Embracing the Wild: A Storyteller's Journey in African Wildlife Conservation

Transforming Perspectives and Cultivating Skills through the Safari Story lab Fellowship

I have been a visual storyteller for more than a decade, and in all that time, I had never won a fellowship until I applied for Safari Storylab 2023, a course aimed at supporting the growth of African Wildlife filmmakers and storytellers. Passionate about telling stories about the environment, I seized every opportunity to write that “we owe it to ourselves and to our planet to protect and conserve the ecosystem” in the application form.

Imagine my elation when I received a confirmation email from the renowned Ecologist and wildlife conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu, who is also the CEO of the non-profit that sponsored the fellowship, Wildlife Direct. The training that took place between the 7th and 17th of December 2023 at Ol Kinyei Conservancy in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve was meant to equip 24 of us with skills to enable us to reclaim our voice, distance ourselves from the myths told about Africa’s Nature and Heritage, and create our own, from our beliefs. New myths about our experts, our accomplishments, our expertise and role in conservation that empower, give agency and inspire the world.

However, I was not prepared for how much more the experience would offer me since the journey started from the Wildlife Direct offices in Karen, Nairobi.

Nurtured by Nature

Stepping into Ol Kinyei Conservancy felt like a scene from The Lion King, the only missing element being the background music. As a resident of a busy city like Nairobi, stepping into the colour palette created by the vast grassland, with breath taking zebras, ostriches, warthogs playing, wildebeests, gazelles, and birds, was a welcome, intimate break from the psychological assault I face in the city daily.

Time ceased to exist, and I soaked in the serenity, witnessing such magnificence that I even forgot to take out my camera to take any pictures. One of the fellows Imran, on the other hand, could not hide his awe when we encountered the first troop of baboons. He yelled and waved at them, and we all cheered him on; he immediately started taking photos and beckoned Mamadou, who whipped out his camera and began shooting. For a long time, I had dismissed the studies that linked being in nature to better physical health and cognitive function, but after my experience at the location of the fellowship, I am converted.

Deeper Understanding of Ecology

As nature storytellers, we can stay camouflaged in the trees, watching how animals interact with other species, hoping to catch a glimpse of the order and structure of the animal kingdom. Occasionally, we stumble upon rarities like the hard-to-find cheetah and her five cubs. We may never know until people with intimate knowledge of the ecosystem explain it to us. With this understanding, we can frame nature as it is, not through human emotions: on one of the game drives, we saw a lioness feasting on the carcass of a giraffe, and I found myself feeling sorry for the prey’s calves now that their mother was dead. Then I realised that if I were to tell this story, human empathy would be exhausting and misplaced because of the food chain: the lioness, which has cubs too, has to feed or starve.

It was during these nature drives that I learned about animal psychology. When we passed by an elegant elephant, Dr Kahumbu explained to us that she was a matriarch and had to strut to show the other animals she owned the plains. Simatwa also showed us how to tell a left-handed elephant from a right-handed one through their tusks. The most fascinating part was also learning about how animals, disadvantaged by size, master hunting to become apex predators. The jackals, known in Maasai as “Olbarie”, tiny as they were, picked prey as large as the other big predators. Their audacity impressed us so much that when our group got the name Olbarie, we hoped to embody that kind of courage.

Climate Change and My Storyteller Role in It

Climate change and its effects, such as drought and floods, have negatively impacted communities such as the Maasai, who are pastoralists. Take the Ol Kinyei Conservancy, for example. The place was named after plants commonly found on the river banks. The communities on this 18,000 ha of land (which is the same as 15 football pitches) are aware of the danger that the reduced rains and human encroachment have posed to these pieces of land. They leased out the said land and welcome tourists, the money is used to support the communities so that they do not brutalise this ecosystem even more. With knowledge of how connected they are to the ecosystem, they protect it as it offers them food, water, and employment. The guides have been educated here and they earn money from it.

Staying at Porini Cottages showed me how humans can utilise nature without abusing it. The delicious food the staff served us came from the land, which we savoured as we enjoyed the breath-taking views. However, the perfect display of how cultural tourism can benefit the community was in the design of the hotels. The rooms were modern but they incorporated elements of nature such that one could stay in them but not forget they were in nature, such as outdoor showers.

From this interaction, with nature and then the people, I am emboldened by my purpose of educating the world about why “we owe it to ourselves and to our planet to protect and conserve the ecosystem”, as I had stated in my application for the fellowship.

Learning from the Best

Despite its importance, no school teaches how to make a career in nature storytelling, at least not in Kenya. Yet, as we begin to practise, we realise that one needs additional skills such as writing, finance, project management, and other skills not related to filming. It was therefore, the highlight of the fellowship when we got to learn from International Award Winning Storytellers, Cinematographers, Filmmakers, Scientists and Editors, Yvonne Owuor, the second Kenyan winner of the prestigious Caine Prize for African Writing, started us off with an intense training on storytelling, incorporating all the elements not in the pictures we take (sounds of the hyena's laughter, the smell of the rotting carcasses, and ambience from the rivers) into captions, and stories. FILMAKERS - Mark Wambui of Re-tuning Cinema in Africa reca.co.ke, jurgenlisse.com an award-winning cinematographer based in the Netherlands, Charlie Hamilton – James of National Geographic https://www.charliehamiltonjames.com/ and Peter Fison tackled cinematography. Then the renowned Ecologist, Dino Martins, talked to us in the evenings around campfires about how insects were linked to food security and why we should be concerned about their decline. Jacqueline Farmer of https://naturethroughhereyes.com/jacqueline-farmer/ taught us how to source  funding for our films, EDITORS - Ben Ward https://benjaminward.co.uk/ and Julie Busse took on editing.

Eventually, we had to incorporate all these lessons into the production of short films about nature and heritage and within a deadline (I have never been under so much pressure!) Eventually, our trainers showed us what it means to develop a work ethic and distinct identities as storytellers.

Networks with Worthy Colleagues

There are multiple dimensions to storytelling which one can only learn from being around other creative people. The energy, laughter, fun, and insights into the other fellows’ processes will make me a better human being as we share in the knowledge that there is something that connects us all.

This fellowship not only enhanced my skills as a nature storyteller but also deepened my understanding of the natural world and the critical role of storytellers in conserving and protecting our environment.

Watch out, world, for the stories of the wild, conducted by a heart awakened!