As part of
Kanzi Academy’s
continued efforts to take
learning outside the classroom and find new ways for
its students to interact with their unique wilderness environment, last week the
schoolchildren went for a walk in the
Chyulu Hills. Hemingway’s famed Green Hills of Africa, the
Chyulus are a volcanic range that were active as recently as the 19
th
century, but have been dormant since that time.
The drive up provided an opportunity for the students to test their
knowledge of the region’s
geography and geology, including distinguishing between ancient granite
formations and more recent volcanic ones.
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| Heading up into the Chyulus with the students of Kanzi Academy. |
The drive and walk also gave
ample opportunity to study and learn about the wildlife and botany of Kuku
Group Ranch. We saw giraffes, impalas,
elands, hartebeests, hornbills, lilac-breasted rollers, and even an elusive bushbuck! The beautiful Erythrina abyssinica, also known as the red-hot poker tree, was in its
full-blooming October glory, punctuating the green hills with dashes of
crimson.
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| The beautiful Erythrina Abyssinica tree blooms in October. |
After a break in the forest for a
spirited game of Hide-and-Go-Seek, we continued our hike through the
cloud forest, identifying trees such as the
strangler fig and discussing its parasitic
relationship with its host tree.
Finally we arrived at a bluff atop the range from which we could see for
many kilometres, all the way to the
Yatta Plateau. We returned via the forest path and drove back to
Campi ya Kanzi after a very successful morning, and we're planning to continue these educational outings in the future!
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| The students of Kanzi Academy look out from a bluff atop the Chyulus. |
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