IC trip (after)

So as you probably deduced from my last post, I went to Coast this week for my intercultural trip.
In my last post, I wrote that i hoped I would come home inspired, and I did. We visited A Rocha, a Portuguese organisation which has turned global. Here is a quote from their website, http://www.arocha.org/ke-en:

"A Rocha Kenya currently focuses its work around Watamu, where it operates its conservation programmes out of a residential centre, Mwamba. 

Malindi District is home to some of the richest and most diverse habitats in the whole of Kenya - 10% of Kenya’s Important Bird Areas, considered internationally important for bird conservation, are found within a 30 km radius of Malindi. 

These include Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, which is the largest remnant of dry coastal forest in East Africa and considered to be one of the most important forests for bird conservation in mainland Africa. 

It also includes Mida Creek, considered one of the most productive mangrove ecosystems on earth and of international importance for some of its bird species.

Despite the richness and diversity of local habitats in this area, an exploding population and desperately high levels of poverty are putting a huge strain on the delicate relationship between the local people and the surrounding environment.

By working with the local communities, A Rocha Kenya aims to achieve the long-term conservation of threatened habitats and species in the Malindi-Watamu area."

This clearly shows A Rocha's motivation to conserve the Malindi-Watamu area and bring its fauna and flora back to their original glory.

On the trip, we visited and collaborated with A Rocha three times: the first time, on wednesday, we went out into the ocean snorkelling, after having learnt about certain types of fish, corals and algae, and the effect that humans have upon this fragile ecosystem. The second time was on thursday in the afternoon, to collect gear for the night's activities and to help set up. The last time was thursday night.
On this last time, we were capturing and tagging birds from the creek.
We worked from 8PM to 3AM, through the A Rocha team stayed up all night, and didn't stop until 6AM.

The 'head' of the operation, Andrew, was talking to us about volunteering work. He said that we could volunteer at A Rocha for a while if we wished to do so, and I was thrilled: I would love to do volunteer work for an organisation such as A Rocha, because I think that what they do is incredible and inspiring.
Hopefully, I will be able to volunteer this summer, and gain some work experience, as I am considering doing an ecology and conservation course in university.



Enough said about A Rocha. For my reflection on the trip, I'm making a video, (which will probably be used during the assembly to show the high school what you did on your trip), and I'm going to make it so that the mood is light, (fun music, happy memories etc.), but I will be putting in the photos taken while we were visiting community projects, so that the assembly can understand that though we did have a lot of fun, this trip was all about the environment and how we, as humans, are holding its future in our hands.