Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Green Spaces in Nairobi

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City Park, The future.
It is certain that there are fewer and drastically hard to find areas where one can sit quietly and simply listen to the birds sing, walk barefoot in the grass or simply lie under the shade of a tree and take a nap. Communing with nature is becoming a luxury fewer and fewer people can experience, especially for the vast populations of people now crammed in cities. As our cities expand and we build taller buildings, wider roads, pillage the land for fuel and cut into nature to accomodate our unsustainable growth, we are losing touch with nature. Although there are some green spaces still left, they exist because the champions amongst us dared to fight for the land and hence our survival.

Nairobi is very lucky in this regard. We have spaces that are open to the public that allow nature to survive despite our efforts to desicate it in the name of progress. The following are 5 Green spaces that you can enjoy when in Nairobi.

City Park
City Park is located in Parklands across from Aga Khan Hospital. This Park was established in 1921 as a zoological garden on a 91 hectare area, and formally declared a public park in 1925. Despite all efforts by conservationists to protect it, over a third of its area was lost to grabbers and now it is about 60 hectares large. It contains a magnificent sculpture garden whose pieces include the Bird of Peace by Elkana Ongesa, at the Murumbi Memorial Park; a public cemetery that is also the burial place of Pio Gama Pinto, a Journalist and Politician who actively participated in Kenya’s struggle for independence, only to be assassinated in 1965.

Click here to learn more about this zoological garden.


Jevanjee Gardens
Jevanjee Gardens

Jevanjee Gardens was donated to the residents of Nairobi in 1906 by Alibhai Mullah Jeevanjee, this 5 acre recreational park is one of few green spaces gracing Nairobi's CBD. Jeevanjee Gardens is bounded by Moi Avenue, Monrovia Street, Muindi Mbingu Street and Moktar Daddah Street towards the northern end of the city centre. It is centrally located, and easily accessible to residents from all corners of the city. It is free and open to the public and is a serene space featuring beautiful gardens and trees providing a welcome shade from the tropical sun. It is also conveniently dotted with artistic benches, and sculptures making it an ideal picnic spot.

Click here to learn more about this serene garden.


Nairobi Arboretum
Nairobi Arboretum 

Nairobi Arboretum was established in 1907 by Mr. Batiscombe, then Deputy Conservator of Forests, to try out introduced forestry trees for Kenya. It was gazetted as a national reserve in 1932 and in 1996 a title deed issued by Commissioner of land designating it as a public owned reserve.

The Arboretum occupies 30 hectares and holds over 350 tree species; it is home to over 100 species of resident and migrant birds, a multitude of insects, reptiles and small mammals; notably the playful Vervet and Sykes monkeys. The Arboretum is situated 3km from the city centre along State House Road and is open for free to the public. 


Uhuru Park
Uhuru Park

Uhuru Park is the heart of Nairobi's Central Business District. It is a 12.9 hectare green reserve bounded by Ngong road (North) Haillesellasie Avenue (South) Uhuru Highway (East) and Nyerere road (West). It was opened to the general public by the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta on 23 May 1969. It contains an artificial lake, several national monuments and an assembly ground that caters to all, from skateboarders and bird watchers, to political and religious gatherings. It has remained untouched due to the remarkable efforts of Wangari Maathai, founder of the Green Belt Movement. It is free and open to the public but do prepare to pay for boat rides.

Click here to learn more about the Soul of Nairobi.

Karura Forest
Karura Forest

Karura Forest Reserve is an urban upland forest on the outskirts of Nairobi that is bounded by Kiambu and Limuru Road. It is a geographical wonderland that boasts one of the largest gazetted forests in the world within city limits. It covers an area of about 1,000 ha and features a 50-foot waterfall, archaeological sites, marshlands that attract bird life including winter migrants from Europe and Asia, caves, serene groves of secondary and primary indigenous trees to name but a few. It also boasts wonderful biking and running trails and has become a favorite venue for many outdoor events.

The forest is a legacy of Professor Wangari Maathai (late founder of the Green Belt Movement and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) because she saved the forest from developers who tried to grab large portions of the north of the central section of the forest.

Karura charges fees at the entrance that go towards forest security, improvement and maintenance.

Click here to learn more about this forest wonderland.

Go forth and commune with nature and let us know your where your favorite green spaces are.

"If you want to lie under a shade in your old age, plant a tree now." - African proverb.

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Waste Management: Nairobi's Indifference Hurts!

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STUDY RESULTS: NAIROBI RESIDENTS RELATIONSHIP AND PERCEPTION OF WASTE AND WASTE MANAGEMENT
By Christine M. Mahihu


How Green Are African Cities?
January 27, 2013.

It is no secret we have a waste management issues in our beloved capital city. Management issues at the City Council, now the County Council, the institution constitutionally responsible for waste collection and disposal, has contributed greatly to the sorry state of waste management in the City. However, what role do we as Nairobi citizens play? The purpose of this study was to help understand people’s perception of waste and it’s management.

The study was conducted to gauge how well informed Nairobi residents are on matters of waste management and also their attitudes towards waste. It has become very common to see piles of trash all over the city and when we receive heavy rains, streets flood making them impassable and traffic a nightmare. During the rainy season last year, the brand new Thika highway flooded after a spate of heavy rains. Social media was awash with complaints towards the Chinese construction company that won the tender to build the highway. A few however, wondered if it was drivers and pedestrians habit of throwing trash on the road that was the cause

“In this case, we must acknowledge our own responsibility for our flooded roads and leave the Chinese out of it. We cannot live first-class lives without developing first-class habits!” (Atwoli, 2013)

It is events like these that led us to carry out a mini study on Nairobi citizen’s perceptions of waste.

How many of us take responsibility for the waste suffocating our city? If not ourselves, who then do we point fingers at? According to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), only 40% of total generated waste in urban centers reaches designated dumping areas. More than half (61%) of waste is generated by residents while 20% is from industries; meaning we the residents are responsible for the bulk of waste generated in Nairobi. It is estimated that by 2020, the waste generated in Nairobi daily will be approximately 5400 tones from the current 2,500 to 3,000 tons per day. If not dealt with adequately now, the issue is bound to get worse in the future.


How long does it take to biodegrade?
Summary of Results

From the findings it was clear the sampled city residents are fairly knowledgeable on issues related to waste management, however, less than 50% had knowledge on recycling of waste materials. There was little concern and or knowledge of where our waste goes among responders; only 36% indicated they knew where their waste ends up. Majority of the responders, regardless of their knowledge of where waste goes, said Dandora was the final destination. This is despite the fact it was declared full 13 years ago and is a health and environmental hazard, especially to those who live around it.

While most of our respondents agreed that everyone is responsible for waste generation, 88% placed waste management responsibility on the County Council, formerly City Council of Nairobi, and only a few took personal responsibility . Apart from blaming the whole system set up (public structures that deal with waste management), people also viewed culture and ignorance as a cause of Nairobi’s poor waste management. When it came to consequences of waste mismanagement, health was cited as the greatest concern among survey respondents as well as pollution and aesthetics. Perceptions of waste management differed slightly among age groups and economic class levels; older responders seemed more awareness while residents from low income areas took more responsibility.

Although this study was not fully representative, it gave a glimpse of how residents of Nairobi relate to waste. From the results, we recommend creating awareness on the waste disposal cycle and its benefits, especially among the youth. More encouragement of private sector and community based organizations to participate in waste management is also highly recommended. Exploring and expanding job creation opportunities in this field will go a long way in dealing with proper disposal and recycling of waste.


Waste Cycle

Education, especially in Primary schools, would also encourage participation in waste management so as to encourage early responsible behavior and active engagement with key players. We all need to be involved in the collection, disposal and recycling of our waste as this will also go a long way in keeping the institutions involved on their toes.

Regardless of all steps taken to deal with waste in the city, the biggest impact will be felt when residents take more responsibility in managing their own waste and demanding waste be disposed of in an effective, responsible way that protects the health of both the environment and the people that depend on it.

**Stay tuned for the full report to be published at a later date.

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Food Security: Are Our Diets Sustainable?

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REPORT FROM FOOD SECURITY AND ADAPTATION CONFERENCE 2013 AT UNITED NATIONS GIGIRI.
By Phena Nyamulu.



August 26th, 2013.

SPEAKERS

● Mr. Mounkalia Goumanadakoye, the Regional Director and 

Representative, UNEP Regional Office for Africa.

● Mr. Modibo Traore, FAO Representative to the AU and UNECA.

● Dr. Tony Simons, Director General World Agro forestry Centre 

(ICRAF).

INTRODUCTION

Africa’s vulnerability to climate change impacts have been underscored by the severe droughts experienced in Sahel in 2012 and the Horn of Africa in 2011. Its population is expected to constitute about 23% of the global population by 2050 hence placing a huge demand on the government and states to provide opportunities for enough food and new dietary demands. The challenge therefore is charting new pathways to eliminate food insecurity, adapt to the changing climate and build sustainable systems. There is need therefore for a paradigm shift towards Sustainable development goals to replace the millennium development goals after 2015, which will serve multiple purposes and provide cross cutting benefits to Africa and the rest of the world.

In 2008, 1.3 million people in rural areas and 3.5 to 4 million people in Urban Areas were food insecure in Africa. Therefore, Achieving food security is unmanageable without climate smart practices that not only support farmers produce enough food to meet people’s needs but also preserve ecosystems from degradation. Approaches with the potential for informing and guiding policy and practices are imperative. One of these approaches is the Ecosystem Based Approaches which provide flexible, cost effective and broadly applicable alternatives for building robust food systems on less inputs, and reduces the impacts of climate change.

The question therefore should be what is the meaning of food security? And how can the emerging Ecosystem Based approaches in addressing food shortages be consolidated and scaled up? What scale of production is appropriate to do this? Below are some conference highlights and possible solutions going forward.



HIGHLIGHTS AND THE WAY FORWARD

● States and Governments should allocate budgets for food security in their strategic plans.

● There is need for monitoring and evaluating the allocated funds from Governments and donors.

● There is need for transboundary cooperation between countries to upscale Agribusiness in promoting businesses of large scale and small scale farmers.

● Organization of farmer into groups at grass root level to enhance self funded projects instead of depending for funds from donors.

● Upscale training among young people to make them understand that farming is a business and not a punishment.

● The gap between science and research should be addressed to create an understanding on what has been researched on and what needs to be done.

● In terms of funding, BOT, BOS, BOL mechanisms should be used to be able to access funding for projects.

● Form a resource management board to manage finance in Africa (Regional and continental)

● Mainstream EBA into the school curriculum starting from the elementary level to the University level.

● Integrate robust early warning systems in order to utilize the benefits of EBA.

● Pursue Sustainable Development Goals Agenda to mainstream policies and financial mechanisms.

● Apply mitigation practices in initiating resource management and sustainable farming practices in order to curb GHG emissions into the atmosphere.

● Incorporate the post-harvest methods into the EBA to achieve a food secure nation.

● Set up institutions that mainstream sustainable practices in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

● Take conferences on food security to the rural areas to educate farmers to educate them on EBA to apply on their farms.

● Use regional blocks to ensure donor funds trickle down to communities.

To learn more about the conference and its proceedings go to http: //www.foodsec.aaknet.org/

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Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Films About The Environment

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Image from Avatar


It should not come as a surprise that lots of films discuss the environment, the struggles we have as a result of its degradation and our ongoing attempts our to protect it. What would we be without Earth? How would we survive if we succeeded in destroying the only home we have? 5 films attempt to depict variations of our struggle. 

5. Happy Feet (2006) is an animation film that deals with the environment of Antarctica and the problem of overfishing. It is told through the perspective of penguins that face the brunt of mankinds’ involvement in the polar region. This is one movie that shows mankind in a redemptive light; where they learn their lesson as soon as they realize their faults. 

4. Maleficent (2014) is a more balanced retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The focus of this film is greed and power which lead mankind to destroy the environment. The conflict between  Stephan, the King and Maleficent the "protector of the moors" feels true as far as current events are concerned. It is a realistic depiction of deforastation and the issues that follow.

3. Wall-E (2008)  is an animation movie that concerned itself with waste management and romance.  Earth, by 2805, had become a waste dump for humanity, which itself by then lived in fully automated star liners high up in space. When a tiny sapling is finally discovered in one of the huge trash piles covering the planet, the protagonist WALL-E meets another robot who comes to collect it – and he falls in love.
Image from Noah


2. Noah (2014) is a biblically inspired tale. Noah is depicted as a hero and God-inspired steward of the earth. Written by Darren Aronofsky, this film captures the beauty of [the world] creation, and dramatize's God’s decision to cleanse and recreate it because of the environmental degradation and pollution caused by mankind. 

1. Avatar (2009) deals with a post-apocalyptic world where the natural resources of Earth have been severely depleted, causing mankind to depend on another habitable moon, Pandora. Themes of this movie range from survival of the fittest to the idea of man as the centre of the universe who need their needs fulfilled, even at the cost of destroying the civilization of an another people, much as it had done its own. The end of this movie saw all the humans - except a few good men – expelled from Pandora and sent back to Earth.


***Pumzi is a Kenyan science-fiction short film written and directed by Wanuri Kahiu. It was screened at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival as part of its New African Cinema program. Pumzi is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which water scarcity has extinguished life above ground. The short follows one scientist's quest to investigate the possibility of germinating seeds beyond the confines of her repressive subterranean Nairobi culture.


Image from Pumzi
“She (Neytiri) said all energy is only borrowed, and one day you have to give it back.” ― Jake Sully Avatar

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Environmentalist Playlist: 5 Music Videos about Climate Change

3:52 AM , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments


Image pulled from Earth Song - Michael Jackson


Climate change is real. There are numerous facts to back it up and a myriad of different approaches to slow down climate change all together. That is for those of you that are about the fact and figures.


This graph shows how much more global warming is heating the oceans vs the combined heating of land, ice, and atmosphere.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Global_warming_-_change_in_total_heat_content_of_earth.jpg


Music, is made to discuss issues that we grapple with on a daily basis and climate change is no exception. There are many songs that talk about mountains, rivers and springs and there are those that talk about actively protecting our environment. We thought it would be cool to share 5 of those powerful, action-provoking videos to motivate and entertain you.

Here we go:

5. Jimmy Cliff - Save Our Planet Earth Rock In Rio II [Clear Vision]
4. Marvin Gaye - Mercy, Mercy Me
3. Ziggy Marley - Dragonfly
2. Angelique Kidjo - Agolo (means pay attention. Talks about climate change)
1. Michael Jackson - Earth Song

Do you have a playlist you want to share?


“We are called to assist the Earth to heal her wounds and in the process heal our own – indeed, to embrace the whole creation in all its diversity, beauty and wonder. This will happen if we see the need to revive our sense of belonging to a larger family of life, with which we have shared our evolutionary process.”  Prof. Wangari Maathai

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