Another Week; Another Adventure

At Pembroke House we recognise the importance of getting a balance between learning in the classroom and also out in the field. Accept, last week our ‘fields’ were actually mountains and wildlife conservancies.

Our Y4 ventured off on a much anticipated adventure to the Maasai Mara for a two-night camp. Kindly hosted by Lippa and Tarquin Wood at The Wild Hub  the children were able to enhance their studies on wildlife conservation in geography lessons, by using the rewilding of Enonkishu Conservancy as a case study. They particularly enjoyed a talk on grassland and grazing management to understand the importance of the Maasai cattle living in tandem with the local wildlife, so that they can both thrive.

In addition to game drives and the spotting of not one, but two elusive cheetah, the children were invited to walk inside the Rhino Sanctuary learning the difference between the white and black species; visited a local Maasai village to see inside a manyatta and watch some cultural dancing; planted trees in the Wild Shamba to understand the importance of offsetting our carbon footprints; beaded their own bracelets in the Mara Training Centre and visited the local Emarti primary school whose ‘Save our Savannah’ library, Pembroke House has donated a number of books.

The children were also fortunate enough to be shown The Elephant Queen film by the Mara Elephant Outreach Project, who arrived with their giant inflatable projector screen. This inspiring film has helped spread wildlife awareness to over 100,000 local children in the greater Mara area and we are immensely proud that many of the production and directing team responsible for this ground-breaking film have direct Pembroke connections.

Our Y7 children also enjoyed a challenging day hike up Mt Longonot and short walk around the crater rim of this dormant stratovolcano. Taking in the gorgeous views both inside the crater and out across Lake Naivasha the children took great pride in reaching the top, at an elevation of 2780m, after a long and steady uphill climb. Despite the tricky descent and clouds of dust, the children were buzzing and all agreed it was an excellent training hike in preparation of their Mt Kenya expedition next year.