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Friends of Karura Forest                                    Newsletter
Community Forest Association                                        January-June 2016
In This Issue
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WHERE ELSE IN NAIROBI...
Kid learning bikeriding
.... can you teach your kid to ride her bike
in fresh air and complete safety?
33%
One-third of Karura Forest now has  
indigenous forest cover  - 
up from 25% in 2009.
(see main article)
2015 ANNUAL REPORT
2015 Annual Report
Last year's Annual Report was out in time for the FKF AGM in March. Full of info and achievements. Get a copy by clicking on the image above or here.
VISITOR NUMBERS

The number of monthly visitors to Karura continues to remain consistent at between 15,000 and 16,000, with nearly 70% being Kenyans.  FKF and KFS feel that as long as the forest can maintain current revenue streams from gate takings and special projects - such as the River Caf�, special events, the Sigiria Fitness Experience and bike rentals - there can be a balance between visitor enjoyment and education, and maintenance of the forest's natural ecosystem services. This balance would be in keeping with the charge from our founding patron, Prof. Wangari Maathai, to keep Karura natural. 
MEET ENID NYABUNDI

Meet Enid
You've probably already heard her lovely voice over the phone or met her in the office at KFEET. Enid Nyabundi has been working since August  2015 as Karura Events Manager, combing a love for nature with considerable people skills and former event planning experience to make Karura events ever successful. Enid's tasks include signing up new members, site visits with clients, fielding customer service issues, organising tree-planting, and serving as secretary to the FKF Membership and KFEET Management Committees.    
FKF WHEEL COVERS FOR SALE
And, just in case you hadn't noticed what Enid is pointing to above, you can now purchase
Karura-branded wheel covers.
KES 5,000/= each. Proceeds go back into forest operations. Contact Enid for sizes and orders.

COLOBUS CORNER
FKF's project to re-introduce Colobus Monkeys came to a successful close in March with the release of the last batch of seven black-and-whites (including one babe-in-arms) into the Sigiria side of Karura Forest. The project is part of the FKF-KFS joint programme to return Karura to its original natural state when this endangered sub-species roamed throughout upland forests of the region.  With a success rate of 94%, the  project is one of the most successful ever undertaken for arboreal primates.
Colobus arrival
Above, research Assistant Anthony Kuria and Project Leader from the Institute for Primate Research, Peter Fundi, deliver another exhausted and starving individual. Compare him to the sleek and thriving pair (below) already settled in from previous operations. There are now over 140 happy colobus in Karura.
Settled in, and breeding
EVENTS, BIG AND SMALL
Hardly a day goes by in Karura without an event, from a major wedding at the KFEET grounds or Amani Garden picnic site to a group of school kids taking a walk with Education Officer, Lucy Njoka.
A small sample...

Bizarre Bazaar 2016 
BizBaz 2016
- - - - -
FKF held a small reception at River Caf� to say goodbye to outgoing and welcome the incoming KFS Ecosystem Conservator for Nairobi.
L to R: F. Mutisya, KFS; J. Nthuku, KFS; M. Mwai, new EC; S. Kahunyo, outgoing EC; C. Boelcke-Croze, FKF; J. Orwa, KFS Chief Forester Karura
- - - - -
The FKF Annual General Meeting was held this year at Amani event venue
- - - - -
Hundreds of school kids were brought to the KFEET grounds for the 2016 Go Green Kids Festival as part of SERP, the Sustainable Environment & Restoration Programme spearheaded by the Kenya Red Cross and the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).
- - - - -
FKF Chair, Karanja Njoroge, and visiting students from St. Lawrence University's Patti-McGill Peterson Center for International and Inter-cultural Studies, the longest running USA study abroad programme on the African continent
- - - - -
The Nature Kenya Bird Walk in March took advantage of the viewing platform at Ruaka River picnic site to catch a glimpse of the elusive yellow-whiskered greenbul
- - - - -
The Austrian high-level delegation to UNEA (UN Environment Assembly) planted trees  and made a donation to Karura conservation and management to commemorate World Environment Day
L to R:  Mary Mwai KFS Ecosystem Conservator Nairobi; Hon. Minister Rupprechter; John Orwa KFS Chief Forester Karura; Cristina Boelcke-Croze FKF Vice Chair; Charity Munyasya KFS Deputy Director; H.E. Mr. Harald G�nther Austrian Ambassador; John Chege FKF Chief Scout
- - -
And, off-campus, the British High Commissioner Nic Hailey and his wife Caroline hosted a reception to celebrate over five years of Karura's successful resurrection. Here CS Hon. Judi Wakhungu addresses the gathering.
WORKS CORNER
- - -
TRAIL WASHOUTS REPAIRED  

The tail-end of the El Ni�o rains caused some significant infrastructure damage, such as washouts at river culverts under forest tracks. The eroded areas were quickly repaired and the stream edges reinforced with wire and stone gabions. 

Kima Trail at Junction 10 
Infrastructure repair
BEFORE

Infrastructure repair
AFTER
NEW BRIDGES
Two substantial bridges have been constructed at popular river crossings enhancing safety and access for bikes, wheelchairs and baby strollers.

Karura Bridge at 12a
Bridge across Karura River at UNON corner
after Junction 12a


Ruaka Bridge at Huruma
Ruaka River Tara Path crossing
near Huruma Village
NEW KFS-FKF OFFICE SITE
Work has begun clearing the site for the new joint FKF-KFS office block. Co-locating KFS and FKF staff will enhance the efficiency of joint operations. The site chosen near the Limuru Road Gate-A will provide optimum access to both sides of the forest.  It is hoped that the new office block will be ready by the end of the year.  
EUCALYPTUS CLEARING, REPLANTING
In order to prevent this happening again to our ICRAF neighbour's vehicles...
... we have to do this:  

The operation will provide an additional 5 ha for replanting with indigenous trees in the second half of 2016.
PUTTING EUCALYPS TO WORK
 Nothing is wasted after clearing Eucalyptus trees for replanting with indigenous species. The poles are cut, de-barked and kept ready for.... 

... use as fencing & bollards along access tracks...  
Road works fencing
Amani and River Cafe access road
New service track to Amani Garden

...delimiting parking areas..
Sigiria parking area completed

...securing hazards... 
Hazard protection
Pipeline pit covered along Wangari Maathai Track
 
...and improving infrastructure.
Ruaka Picnic
Ruaka picnic site benches and table 
INTERNATIONAL ACCLAIM

One again - now three years in a row - visitors have given Karura top marks as the 4th best attraction (out of 106 Things to Do) in Nairobi.
NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE
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Close followers of  Karura Forest news and updates will perhaps notice that this issue of Karibuni Karura ('Welcome to Karura' in Kiswahili) covers the first six months of 2016.  We decided to replace the year's first quarter newsletter with the Annual Report for the previous year (see Sidebar, where you can find a link to the report). 

Frankly, FKF's mainly volunteer senior personnel - the Board, membership committee, webmaster, Facebook monitors and newsletter editor - are hard pressed to keep up with the growing demands of the forest on top of our day jobs. We hope you understand, and do let us know if we can do it better (or, consider volunteering yourself to give the Friends of Karura a hand).

Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this issue, and, more importantly, come for a walk in the woods!
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Forest Restoration Update
Ecosystem Enrichment Proceeding According to Plan

Increased momentum towards the long-term goal of returning Karura Forest to its natural state characterised the first half of the year, resulting in one-third of the forest area being now covered with indigenous tree species.  This is up from the 25% indigenous tree cover when the Friends of Karura was founded in 2009 (see graph).
Reforestation progress
There shall be two main reforestation management targets in the coming months: old fuelwood plantations of exotic Eucalyptus, Araucaria and Cypress, and neglected areas where the original trees were logged out and re-growth stifled by invasives. The plantations were the work of the colonial government in the days of steam engines to feed the famous Ugandan Railway. All the while, indigenous species have been exploited for fuelwood, building, and the wood-carving cottage industry.
 
The overall objective, as stated in the KFS-FKF five-year streategic management plan (see next article), is to reduce the dominance of exotic plantation species (nearly three-quarters of the forest in 2010) and return the forest to a natural state, with a target of 70 additional hectares cleared and replanted over the next five years. Some experimental plantations of Eucalyptus shall be retained in Sigiria for research purposes.

All the clearing, planting and tree-care work has been supported by gate fees and membership subscriptions, as well as by the many generous private and corporate donors who have 'adopted' patches of forest and replanted thousands of trees.  The physical work was carried out by women's groups from Huruma informal settlement on Karura's northern boundary.
Clearing invasives between Ruaka River and Mugumu Trail:
employment for Huruma women's groups

Why not celebrate your or a loved-one's next birthday with a gift of one tree for each year? For KES 350/= a tree, FKF will clear the site, help plant the trees with holes and water, and look after them for three years.
Join FKF now! Click here for info or here for a form...
Strategic Management Plan Completed
Education & Research Next 5-Year Thrusts

Chantal Mariotte & John Orwa review achievements of first joint plan 2010-2015
Key players in the management of Karura Forest Reserve from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS) and FKF took part in a two-day retreat at the end of January 2016 to finalise the draft 2016-2020 Karura Strategic Management Plan and the updated Human Resources Policy for FKF.

The new Karura Strategic Management Plan builds on successful implementation of the first plan that was concluded with all the objectives fully met and frequently exceeded. Whereas the focus of the first plan was security and infrastructure, the second plan aims to emphasise education and research, with natural forest restoration remaining the backbone of both plans.

The splendid environment of Lake Elementaita contributed to ensure a quality draft plan for KFS and a sound human resources policy for FKF. Both parties got to know each other better and worked together in a most congenial and collegiate spirit.

Readers interested in reviewing the plan, can find it here.
 
The strategic management planning team
L to R: J. Chege, J. Orwa, M. Mauka, E. Koloba, K. Kariuki, C. Boelcke, C. Mariotte, S. Rao,
A. Kamuyu, J. Macharia, E. Nyabundi, M. Mwai, F. Mutisyo, J. Nthuko, D. Abbott, S. Mugo,
S. Kahunuyo, C. Munyasia, K. Njoroge

 LEARN MORE ABOUT KFEET  
Karura Archaeology
Karura Caves History Provides Educational Material for Visitors

The so-named Mau-Mau Caves along the Karura River in the heart of the forest are one of Karura's most visited attractions. You can even locate them on Google Maps or Waze, if you need help getting there! But did you know that their popularity stretches back nearly 5,000 years? 

FKF has partnered with archaeologists from the National Museums of Kenya who undertook digs in the caves in 2011. Collaborating scientists have put together updated educational panels for display at the caves so visitors can read the history for themselves.  (Newsletter readers can click on the sample panels below for links to downloadable PDF versions.)
 
Caves of Karura
Caves of Karura
Recent history note: in 2012, earlier versions of the panels were mounted at the caves only to be stolen shortly thereafter. Presumably some visitors found the metal more valuable than the information. We sincerely hope the new panels will stay in place!
 
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El Ni�o 2015-2016
Recent Event More Extreme Than Previous Ones

Increasingly sunny days in June heralded the end of the famous 2015-2016 El Ni�o event. A look at the data in the graph indicates that this event (pink line) was considerably more intense than the previous two large events in 2006-07 and 1997-98 (orange & blue lines).  (The graph shows four sets of two consecutive October to September 'rain years', defined as such since our Kenya rainy seasons start most strikingly after the long dry period from June to September.)
The sum of the rainfall over the 24-month period from October 2015 through September 2016 was 1,000mm (55%) greater than that of the 70-year average (yellow dashed in the graph) for the same timespan. In contrast,  1997-98 and 2006-07 were only 540 and 370mm greater, respectively.  

Actually, eastern Africa events are driven by the so-called Indian Ocean Dipole, which, like the El Ni�o Southern Ocean (ENSO) event across the Pacific Ocean, is caused by anomalies in the east-west sea-surface temperature gradient. The whole thing is linked to huge ocean currents and, of course, global warming. Warm generally means wet for land masses south of the equator and west of the Indian Ocean, such as ours. But it can also mean severe droughts elsewhere, such as the Horn of Africa and in Australia.

As we read almost daily in the news, most areas of the earth are experiencing often drastic changes in rainfall and temperature. Karura is clearly among one of the winners. Lucky us!
 
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Top Predators Doing Well in Karura
Big Birds Sighted Regularly

Several large raptors are resident in Karura Forest. A pair of long-crested eagles (left and bottom) appear to have taken up residence around the Turaco Swamp and can be seen regularly from the River Caf� perched on a branch or soaring overhead. Watch for the conspicuous head feathers when perched and white patches on the wing.

The African crowned eagle (right) is Kenya's second largest eagle at nearly a metre in length. There are at least two pairs nesting in the forest. Their favourite food is monkey, so the Sykes and colobus need to be vigilant. They will also take sunis and other young antelopes.

 
Antelope Mortality
Natural Population Regulation or Something Else?

Finding yet another antelope carcass started to worry Anthony Kuria, FKF's Colobus Translocation Project Research Assistant, late last year. Anthony covers as much as he can of Karura Forest every day as he keeps track of Karura's newly-released monkeys.

Anthony Kurua with a male suni that he has just untangled from a piece of wire: no morality this time
It's not usual to find the remains of an animal in a natural ecosystem, and Karura is becoming more 'natural' with every replanted indigenous tree. But Anthony started finding an increasing number of antelope carcasses (bushbuck, Harvey's duiker and suni) during his rounds of the forest: nearly 20 dead animals over several months.

For sure some deaths must be attributed to natural mortality rates as the Karura populations rebound from the bad old days of snaring and hunting with dogs before the forest was fully protected. However, biologists found the number of deaths rather high over such a short period, especially when vegetation was plentiful due to good rains.

Postmortem bushbuck
Vets begin postmortem exam of male bushbuck assisted by FKF scouts

FKF enlisted the support of Pathologists Lancet Kenya, and Dr. Dhaval Shah and Janet Mwadime carried a post-mortem on a freshly dead bushbuck in January (photo above). Although the animal was highly anaemic consistent with a tick-borne disease, the results were inconclusive as to the precise cause of death. More samples are needed.  (See also following story.)

Female bushbuck caught on camera. Note large number of biting flies on her neck.
But we can speculate. The bushbuck examined in January was covered with biting flies before he died. We have seen in the KaruraKam camera traps many images of bushbucks with a striking fly load. It is well known that ectoparasites - ticks and blood-sucking flies - can extract a dreadful toll on both wildlife and domestic stock, often resulting in life-threatening anaemia, ironically in the rains, when food is plenty and animals should be healthy.

Moreover, wet weather also is good for invertebrate parasites. So, even though Karura has no large-mammal predators to contribute to natural herbivore mortality, it is likely that parasites are contributing to population regulation.

Dog owners: make sure that your pets have all vaccinations and their tick and flea treatments up-to-date.
River Water Quality
Possible Pollution Hazard for People & Wildlife in North Nairobi

The five rivers or streams that flow through Karura Forest are highly polluted with biological contaminants. The good news is that the forest has a significant purifying effect, as far as it is able, and that the chemical contamination is relatively low. The bad news? Read on...

Drs. Shah and Mwadime sampling Mathare River water with help of Anthony Kuria
As part of FKF's investigation into suspicious antelope mortality (see preceding story), FKF decided to ask Pathologists Lancet Kenya to assay river water quality in its Veterinary and Water Testing Laboratory in order to determine if water poisoning could be the cause.  The vet team, assisted by FKF Scouts and Research Assistant Anthony Kuria, collected water samples at key points along the rivers, mainly where the steams enter the forest and where they leave the forest. The results are summarised in the chart below.

The results tell a mixed story. First, the biological levels of coliform bacteria - mainly E. Coli,  the nasty bugs in human waste - are all very high. For safe drinking water, the standard biological water quality measurement, CFU ('colony-forming units) per 100 millilitres, should be zero. The level for water that is safe to swim in should be around 30 CFU/100ml.  You can see from the graph that most of the river water samples are over 500, and some were nearly 2,500!

Note that the two streams that flow completely through the forest, Karura River and Turaco Creek, appear to reduce contamination by a factor of five or more. The other three rivers - Ruaka, Thigiri and Mathare - actually increase in contamination level. The reason is probably because those rivers have banks bordered by north Nairobi neighbourhoods, all of which 'treat' their sewage with less-than-efficient septic tanks and underground soak-aways.

The forest is doing its part in delivering the ecosystem service of water purification, but it is fighting huge odds that can only be adjusted by improved environmental policy and watershed management in the greater Nairobi area.
 
All Karura neighbours benefit from the presence of the forest, but some, like these residents of Huruma Village, are at risk from water pollution
Join FKF now! Click here for info or here for a form...
Karura River valley:
quiet heart of the forest
It is a well-worn literary device to declare that something is a 'microcosm' of another, greater thing. Be that as it may, it is indeed tempting to say that Nairobi is a diminutive version of the world: its hustle and bustle, its industry from the sidewalk to the corporate towers, its dangers and intrigues from the slums to the corridors of power, the disparity of wealth between rich and poor, the talent of its educated, the energy and promise of its youth, the craziness and unpredictability... 

And like everyone and everywhere in the world, Nairobians need an occasional respite from the noise and onslaught of daily life, a place either physical or mental of peace, a place to reset, a place to find what poet Robert Frost called 'a momentary stay against confusion.'

It only takes a short trawl through the many TripAdvisor comments about the experiences of Karura's visitors, both from Kenya and abroad, to see that Karura offers us all such a place of peace. Clearly it has become an exceptional urban forest, one of the few in the world.

So, apart from maintaining the forest's 'ecosystem services' of water and air catchment and purification for Nairobi, we need to fight to keep Karura a natural area of peace and tranquillity for all of us to re-create, in the true sense of the word.

Thanks to all for your continuing support to help us do the job.

Sincerely and with heartfelt thanks,

Friends of Karura Forest
 
Kenyan Olympian training on the Family Trail
Join the Friends of Karura Forest  
Membership is open to all persons, organisations and corporations who support the FKF mission to protect, manage and enhance the Karura Forest Reserve.

Members enjoy reduced Annual Pass fees: click here to see the types of membership and view rates.

You can sign up at the KFEET (Karura Forest Environment Education Trust) Centre (the former BP-Shell Sports Club in the main forest), or stop by the FKF secretariat office in Muthaiga (address below).

Newsletter text and photos � Friends of Karura & Harvey Croze unless otherwise attributed 
Activities in the Karura  
KARURA FOREST - SECURE, SAFE, SERENE
Karura: The People's Forest
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