Help a Local Conservationist in Africa

Conservation is more than saving a species or a habitat. Conservation, at a meta-level, places people in stewardship of the planet and its inventory. Some of the most amazing places and their inhabitants are located in some of the poorest nations or communities. So when the passionate bloggers at 10000 Birds formed a partnership with the National Museum of Kenya to support the conservation work of Dominic Kamau Kimani, we at Deep Sea News asked how can we help?

We recognize that our readership, you guys, come from all walks of life but are unified by your love and appreciation of the natural world like Craig, Peter and myself. You are passionate about science, weighing in on our posts on new research. You are passionate about the ocean, our discussions on about ocean conservation are often the most heavily commented. You are also passionate about science education, helping us fund several DonorsChoose projects and bringing the majesty of the oceans to children’s classrooms where they would otherwise have little access to learning about the planet’s largest ecosystem. In fact, your philanthropy, enthusiasm and passion are what keep us going here. We couldn’t thank you enough.

We believe in this project not just because it will contribute to understanding the decline of an important bird and hopefully result in bring this beautiful animal back from the throes of extinction, but because this work will support a local villager who answer the call to stewardship of his local piece of the Earth. His is an amazing story, as are many others. We are asking of you to “chip in” a little to help him out. $2000 is all he needs to complete a comprehensive survey of suitable habitat for the Sharpe’s Longclaw and develop a conservation and education program about the Longclaw and to implement it at local schools. We are challenging our readers to chip in for this project. Even ONE DOLLAR helps! Two thousand dollars is chump change for us in the western world, but goes far in Kenya. Please read the links in the post to learn more about Dominic, the project, the role of the bloggers at 10000 Birds, and the partnership with the National Museum of Kenya. Let this amazing opportunity set a precedent where blogs can do good and raise the funds for important conservation work. Dominic is an interesting person in and of himself, as Charlie explains:

“The “Small African Fellowship for Conservation” has been set up to fund the work of Dominic Kamau Kimani, a twenty-six year-old from North Kinangop Murungaru village. Dominic began birding when he was just ten and his interest has deepened steadily since then.

Given that he was born and lives in a small countryside village in Kenya, has not had a chance to attend good schools, and has no permanent job, Dominic has already achieved a remarkable amount – including acting as a volunteer Environmental Education officer for the Friends of Kinangop Plateau (FOKP), conducting ornithological research under the supervision of Dr. David Harper (University of Leicester) as a field instructor for the Earthwatch International Lakes of the Rift Valley Project, undertaking a Certificate course on Global Ecology and Wildlife management through distance learning, shadowing Tim Appleton at Rutland Water in the UK, and spending a week at BirdLife International’s Cambridge headquarters! (Next time I hear some deadbeat here in the UK moaning how hard it is ‘to get anything done’ I’m going to point them towards this post). I feel honoured to be trying to help such a hard-working and dedicated man who already has shown such incredible determination…”