Environment now part of syllabus in 170 Mau Forest Complex schools

Alfred Orina shows a copy of the Conservation Education Curriculum for primary schools in South Western Mau. [Caroline Chebet, Standard]

More than 170 schools bordering major water towers in the country have adopted a tailored syllabus that integrates conservation in the normal curriculum.

The move is meant to conserve the water towers.

The schools bordering Mau Eburu, South West Mau forest, Aberdares and Mt Kenya forests incorporate the pioneer syllabus that covers soil conservation, water, pollution, tourism and environment besides what the Competency-Based Curriculum offers.

“When CBC came in place, we had already designed the curriculum and it was being piloted in schools. The conservation curriculum had exactly what was in some subjects under CBC," said Alfred Orina, the chair of the teachers’ implementation committee.

Dubbed Conservation Education Curriculum, the programme started in 2018 following the development curriculum under a public-private partnership between Rhino Ark, Ministries of Environment, Education, Science and Technology.

In South West Mau, 46 schools are undertaking the programme while in Eburu, 32 schools have been enrolled. In Aberdares and Mt Kenya, 93 schools have enrolled.

The curriculum is, however, different across the water towers.

In schools bordering the South West, for example, the curriculum concentrates on the forest blocks within the area, highlighting the challenges, the wildlife found in that area and what can be done to address the challenges.

In schools around Eburu Forest, learners are taught about endemic wildlife. They also learn about challenges such as charcoal burning, logging, hunting and how they can stop or reduce it.

In Mt Kenya and Aberdare, learners are taught about tourism and endangered wildlife species and possible solutions.

“While undertaking their practical sessions, the learners tend their own tree nurseries and plant trees in part of the degraded areas in the forest,” Orinda said.  

The curriculum starts off from Grade Four in primary school and continues to high school.

Grade Four learners are widely taught about water. The topic is diverse and covers sources of water, the importance of wetlands and why they should be conserved.

In Standard Five, the syllabus is purely on wildlife, where learners are discouraged from hunting, while in Standard Six, they are taught about soil, topics that touch on degradation through poor farming practices and charcoal burning.

In Standard Seven, the pupils learn about environment in general and in Standard Eight they are now trained on forestry.

In secondary schools, the topics are almost similar but a bit wider. It also incorporates practical sessions.

While there are no examinations on the curriculum, Orina said the learners are assessed through projects. The lessons are also taught alongside other topics seamlessly.

“We integrate the lessons seamlessly because it is almost the same thing. We have environmental classes which are just a replica of this and to assess their understanding, the teachers gauge it through practical, oral lessons and demonstrations. We have these projects on Wednesdays and Fridays after classes,” Orina explained.

More than 170 schools bordering major water towers in the country have adopted a tailored syllabus that integrates conservation in the normal curriculum. [Caroline Chebet, Standard]

Adopting the curriculum, he says, has seen schools come up with projects like water harvesting, tree nurseries and many have also adopted energy-saving jikos.

Cynthia Chepng'eno, a pupil at Kures Primary School, says besides the curriculum equipping them with knowledge on their ecosystem, it has also earned them revenue from projects.

“We sell trees to state agencies and corporates who want to rehabilitate the forest. In doing so, we earn some money which we use on projects. The last time we sold the seedlings, we raised Sh2,500 which we spent on storybooks. Previously, we got money which we channelled to our school lunch programme,” Chepngeno said.

Isaac Kiplang'at, a Standard Seven pupil, said besides restoring the forests through planting trees, they also learn about different animals within the South West Mau and why they should be protected.

“Initially, we thought it was normal and fun to go hunting as boys but we do not do that anymore because we want to protect our wildlife,” Kiplang'at said.

Alphonce Rotich, an official with Rhino Ark in South West Mau, said the curriculum was reached with stakeholders and experts drawn from Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Forest Service, Nema, Nature Kenya, Wildlife Clubs of Kenya, Ministry of Education, teachers and conservationists.

“We want the learners to be part of the rehabilitation and conservation process. We wanted them to be aware of their surroundings and why they are in a unique environment.

"As learners surrounding these water towers, they have the privilege to be involved in the conservation process," Rotich said.

The curriculum also saw the training of teachers who would take the learners through the lessons. In South West Mau alone, 98 teachers have been enrolled as part of the curriculum which has since been launched in the Sub-County level.

In schools bordering forests, Rotich said a survey revealed that most of the schools use an average of 75 tonnes of firewood a month, a situation that resolved in the introduction of charcoal making kilns to 15 schools.

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