Ragati Conservancy, Tamarind Village, The Well Hung Butcher, Jack Wright, Ali Allport, Le Rustique, Equinox Flowers, Coffee Shack, Cookswell Jikos, Soames Restaurant, Stefanie Sarges, Mountain Oil, Banana Box, Simply Sandra, One Stop Salon, Cinnabar Green, Moranis Restaurant, Delia’s Ice Cream, Wizzy, Tamarind Restaurant, Pomdoro Pizza, The Flower Shop, Carol’s Cafe, Jutsons, Dormans.

Our partners: We wouldn’t be able to keep up the good work without our most important supporting & operational partners. These include The Kenya Wildlife Service, The Kenya Forest Service, Rhino Ark, Kisima Farm, Marania Farm, Tropic Air, Borana Conservancy, African Ascents Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and One Stop.

Thank you to Nancy Balfour, Charlie Morison, Morten Jensen, Nicola Huxley and Hilde VanLeeuwe and Gwili Gibbon for your voluntary time and assistance.

At the 10to4 there were many many volunteers but we would like to particularly thank our patron Paul Sherwen, Don and Tracy White, Clare and Charlie Hewitt-Stubbs, Llwellyn Dyer, Buzz Robertson, Martin Dyer, Charlie Dyer, Olly Keeble, Will Dyer, Milan Shah, Tom Lawrence, Delulu Upson, Florence Hole, John Mugambi, Johnsone Parkenga and the team from Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.