Community Conservation and the Global Biodiversity Crisis: a Field-Based Wildlife Experience in Kenya

Course Description

Wildlife ecology is a mission-oriented, interdisciplinary science that focuses on how to protect and restore the diversity of life on Earth.  This course, with an emphasis on conservation, will explore the concepts of ecology, animal behavior, island biogeography, conservation genetics, causes of population decline and extinction, strategies for saving imperiled populations, and conservation laws and international treaties. In this course we will travel to Kenya to see classic African savanna biodiversity and observe successful conservation strategies that have community involvement at their core. 

The pre-travel portion of the course will present a variety of lab, field and digital activities to effectively introduce biodiversity concepts to students and will allow participants to design lessons that fits their needs.  All activities will utilize resources that are readily available and inexpensive, which we will use to model ecological and genetic concepts, and to engage in meaningful field studies. We will also do a field excursion in Central Vermont to discuss place-based learning concepts and to observe biodiversity and natural landscapes in the Green Mountain State.  Participants will design lesson plans that will meet their instructional needs and emphasize global citizenship and community.

The itinerary emphasizes experiencing Kenya’s natural biodiversity and protected areas and cultural resources, with an emphasis of how community involvement is critical to the conservation of biodiversity.

Cost

$4600 + $145/credit

Course Syllabus

What's Included:

Airfare

Travel insurance

Visa

Permits and fees

Meals

Shared accommodations

Ground transportation

Licensed guide as needed

Course instructors/instruction

What's Not Included:

Passport

Vaccinations

Personal items

Gratuity for guides/porters/drivers (highly encouraged)

Any other item not described above

Itinerary:

April 18-19 (evening flight from Boston), arriving late to Nairobi on April 19.

April 20: After a well-deserved night’s sleep, enjoy a late breakfast and then visit the Kenya National Museum and the East Africa Wildlife Society.

April 21: Full day wildlife viewing in Nairobi National Park and visit to the Elephant Rescue Center outside of Nairobi. 

April 22: Visit Lake Naivasha, including the raptor center and Elsamere conservation center.

Boat trip to view wildlife, including the African Fish Eagle.

April 23: Visit Maasai Mara Reserve, including Mara Nature Center. Wildlife walk to identify

animal signs and set up camera traps. Visit a local Maasai family to learn how Maasai people

are living alongside wild animals. Campfire dinner.

April 24: Continue at Maasai Mara Reserve, including drive to a Community Conservancy to

visit a ranger station to learn about the management of a protected area. Visit a lion-proof

boma project (human-wildlife conflicts) and visit the Mara Women Sewing Project.

April 25: Return to Nairobi, with multiple stops at points of interest..

April 26: Return to Boston.

About the Instructor:

Shane Heath teaches chemistry and wildlife ecology at Essex High School.  He holds a bachelor's degree in environmental biology from Dartmouth College and a master of science in wildlife ecology from the University of Maine.  Prior to becoming a teacher, he worked as an ecologist, completing fieldwork in China, India, Nigeria, and South Africa, where he lived in a tent in Kruger National Park for seven months.   He was selected as a National Geographic Grosvenor Fellow in 2019, and as part of the Grosvenor Visiting Scientist Program in 2024, conducting marine plastic research around the British Isles.  He believes in incorporating the tenets of climate sustainability, biodiversity conservation and global citizenship into his teaching.  

Course Partners: