WEDNESDAY 11th AUGUST 2021
Since Sebastian, the founder of the Kilombero Valley Ornithological Centre, and George met in Tanzania back in 2009, they have kept in touch so that they could explore their plan to eventually run expeditions to the Centre as Project X grows.
With the global effects of the pandemic stopping international travel and closing the Centre’s main source of income – volunteers, we worked with them to find a solution.
So back in June 2020, we launched our Virtual Tours to the Kilombero Valley in Tanzania to support the centre. Since then we have run 50 tours on Microsoft Teams for more than 1200 Beavers, Cubs, Scouts, Explorers, Brownies, Guides and Rangers from all over the UK.
With a mix of video and photos that Sebastian and his team took showing the conservation work that they carry out around the Kilombero Valley looking for signs of the animals that live there – such as the elephants, genets, birds and primates. We also explored a conservation area leading up to Njagi Waterfall.
Sebastian then joined George, Alison, Katie and the Group on the Microsoft Teams call for a live 1-hour presentation where he explained about the work that they do and why it is so important to protect the environment in the Kilombero Valley. Our Virtual Tours gave a pretty unique view of some of the conservation techniques that are in use all over Africa – all from the comfort of home!
In addition to the Group Tour that was aimed at ages 11 and over, in August we created a ‘Virtual Tour for Younger Adventurers’ for ages 6 to 10. This was very similar to the Group Tour, giving the Young People an overview of the work that the team at the Centre carry out, but we also included some cultural topics about Village Life in rural Tanzania.
We had an amazing time meeting all of these Groups and particularly enjoyed the live question and answer session that we had at the end of each tour – where the participants could ask their questions directly to Sebastian in Tanzania.
The pre-recorded videos ensured that even with the time difference between the UK and Tanzania, everyone would be able to get a feel for the Kilombero Valley and its lush green landscape, no matter what time their tour took place.
As summer and early autumn in the UK is the same time as Tanzania’s dry season, most of the earlier tours happened without a hitch – surprising as we were completely reliant on a 4G internet connection in rural Tanzania. However, as we approached winter in the UK and the rainy season in Tanzania, we started to have intermittent problems with the electricity in Luprio caused by the heavy rains. This meant that some Groups sadly only met Sebastian in the videos.
To improve things we worked out a plan that we could buy a solar panel, battery and 240v inverter for the camp and sent Sebastian off to get it organised.
Once everything had arrived, the last few tours worked brilliantly, with the added advantage of LED lighting inside the building at the camp as well!
These tours ensured that the centre had some funding at a very tough time and could continue with its vital work but as Scouting and Guiding in the UK started to resume face-to-face activities, demand has now fallen away. We really enjoyed partnering with the Kilombero Valley Ornithological Centre on this project and really hope that it has cemented our partnership for expedition opportunities to Tanzania in the future.
Thank you very much to all the Groups that supported our Virtual Tours!
