The Great Primate Handshake – Volunteer in Africa, working to conserve monkeys and apes through film and educational content production

Today, the Great Primate Handshake visited The Colobus Trust in the heart of Diani Beach.  This non-profit organization was founded in 1997 and works to rescue and rehabilitate the area’s threatened primates. Primates such asthe Angolan colobus monkey, vervet monkeys, Sykes monkeys, bush babies and yellow baboons have all found aid from the Colobus Trust.

When we arrived at the Center, we went first into the interactive Learning room.  This room was especially impressive with brightly colored wall paintings and materials used for visiting school children. Weekly, the Trust works with visiting school children to educate them on local conservation issues. Pupils get to see the animals that are being rehabilitated, walk the nature trails, and even visit the beach and learn about ocean ecology and conservation. For schools that cannot afford to visit the Center, the Trust goes out on Thursdays and Friday and brings the education to the children.

In the educational outreach, children learn about how all things in nature are connected and what negative impact human development can have on the primates of Diani Beach. They learn that by cutting down trees, primates like the colobus have nowhere to live and can more easily get hit by cars and electrocuted by power lines.  The primates that are being rehabilitated at the Trust are mainly orphans that have lost their parents to such accidents.

Besides environmental education, the Trust makes it a point to talk to the children about the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets. This has proven to be a very productive act as it has opened up communication with children who know neighbors who have pet primates. Not only is the Trust then able to rescue and rehabilitate more primates, but children can feel like they had a part in making a difference. Another bonus benefit of outreach education!

After the Interactive Learning Center, we took a walk in a Coral Rag Forest. We learned how the strength of a tree is highly dependent on the other trees surrounding it creating a strong web of root systems to hold it strong, and how the trees provide more than just homes for primates, but also sources of water, and safer travel above and away from ground predators.  We were amazed at how cool it felt under the shaded canopy of the forest. Diani Beach is a hot and humid place but it felt tolerable and even comfortable under the trees.  Our guide reminded us that if Diani Beach continues to develop and cut down trees, life with out shade will not only be very miserable but we will eventually change the region into a desert environment; no longer a thriving environment for wildlife OR people.

Our guide named Peter, who has been with the Colobus Trust for 5 years now, explained some of the other community projects the organization has initiated. Bridges above roads have been built to act as safe cross walks for primates in an attempt to decrease road accidents.  PVC piping has been cut to cover electrical lines to lessen electrocution. Weekly, volunteers find and remove snare traps from the forest.  A current project of growing a “tree corridor” for arboreal animals to safely travel above busy shopping areas is also in the works; nine hundred trees have already been planted and two thousand more are being prepared for the next rainy season.

The Colobus Trust works strictly off support from volunteers, donations and guided eco-tours.  So, if you ever find your self in Diani Beach, or looking for a place to donate your time while enjoying white sandy ocean beaches and friendly passionate people, the Colobus Trust is a perfect choice. Check it out at www.colobustrust.org