AWF internship report

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE CONSERVATION
REPORT ON MY INDUSTRIAL ATTACHMENT AT AFRICAN
WILDLIFE FOUNDATION, NANYUKI, FROM 4/5/2015 –
31/08/2015
STEVE LEON RABURU
N76/2558/2012

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Host Supervisors:
Mr. Enos Omondi – Samburu landscape manager.
Mr. Eric Reson – Samburu landscape ecologist.
Mr. Evans Napwora – Samburu landscape community development officer.
University Supervisor:
Dr. Geoffrey Macharia – School of environmental studies.

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DECLARATION
Declaration by the student
I Steve Leon Raburu declare that this report is my original work and it’s all that I have been
doing during my attachment period assisted by African Wildlife Foundation staff.
Name____________________________ Sign __________________Date____________
Supervisor
Name____________________________ Sign __________________Date____________

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Lord almighty for his care, guidance and
providence from the time I commenced my attachment its culmination.
I would also like to thank my parents for allowing me the opportunity to work in a new
area miles away from home.
To the African Wildlife Foundation fraternity, special thanks for allowing me the
opportunity to be an intern in your organization during my attachment period. I would
like to specifically thank the Samburu landscape team, under the guidance of Mr. Enos
Omondi, who gave me a comfortable learning environment and exposed me to the field
work time after time. To Mr. Eric Reson, the ecologist, thank you for challenging me to
be a better resource conservationist. To the entire team in Samburu: Evans Sitati, Mary
Mwongela, David Rotich, Eliakim Osoo, Nichodemus Masila and Piranto Mosiany, may
God bless you.

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ABSTRACT
As a course requirement, each and every student in my discipline is needed to have a feel
of the ground work before graduating. On completion of the industrial attachment, one is
assessed and writes a report on the things that have been learnt and presents a copy to the
school and the firm one was attached to. This document therefore seeks to report the
successes and failures of my attachment at African wildlife foundation between the dates
4th
May, 2015 and 31st
August, 2015. The contents herein are an introduction of the firm I
was in, the structure of the organization, projects undertaken, my roles in the projects,
challenges faced and my recommendations.

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Table of Contents
Host Supervisors: ..........................................................................................................................................1
University Supervisor:...................................................................................................................................1
DECLARATION ...............................................................................................................................................2
Declaration by the student .......................................................................................................................2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...................................................................................................................................3
ABSTRACT......................................................................................................................................................4
Definition of terms........................................................................................................................................7
Chapter 1.......................................................................................................................................................8
Figure 1. A pictorial representation of areas AWF operates (countries shaded green).......................8
Chapter 2.....................................................................................................................................................11
Figure 2. An image showing the map of Samburu landscape and areas AWF operates ....................11
Construction of predator proof bomas in Isiolo .....................................................................................12
Review of the SICA report.......................................................................................................................12
Mapping of conservancies of the great Olentile.....................................................................................13
Natural resource management training .................................................................................................13
Chapter 3.....................................................................................................................................................14
Implement Wildlife and Habitat Monitoring in Samburu landscape......................................................14
Contribute to species project implementation & threat mitigation ......................................................14
Reporting and lessons learnt ..................................................................................................................14
Implementation of the predator proof bomas project in Isiolo .............................................................15
Figure 3. Boma measurement in Eremet area....................................................................................15
Figure 4. Delivery of materials to one site, Leparua...........................................................................16
Natural resource management training in Isiolo....................................................................................17
Figure 5. A training exercise in Leparua..............................................................................................18
Mapping conservancies of the greater Olentile conservation area .......................................................19
1Figure 6. The bridge between Loisaba and Nalare conservancies....................................................19
Review of the SICA report.......................................................................................................................20
Equipping of game scouts.......................................................................................................................20
Marking of wildlife corridors in the Isiolo-Merile highway.....................................................................20
Figure 7. Taking of measurements for the signboard holes. ..............................................................21
Other activities undertaken....................................................................................................................21
Skills learnt..............................................................................................................................................22

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Chapter 4.....................................................................................................................................................23
Chapter 5.....................................................................................................................................................25
Summary and conclusions ..........................................................................................................................26
References ..................................................................................................................................................27

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Definition of terms
AWF – African Wildlife Foundation.
Predator – An animal that naturally preys (attacks and eats) on another.
Fauna – scientific name for animals.
SICA – Samburu-Isiolo conservation area.
Boma – an animal enclosure likened to a cowshed.

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Chapter 1
The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), founded in 1961 as the African Wildlife
Leadership Foundation, it started as a leadership program for American students to study
conservation in Kenya’s parks. The name later changed in 1983 to African wildlife foundation
after a project to protect rhinos was initiated. AWF is an international conservation organization
that focuses on critically important landscapes in Kenya and the entire continent. It is a nonprofit
organization whose headquarters is in Nairobi, Kenya and operates within the bounds of Africa.
It also has an office in Washington DC which serves entirely as a fundraising office. The
organization’s mission is to work together with the people of Africa to ensure the wildlife and
wild lands of Africa will endure forever. The organization has over the years modelled its
programs around three objectives: empowering people, conserving wildlife and protecting land.
The organization also seeks to mitigate climate change and other synergistic effects that threaten
the achievement of their mission statement. AWF therefore works with communities with an aim
of meeting this purpose and improving livelihoods.
The areas of operation of the organization are divided into conservation areas called
landscapes. There are 30 landscapes which are areas of vast wildlife existence and do not rely on
political boundaries, rather on animal home ranges. The organization is manned from the Kenyan
office in Karen, Nairobi where the president and the country directors sit.
Figure 1. A pictorial representation of areas AWF operates (countries shaded green)

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The Nairobi office also sits the board of directors in charge of finance, species, enterprise, fleet
management and ICT. There are then other branches are in Kenya, Kinshasa, Mogadishu, North
Tanzania, South Tanzania, Kaza, Central Botswana, South west Zimbabwe, DRC, Cameroon and
Senegal. These other office branches are in the landscapes they serve.
In each landscape, activities are guided by the principles of conservation science,
conservation enterprise and community engagement. The landscapes therefore have in each: a
Landscape manager, a finance officer, an ecologist, an enterprise officer and a community
engagement officer and drivers not forgetting the supporting staff contracted to undertake
security and cleaning roles. All the landscapes through the landscape managers report to the
country directors headquarters.
With conservation science being the key concern, AWF uses conservation enterprise,
African conservation schools, African wildlife conservation, land and habitat conservation and
climate change mitigation. The core activities carried out by the organization across landscapes
are under the guidelines of:
i. Species conservation.
ii. Land and habitat conservation.
iii. Conservation enterprise.
iv. Capacity building and leadership development.
v. Policy and advocacy.
African wildlife foundation seeks to conserve species in situ in order to realize a balance in
nature to ensure sustainability. Despite the urge to conserve all available species, AWF also has
conservation target species (also known as keystone species) that it directly or indirectly support,
through species conservation grants to partners, due to their threat to extinction. For instance, in
Kenya they are: the African elephant, rhinos, reticulated giraffe, lions, Grevy’s zebra, cheetahs
and wild dogs. In other landscapes like the Congo basin we have entries such as the
Chimpanzees and gorillas, in Ethiopia we have the Ethiopian Wolf among others. The
conservation of these species may be through: offering grants to organizations that work to
research and protect the animals, conducting census among other activities.
Land is an important resource both for livelihoods and for the wild life to exist. It is due
to this that AWF seeks to support land and habitat creation. For there to exist a habitat, there has
to be a resource. The organization therefore through partnerships supports fresh and salty water
conservation activities. Though not a direct habitat to the wildlife AWF supports, water is
essential for the survival of all species. Activities, such as: recession, gabion construction and
tree planting, for erosion control are highly conducted and welcome by the organization.
Creation of conservation areas such as conservancies in animal habitats has been facilitated and
is encouraged by the organization to achieve successfully land and habitat conservation.
To successfully achieve the conservation goals it is necessary to empower the livelihoods
of those who depend on the wild lands for their daily survival. This is why AWF has laid within
its pillars, conservation enterprise. The whole idea behind this is value addition to the
conservation so as to facilitate the acceptability of the concept by the natives who live and
coexist with the wildlife.
Capacity building is also an integral part of the conservation process. It seeks to equip the
key players in the conservation world on their roles and responsibilities towards a common goal,
conservation. This is done through trainings organized for various target groups. Leadership

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development is done by the organization through offering conservation management training
program that seeks to raise conservation leaders.
Lastly, policy and advocacy is done through partnership with the stakeholders who take
part in the law making process. The policies developed are also made known to the people
through trainings so as to avoid incrimination of ignorant parties.
To achieve all these, I have seen AWF accomplishing, in Samburu landscape, functions such as:
 Supporting communities in the establishment of conservancies.
 Offering species protection grants to conservancies.
 Creation of partnerships to facilitate stakeholders’ unity in achieving conservation goals.
Here they work with governments and other NGOs in the landscapes.
 Create and update database on wild animal. This includes collection of human-wildlife
conflict data, conducting of census of the large mammals and carnivores at various
seasons.
 Support and conduct capacity building training in various disciplines of relevance.
 Create modules and models for conservancies to enhance effective strategic management.
 Conducting and supporting capacity building workshops.

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Chapter 2
In this chapter, I will discuss the department I have been attached to and how it operates.
In my internship at AWF, I was posted to the Samburu landscape. The landscape stretches across
the counties of Samburu, Laikipia and Isiolo. The landscape has been in existence for the past 15
years. The landscape office is currently located in Nanyuki, Kenya, along cottage hospital road.
The landscape is endowed with a lot of wildlife most of which are outside protected areas, in the
community land.
Figure 2. An image showing the map of Samburu landscape and areas AWF operates
Being an Environmental Resource Conservation student, I was positioned in the
conservation science department. The department basically focuses on the ecological aspect of
conservation looking at species diversity, human wildlife conflicts, mapping of natural resources
and capacity building among others.

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During my term as an intern, we had several projects running and they include:
 Construction of predator proof bomas in Isiolo.
 Review of the SICA report.
 Mapping of conservancies of the great Olentile.
 Natural resource management training.
Construction of predator proof bomas in Isiolo
Isiolo area has a lot of wild animals and the largest population of the endemic species in
Kenya. Most of the endemic species to northern Kenya found here are on the verge of extinction.
These include: Grevy’s Zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali Ostrich, Oryx and the gerenuk. Apart
from these, we have the hyenas and the wild dogs that are great predators and a big threat to
livelihoods of the natives which is pastoralism. This project therefore seeks to ease the Human-
wildlife conflict that emerges when predators threaten the livelihoods. A boma is an animal
enclosure that can be likened to a cowshed though in this case used for sheep and goats. This
project is modelled in such a way that we first identify high predator affected areas in the
community, then, with the help of community single out the most vulnerable individuals who
then contribute 30% of the overall cost of establishing a boma.
The bomas in question are different from the traditional bomas in that it uses chain links
of 6ft in height as the fence around the animals as opposed to the traditional live hedges. The
bomas are built to meet conservation standards in that, the posts used are pure molded plastic
posts as opposed to using wooden posts. Secondly, the door to the boma is flattened metallic
drums used to ferry oil and tar which would ideally be thrown away. The hinges to the doors are
reused rubber from motor vehicle tires. When the boma is erect, there is minimal conflict as the
predators can no longer access the flock hence no need for retaliation by locals. The few bomas
that are erected act as an enlightenment to the other community members who are well able to
foot the total cost of construction.
Review of the SICA report
The SICA report is a report on Samburu-Isiolo conservation area. Samburu and Isiolo
though very different geographical locations, they depend on each other for ecological support.
Anything that happens in Samburu greatly affects Isiolo and the reverse is true. It is with respect
to this that the area was consolidated in to a block conservation area and research done on it.
The original report was drafted in the year 2012 after research and consultations. The report
contains the maps of the parks and conservancies, the important conservation areas to be
considered, key attraction sites and the management plans for conserving the area.
In a quest to implement this report, it led to the birth of many conservancies in Samburu
County with a few in Isiolo county. Due to the follow up done by the Samburu County
government on the report, there has been the growth of Community forest associations, River
Water user’s associations, bee keepers associations and grazing committees among others.

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Review of land leases was top on the list of recommendations for better management.
The target area in the review of the leases was Isiolo County since they are lagging behind in the
implementation process. The project seeks to review the land use policy that will realize the
ownership of land by communities other than the now trust land. This will help solve
management issues that have occurred as outsiders exploit resources with the claim of the area
being a trust land open for all.
Mapping of conservancies of the great Olentile
As earlier mentioned, most of the wildlife in the landscape are in the community land
away from protected areas. This therefore leaves the animals vulnerable to extinction as they can
easily be killed. Therefore, AWF has since been spearheading talk and facilitating the
establishment of conservancies in Oldonyiro area. The move has since been welcomed by the
locals in Samburu over the years and many operational conservancies are already in place. The
umbrella name for the conservation area has been the greater Olentile conservancy area.
Following this, the documentation process requires mapping out of the conservation
according to the boundaries set by the communities. So far most of the conservancies have been
mapped and remapped when boundaries are changed. Most of the conservancies bring about
development to the communities through livelihood projects, bursaries, hospitals among others
from dividends. This has led to the increasing positive attitude towards wildlife in the area.
Natural resource management training
Natural resources vary in complexity of nature both physical and chemical thus the
variation in the value tagged on them. The expanse towards Northern Kenya is endowed with
resources, just as the other parts of Kenya, as opposed to the stereotypes that have always existed
about the northern frontier. Of great importance is land that has over time faced a lot of depletion
as a result of the bareness caused by extreme droughts and overgrazing. During rainy seasons,
the same soil is washed away leading to deep gulley formations. Water is also a scarce resource
in the region and in many cases it has led to war between communities and also fights with the
local and national government agencies, as residents trespass parks and protected areas. A very
important and unique resource in this area is the wildlife and its abundance.
Due to all these factors, there was need to train the communities on how to manage their
resources to enjoy the full benefits. The programme was a one week activity that saw us move
from village to village training youth on good management practices in water, soil and animal
management. The capacity building also focused on the new wildlife act as part of empowering
the citizen of the new policies in place. This would save them trouble with the law enforcers.

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Chapter 3
On successfully securing an internship opportunity with the African wildlife foundation, I
signed my offer letter and got ready to work. My work period was 4th
May, 2015 – 31st
August,
2015. My objectives of the internship I was getting into were:
 To build my capacity on the practical aspect of my course work.
 To develop good work practices such as punctuality and corporate relations.
 To put my scholarly theory into practice.
 To assess whether I still want to pursue my discipline or shift to something else.
As an intern at the African wildlife foundation, I had, outlined to me, the following roles:
Implement Wildlife and Habitat Monitoring in Samburu landscape
In the Samburu landscape, the African wildlife foundation has community scouts who collect
data on a day to day basis. Top on my list was to Update the database for ecological data on
Human-Wildlife Conflict, Predator proof bomas & weather data Collected for the past nine
months (August 2014 – May 2015) prior to my appointment. The data existed in handwritten
data sheets and I successfully changed them to electronic form.
To add on the past data, I was also to collect, clean and manage wildlife and habitat data
gathered by scouts during my stay, ready for Analysis. Similarly, I compiled data on wildlife
habitat and conflicts from annual reports brought forth by conservancies.
Contribute to species project implementation & threat mitigation
To support and effectively deliver this role, I was to work with community scouts to
oversee their operations, reporting and appraising their performance. This took the dimensions of
working on a one on one basis with them to obtain clarity on data, receive calls on fresh predator
attacks as they occur and also path workable ways forward.
In addition to the threat mitigation, I also participated in the trainings and capacity building
of Conservation Areas and other key areas. By participation, I attended and also facilitated
trainings.
Reporting and lessons learnt
In my term as an intern at the African wildlife foundation, I was attached to the predator
proof boma project that had a number of activities engraved within its implementation. I was
therefore required to provide regular progress reports to the line supervisor in timely manner
which was after every activity was completed. In addition to the progress reports, I was to also
provide a final report of the whole projects I undertook.
Lastly, I was to conduct any other duties as assigned to me by the programme manager.
During my whole stay I managed to participate in many programs related to my roles. They
include:
 Implementation of the predator proof bomas project in Isiolo.

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 Natural resource trainings in Isiolo.
 Mapping out conservancies in Oldonyiro.
 Review of the SICA report.
 Equipping of game scouts.
 Marking out wildlife corridors on the Isiolo-Merile part of the trans-African highway.
My activities in the organization varied with the program I was undertaking and they are as
listed under program topics below:
Implementation of the predator proof bomas project in Isiolo
The predator proof project like any other project had its phases and I was privileged to attend all
the initial stages of the project. Under the need identification phase of the project cycle, we held
meetings with the target community leaders. As an outcome of the meetings, the communities
agreed to embrace the project. During the meetings, I took time to familiarize with the scouts on
the ground as I was to derive useful information from them during the project’s lifespan.
In the initial stage, my role was to convene meetings with the Isiolo game scouts to collect data
on the number of people who needed the predator proof bomas. I was also responsible, with the
help of the landscape manager, for cleaning the data provided to me to narrow down on a
workable number of people to provide bomas to. This included developing criteria of elimination
and inclusion of names to the project.
After this process of selecting names was over, I participated in the budget creation. The initial
step was to take measurements of the boma sizes as suitable to the beneficiaries. This saw me
take up the role of data collection with the help of the respective scouts as I would measure the
radii of the boma sites one by one. After this exercise was over, I compiled the data and we
worked out a formula in excel spreadsheets to come up with the cost of construction of the
individual bomas. Figure 1 shows part of the boma measuring exercise in a location, Eremet.
Figure 3. Boma measurement in Eremet area

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After this exercise was over, procurement of the materials to be used was done with the help of
the finance department. Since the project was 30% co-funded by the community, we facilitated
the formation of committees that would oversee the collection and utilization of the community
money. The committee was also to plan on how the work would be carried out and how to pay
the casuals.
When the materials arrived, the role of delivering them to the respective sites was accorded to
the ecologist and myself. The first materials to be delivered to the sites in Isiolo were chain-link
wires and metallic doors to the bomas.
Figure 4. Delivery of materials to one site, Leparua
The whole project implementation process was however delayed by the irregularities brought
about by low quality posts that were supplied. This led to the return of the posts to the factory for
better quality poles to be manufactured. This irregularity has delayed the whole project
implementation phase by two months.
The challenges faced in this project has been
- Failure by most game scouts to deliver the required data in time really slowed down the
project’s activity schedule. The main reason to this as given by the scouts was that the
area of operation was vast and that they Lacked airtime to communicate with their
community members in far off places.
- Inaccurate data was often provided. Here, we had different names belonging to one
individual in the same datasheet especially in Eremet area. Still on the same, I had names
of people who did not meet the criteria being put down in the list. In addition to that, I
had inaccurate figures given to me from the field. An example can be that of Eremet area
whereby we had 36 bomas that were incomplete while the report from the head office
only indicated 15 incomplete bomas.

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- Absenteeism of homestead heads during the measurement of bomas. This was tackled by
leaving a message and following up the next day. In extreme cases, if totally unavailable,
we did an estimate on their behalf,
- Drunk homestead heads especially two cases in Leparua. Here the home owners
instructed us to take measurements on their behalf.
- Conflict of interests as the scouts wished we construct bomas for everybody while it is
humanly impossible to do that. This was tackled by visiting bomas that actually meet the
criteria set.
Following the challenges faced, I recommend that:
- The villagers be given a capacity building training on how to acquire the materials and
effectively set up the bomas. This will help the rest of the villagers to build their bomas to
mitigate predation.
- When the posts arrive the project should be commenced to avoid mistrust by the
community.
- The concept of the project should be shared out to other people who live in areas with
wild animals to help mitigate human-wildlife conflict.
Natural resource management training in Isiolo
In a bid to enhance the effectiveness of mitigating human-wildlife conflict in Isiolo, we
set out to train them on Natural resource management after attending a four day training with the
KWS rangers in Nanyuki. This was a capacity building training aimed at raising their awareness
on the importance of the resources they have, putting much emphasis on wildlife, which is at
stake.
The specific objectives of this community level training was:
- To secure the dispersal areas and corridors within the ecosystem and maintain extra-
ecosystem linkages through networking & communication
- To monitor wildlife populations and curb poaching in Isiolo by noting the reporting links
available
- To ensure that tourism and other associated activities do not degrade the natural resource
base in the area
- To minimize human wildlife conflict by being vigilant amongst and within ourselves
During the training, my role was to train the local facilitators on what to impart upon the
community members being trained. In addition to this, I also answered their questions thus
improved their knowledge on how to answer similar questions as asked by the community
members. After the trainings were over in the various stations, I could also move with the other

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AWF officers to the groups and answer questions the facilitators could not fully answer. Lastly
after t5his, I was also responsible for giving out allowances to the participants in the stations I
was in at the end of the training.
Figure 5 shows a session I was training the local facilitators in Leparua.
Figure 5. A training exercise in Leparua
The challenges faced in this exercise include:
- Tribal clashes. In most villages, there was tension especially after a tribal clash that had
occurred a week earlier in Atan. This derailed the training process since the purpose wasn’t
fully achieved. We had intended to train entirely young people but due to the events, we
ended up training a mixture of the young and the old. The seeds sown upon the elderly and
the young who were present we hope will also reach the majority who were out in the
battlefield.
- There is also poor understanding of the laws of the land. The constitution of Kenya is not
well understood in the area and particularly the wildlife act. Majority of the villagers did
not really understand what is required of them by the constitution therefore they ended up
being oppressed by the law rather than being liberated
- In most cases no awareness concerning laws and policies. Whereas some people had heard
rumors concerning the constitution and what is required of them, majority of them did not
have a clue of vital issues addressed in the constitution. Most did not see the value of the

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wildlife as they lacked proper emancipation on the compensation act and the procedures to
be followed.
- Time wastage by community members as it took majority of the trainees a long time just
to settle in for the meetings. In most cases it was triggered by poor planning by the village
scouts.
The recommendation for this programme is that there needs to be more forums to articulate
matters affecting the communities and also emancipate them on their mandate.
Mapping conservancies of the greater Olentile conservation area
The greater Olentile conservation area consists of many conservancies that are in close
proximity. The activity we undertook was mapping of some blocks that were remaining. The
conservancies that have been mapped during my stay include Lemorijo, Naramat and Nalare
conservancies. My role in the whole exercise was to walk round the conservancies, guided by a
villager, to map the boundary of the conservancies. To add on this, I also marked important
attraction sites and ecological hotspots.
1Figure 6. The bridge between Loisaba and Nalare conservancies
The main challenge faced in this exercise was the time spent in looking for the community
guides as there is no network coverage in Oldonyiro. Some guides were also unarmed.
I recommend that the guides should be contacted in advance.

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Review of the SICA report
The SICA report review process is still underway as it is a very involving and lengthy procedure.
However, during my term at the AWF offices here in Nanyuki, I played a role in this review
process by attending stakeholder meetings to invite the involved parties on board. This saw me
attend meetings with the Isiolo County ministry of tourism and the KWS senior wardens.
The process is still underway.
The challenges faced in the stakeholder involvement process is the slow response of the Isiolo
county government officials.
Equipping of game scouts
The African Wildlife foundation supports game scouts and among the support they give is
provision of uniforms, radios, mattresses and beddings among others. The role I played in this
process was to sort out uniforms in their respective locations, travel to the locations and
distribute them to the scouts. Another role I played was register complaints from the scouts on
the uniforms and report the same to the office. In Isiolo, we conducted trainings on new
software, Cyber tracker, which is to be used by the scouts to digitally collect data. In addition to
this I also went to Maralal to oversee the programing of the radio call devices and learn their use.
Challenges faced include:
- Inaccessibility of scouts due to poor or no network reception.
- Time wastage due to long procedures followed to get things done, especially when
dealing with the governments.
Recommendations
I highly recommend, though costly, the use of radio calls for communication in the remote areas.
Marking of wildlife corridors in the Isiolo-Merile highway
The opening of the trans-African highway has been of great help to the Northern frontier as it has
opened up the region. However, with development comes challenges and with this road, wildlife
existence is threatened. The area between Ngaremara and Archer’s post is dominated by vast
wildlife and often do they cross the road at night. Therefore, AWF saw it fit to erect signboards
to warn drivers of the wildlife crossing the area.
In the whole process, I played a role in:
- Locating the points allocated to us by the Kenya national Highway authority by use of a
GPS.
- Taking measurements of the sizes of the holes as emailed.
- Identifying youth to dig holes for the signboards.

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- Facilitating the smooth running of work by ensuring there was water, cement and sand.
Figure 7. Taking of measurements for the signboard holes.
Challenges faced include:
- A typing error in the coordinates of one point made it difficult to access the point.
Recommendations
- Speed bumps, though expensive, should be placed in the areas the wildlife are crossing to
increase efficiency.
Other activities undertaken
Apart from the major programme activities I took part in, I also did the following:
- Attending the KWS training on the new wildlife act.
- Assist in accounting of money allocated after an activity is over.
- Do basic analysis of the data I have been collecting.
- Write reports on activities once completed.
- Write minutes in staff meetings.
- Review reports and other documents sent to me by my colleagues.

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Skills learnt
During my internship at AWF, I have developed various skills in the following areas:
- Data collection from the ground through: filling in of questionnaires, focused group
discussions, taking measurements and direct observation.
- Data entry into excel spread sheets.
- Data analysis through excel.
- Report writing.
- Minute writing.
- Effective use of GPS devices: in mapping, locating a place, tracking last way points and
for ground-truthing.
- Basic accounting by use of receipts and signing sheets.
- Good office relations.
- Communicating with communities.
- How to survive in harsh climate areas (arid areas).

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Chapter 4
The university training I have received for the past three academic years has been very
vital for undertaking my practicum. This has been evident both in the academic and non-
academic training the campus has offered me. In this chapter I seek to elaborate on how each
training I have got from my experience in class and out of class in the university experience
has shaped the success of my attachment.
The organization with which I am attached to deals primarily with wildlife as the name
suggests. Therefore, the first discipline that comes to mind is on the wildlife and rangelands
resources that was offered to me in my second year. Sampling techniques, how to curb
human-wildlife conflicts among other topics have been addressed in my practicum on a
logical point of view thus complimenting the theory learnt in class.
Likewise, I have really benefited on units such as soil science, earth science, community
development, hydrology, climatology, agroclimatology and many more. The list is basically
inexhaustible. The discipline learnt in community development has really helped me to
understand the dynamics of dealing with the community as that is part of what I majorly did.
The decision making process and the roles of community really stood out even as we
implemented projects. Likewise, the organization is operates on majorly on projects that have
several programmes. The field of project management really applied in the understanding of
the steps we undertook in the project I was attached to. When looking at soil science and
earth science, the two disciplines helped me to understand the landscape I was working with.
They helped answer questions such as: why is there no water, why is the soil heavily eroded
and the measures that are being taken.
Another discipline that has really proven helpful to the whole internship period has been
the whole use and application of remote sensing, GIS and a unit we did on Natural resource
mapping and cartography. By the help of these three disciplines, I have been able to
understand how to operate GPS machines while working at the field to map conservancies
and also given tasks to locate certain places using a GPS. Culture and conservation has also
played a major role in my understanding of how to handle the communities around. It is
evident that the survival of wildlife in this region is threatened by the vast populations of
livestock, which are a treasured possession in the culture of people in this region. You cannot
address conservation without touching on the livelihoods upon which the communities here
depend upon.
My university module has also emphasized the issue of climate change, its effects,
mitigation measures and threats. This has been evident and it is difficult to segregate climate
change from the whole conservation talks. Notable has been the human-human and the
human-wildlife conflicts that have been experienced in the areas I have worked. Most of the
conflicts spring from the effects of climate change. Such causes include insufficient water,
crop cover loss hence aridity, death of animals as a result of drought and wildlife predating
on livestock due to the lack of food in their habitat.

24
When it comes to the non-academic training that the university has offered me, much has
to be said about it too. Class presentations of assignments has gone a long way to boost stage
presence and also confidence. The frequent asking of questions is typical in the field too and
the ability to think fast comes in handy when answering the community people’s questions.
Not to forget, the confidence gained from the class presentations also applies in the field, this
also comes with audibility and proper articulation of words and ideas.
The habit of being punctual for school programmes such as lectures has helped me to be
in the office in good time following the timelines given to me. In addition to that,
assignments that come with deadlines in school prompt one to be organized. The same
organization skills have always helped me clear my work in good time hence no friction with
superiors.
The university offers one a chance to be alone, away from parents, with strangers and live
an independent life. I got my internship in Nanyuki, a far off town from home, but due to the
university experience, I have been able to live on my own and plan my activities in line with
a workable schedule.
The much that university has taught me has been very helpful in my accomplishment of
tasks in my place of internship and also in life. There are however experiences that are
different in the place of work but they all relate in one way or another to a similar discipline
in the campus.

25
Chapter 5
As I wind up on my report, there are several things that I have noted over time during my
internship that may have been challenging and also encouraging. First, I would like to list out
some of the things I would recommend for my university training, they are:
- In as much as the theory aspect is fully covered, emphasis should also be put on the
practical aspect of the course work so as to give students an easy time in the field and
work environment as a whole.
- Conducting my industrial attachment has been a great experience and I would
therefore like to commend the University for this Opportunity and encourage the
same for my predecessors in any field of study.
As for African wildlife foundation, I admire your system and mode of operation as I have learnt
a lot about the operation of NGOs. For the loopholes that are still there I would like to
recommend that:
- Planning in advance has always been a good virtue, however, not all things always fall in
line with the plans that have been laid down. The organization could therefore consider
decentralizing a considerable portion of financial resources to the landscape level as this
would really help in the running of activities in good time.
- The good work that is being done on the ground should continue until the whole mission
of ensuring continuity of wildlife and wild lands is achieved.
- The organization should continue in the team work I have seen in my landscape, hoping
that it is a representation of all landscapes.

26
Summary and conclusions
My internship at AWF has been a fruitful one as it has opened my eyes to a whole new
dimension of challenges and opportunities in conservation. I have learnt how to handle wildlife
resources, which is a discipline that rarely gets much recognition in my classwork especially on
matters involving Fauna. The internship has also taught me life skills that will be vital in my
future endeavours.
AWF as an organization is on track and they should keep on keeping on in the fight to conserve
our wildlife and wild lands. With the much that I have seen the organization do, I would like to
commend them to continue doing the same and more in Kenya and other countries as the positive
impact is immense in the communities.
To Kenyatta University, I appreciate the diverse learning experience you have offered me,
transformed my brain into a think tank. The learning experience I have gained has gone a long
way to give me a universal view towards life. Thank you for allowing me the growth to think
globally and act locally to address issues.

27
References
AWF official website, www.awf.org
AWF Samburu staff members.

AWF internship report

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