Filming Wild

Not just pretty pictures…

Category: background information, distribution partners, filming news | Date: Jun 25 2008 | By: filmingwild

It occurred to me, as I was posting my previous entries here, how easy it is to enjoy the pretty pictures of all the incredible wildlife that surrounds the AEFF headquarters, and our home, here in the Tsavo region of Kenya. It struck me that it might be easy to forget sometimes that our work here has a very serious and critical mission, for the natural wonders which surround us are every day are being threatened across the continent – indeed across the world. Everything we enjoy today, could be gone tomorrow…

For example, while the river below our house is a daily delight to behold with all its wildlife dramas unfolding before our eyes (and yours through this blog), take a look at these images taken from AEFF’s films which show what is happening to the environment not so far away from here, and in many other parts of Africa…

Here’s what’s happening in many of the great forests around the world. It begs the question: What happens when all our natural resources are stretched beyond all endurance?

What happens to the people when all the trees are cut down?

What happens to cattle and other domestic livestock when there’s no grass left to eat?

What happens to the wildlife when there’s no water left?

This is why AEFF makes films: to show people what is happening to their environment (both positively and negatively) and, through showing successful working examples and highlighting role models in the environmental field, illustrating how people really can improve their livelihoods by adopting environmentally sustainable ventures.

And does education through film really work?

To answer that question, I’d like to quote from a report sent to us by one of our key distribution partners, Amara Conservation (a US non profit working alongside AEFF in Kenya, who using their mobile cinemas show our films to over 100,000 children and adults each year). It’s quite a long account, but please do read it if you can, for I think it clearly demonstrates the very real effects our films are having in the rural areas of East Africa, as well as highlighting the important role played by our distribution partners in disseminating our films far and wide:

“…We have shown films all over Kenya but mostly focused our work on the borders of the Tsavo National Parks. We focus here for several reasons including the remoteness of the populated areas and therefore the need for the information, the significance of the habitat for wildlife, and the infrastructure that is in place in the communities whereby most people belong to groups of various kinds and therefore have the ability to come together to institute changes. These changes can only occur if people want to make them, and through your educational films, we have clearly seen changes in the minds of many.

These are manifested in many different ways. Indeed, if we didn’t see these changes occurring, we would not show the films!

What has happened in our areas of key focus in the Taita Hills region (an area of highest human wildlife conflict in Kenya according to the Kenya Wildlife Service) is that people are now asking to be helped to make the changes that they now see as important. They are living rather marginal lives eking a living growing traditional crops of maize, cowpeas and holding minimal livestock, mostly goats and sheep. The area is very arid and the soil is not conducive to farming – the people have only moved into the area in the last 60 years due to population growth. They are now seeing that the agricultural practices they are maintaining are actually causing damage to the land, that the bushmeat they consume is destructive and not sustainable, and they want to make changes.

This has come to be because we have shown films repeatedly, in several communities/schools/churches/market centres around the area. Over time, people have come to know that when the Amara Land Rover arrives it means “CINEMA” and they all come. They are taking in the information in the films in a very real way.

In some key areas, specifically the Group Ranches of Mbulia, Kishushe, Maungu, Sagalla, and Mugeno – the people are now looking to form wildlife sanctuaries on their land. For Mbulia and Kishushe this is very critical – as each ranch is in a key elephant migration route/seasonal feeding ground, and outsiders before have approached each to lease land and make sanctuaries/put up camps or lodges - yet they have always refused. NOW, they are actively seeking to make these sanctuaries a reality as they know the benefits to them in terms of financial gain and more importantly – they now want to stop the destructive practices they have been engaging in for years.

The fact that these communities who live on the border of the biggest Park in East Africa, with the highest level of human elephant conflict – have formed committees, lobbied amongst their members, made trips to view their areas for tourism, attended workshops to learn about running sustainable group projects – this has come to be because of what was learned in the AEFF films, combined with the meetings and discussions that we have held in conjunction with those films.

There are innumerable instances when I have seen eyes wide opened, people from 5 to 80 years of age really beginning to understand the role that humans play in the larger environment, even beyond the village boundaries where they may not ever have traveled, and the evidence of which can only be shown through the medium of film. Once they learn about how the animals live, how the trees and water are intertwined, once they SEE THIS – it’s not just ‘film’, but the AEFF films in particular…”

Lori Bergemann

Executive Director - Amara Conservation

The Amara Conservation mobile cinema screen is erected on the side of their specially adapted Land Rover, ready for the screening of one of AEFF’s educational films.

• You can read more Testimonials attesting to the importance of AEFF’s films as teaching tools here. From these testimonials you can see how AEFF’s films are having a positive effect both at a local level and at a national level.

Tags: africa, amara, animal, children, conservation, DVD, education, effectiveness, environment, film, kenya, lori bergemann, teaching tool, wildlife

3 responses so far

A Rewarding Day

Category: appeals, thank you | Date: Jun 17 2008 | By: filmingwild

I am finally back in my office after a hectic, but very fruitful ten days in Nairobi – non-stop meetings, meetings, meetings…but it’s all looking good for AEFF, as we continue to build relationships with partner organizations with whom we hope to grow and flourish over the coming years.

Of course, our Nairobi trip started with the prize giving at the Giraffe Center, which was celebrating 25 years in conservation in Kenya, making this year’s environmental awareness competition particularly special.

As you know, AEFF was asked to donate 150 DVDs as prizes for the school children and university students taking part…and thanks to the generosity of our supporters from Wildlife Direct, Safaritalk, Fodors and our own website, we managed to raise the funds to enable us to provide these prizes. As a result, every winner and every runner up received, within their parcel of prizes, an educational DVD about various environmental and wildlife issues, drawn from our selection of 12 different films.

What a day it was! The event kicked off at 1.30pm, with poetry readings by children from all around the country, of all different backgrounds and age-groups…and no ordinary poetry reading it was either, for the kids themselves had written their poems, demonstrating an acute grasp of the issues and a deep concern for the environmental health of their country. It was really moving to sit there and listen and watch, for the poets were very animated in their delivery. The younger children sang songs, which they acted out as they sang.

One of the most extraordinary performances came from the Machakos School for the Deaf. Despite their disability, these kids staged the most extraordinary dance routine in colorful costumes and intricately painted faces, guided by the deep rhythmic vibration of a drum (below). It was an incredible performance.

Altogether, there were over 400 students at the event, which was held in the leafy gardens of the Giraffe Center, in Nairobi’s Langata suburbs. We caught up with many friends from the conservation field, including Steve Itela from Youth for Conservation and his colleague Isaac.

Isaac and Steve from Youth for Conservation, with AEFF’s own Lucy and Ian

The Guest of Honor at the event was the Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Dr Julius Kipng’etich (above), who made a grave yet rousing speech, discussing the major environmental issues of our day (global warming, pollution, over-population, deforestation, loss of biodiversity), and calling upon the youth to meet these challenges as they grow into adulthood – while simultaneously pointing out to the current generation that if we do not face these issues, it will be the young who condemn us when we hand on the problems to them. Dr Kipng’etich then outlined KWS’s strategy in meeting the demands of the coming years, a process in which he hopes many young and talented people will join him.

Of course, as the prize giving itself approached, the kids could hardly contain themselves (above). The KWS Director was the first to hand out prizes, to the overall Boys Environmental Champion of the Year, and the Girls Environmental Champion of the Year (below).

The KWS Director congratulates the Girls Environmental Champion, while Rick Anderson (the Giraffe Center’s Chairman), and Christine Odhiambo (its manager) look on.

Following on from this, various sponsors and supporters were called upon to hand out prizes to the kids, from the youngest kindergarten children who won awards for their artworks, to the university students whose essays had set them apart from their peers. Ian Saunders, representing AEFF, was called out of the audience to give away a series of awards, including our DVDs contained in every enticing prize package…

AEFF’s Ian Saunders hands out prizes (click to enlarge)

Altogether it was a fantastic day, perfectly organized by the Giraffe Center team led by its manager, Christine Odhiambo, and even the giraffes turned up on cue, to thrill children and adults alike.

From AEFF’s point of view, we are delighted that 150 school children and university students now have a copy of one of our educational films to show at their schools, all across the country. This will also allow the schools to get in touch with us, and request further films to use in their science classes. Already since the event, AEFF has received requests from university students who want to show our films in their Environmental Clubs at university, and from there take them further afield to show to community groups… it just goes to show how many diverse positive effects can come from participating in an event like this.

Thank you again to all our supporters who made this possible.

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If you are able to continue supporting us with a contribution towards our film making work, your donation will be gratefully received and will help us to continue making educational films long into the future, for the benefit of people, the environment and wildlife in Africa. Thank you.

Tags: africa, animal, award, children, conservation, DVD, education, environment, film, kenya, wildlife

5 responses so far

Thank You for May Donations

Category: thank you | Date: Jun 05 2008 | By: filmingwild

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Thank you for the following donations, in support of the African Environmental Film Foundation’s work, received via Wildlife Direct between 13th - 31st May:

Janet G: $100

Susanna N: $25

Tim W: $25

We are attending prize giving at the Giraffe Center tomorrow, and will post photos here as soon as we can, showing the kids receiving the DVD prizes so kindly sponsored both this month and last month by people on this forum and by other well-wishers.

Thank you again for your generosity,

Tanya

Tags: africa, animal, award, children, conservation, DVD, education, environment, film, kenya, wildlife

2 responses so far