Our team at Entamanu Ngorongoro and Nomad Guide Sammy had a fabulous weekend helping organise two ‘kids in the park’ days with local Maasai students. Together with KopeLion - our Nomad Trust partners in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, we ran a conservation safari for 12 local students and two of their teachers.
Day one in Ndutu with the first group had some outstanding game viewing, and KopeLion helped the children identify some of the lions that are tracked and monitored as part of their conservation work in the area; Nengotonte up a tree, with Noosikitok and her daughter Maagie sighted at Lake Ndutu. The students enjoyed a bush lunch after an action packed day of wildlife identification and conservation lessons.
Day two was just as exciting for the second group, exploring the Malanja depression area and spending some time with the Nomad team at Entamanu Ngorongoro. Camp manager Ben took the students on a full tour of camp, and shared his experience as camp manager and explained the type of roles you find in a safari business. KopeLion talked to the children about the importance of sustainable conservation, particularly in an environment such as theirs where human-wildlife co-existance is so important, and Nomad discussed the responsibilities of tourist companies to local communities through local employment and training opportunities. The students also had a sneaky look back of house, at the type of equipment needed to run our Crater rim camp, learning about the power facilities and water systems. Finally everyone tucked into some hot lunch prepared in camp, before heading home.
A special thanks to KopeLion for their incredible support this weekend - Ingela, Sandet, and William. And of course the Nomad team - Ben, Sammy and everyone else.