Youngsters Contribution Towards Wildlife Conservation.

“It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men.” Fredrick Douglass

It is true that we learn and stick to the teachings most done while we were still young. When we are still young, nothing seems to block our dreams and vision. We are not afraid of failures and only believe on winning. Our souls are filled with great ideas and dreams. Our parents and surrounding communities support our big dreams but sadly fade as we grow up when we need them the most.

Years pass by and we grow up. We start experiencing failures in some of our dreams and reality start hitting us in a big negative way. At this point if your support system is not strong and supportive, the visions and dreams start dying slowly. You start caving in rather than fighting for your dreams.

We are social being and our behaviors highly affected by our surroundings. If you grow being taken to the malls for weekends , you will rarely consider activities such as hiking. Kids brought up in homes with pets will grow a connection to animals while the other kids with no pets , will not pay much attention to animals.

Gone are the days when we were wired to the idea that its only the white collar jobs that really matters for a successful life. We could be taught that only good grades were the key to success. Our passions were under siege and the community forced us to go by the way of thinking. Parent were against kids who were choosing their passions for their careers rather the fancy degrees.

Passion and talents can do enormous things that education will never manage to do. Passion and talents are within ourselves while education is something being introduced to us. Education should be used to broaden our knowledge on our various passions and talents. It should provide support to what we really love doing.

Best wildlife conservationist in the world started it while they were still young. While they were still curious about everything and it helped them learn more about it. A child will always care for something they treasure regardless of the outcome of their activities of conserving. For example, while making conservation decisions with the outside organizations, you will always come across those guys who try to compare what the wildlife and their proposed activities bring to the table in terms of revenue. Truth be told, in most cases wildlife will not always bring much . So if we don’t have individuals who understand that there’s more to conservation rather than generating revenue, our natural resources are in a big trouble.

During my attachment , i encountered such a motion and it was ugly. As the conservation area management we were against building of tarmacked road with the park to avoid wildlife killings by the speeding vehicles. Roads within the parks should not cause habitat loss or promote speeding. Unlike humans who know how to use zebra crossing  and foot bridges, wildlife don’t understand that. Conservation areas are their home and humans being the visitors should respect their space and ensure that they leave the place better than they found it. The organization across the table justified how they really needed the tarmacked road for their tracks and apparently they thought that they contributed more revenue wise. I was so angry with that guy and really wondered if he even treasured other lives. How do you justify monetary benefits over wildlife safety.

In Kenya we have a charitable non-governmental organization, Wildlife Clubs Of Kenya, that promote knowledge on wildlife and environment among the communities. The are actively lobbying for conservation action, increased tree planting, works towards combating climate change challenges, among others. They are active in primary and secondary schools. I remember them paying us visit few times during club meetings in the school. They could show us wildlife films, involve us in tree planting activities, support walks for conservation, cleaning of the environment. Personally i can attest that they contributed and are still doing the same big time to my growth in conservation.

There’s a motion underway to include conservation education into the syllabus and i really hope it succeeds. With the conservation education inclusion, we will have more conservationist who will help to save our extincting species. Our flora and fauna species needs all the help we can get.

Its my wish that together we raise a generation that respect and cherishes the nature.