Interview with Timothy Bwana, teacher at Kennedy Secondary School since 2003
Timothy’s first degree was in tourism, which meant he took excursions to many conservation-oriented places, including Queen Elizabeth National Park, Mgahinga, Kibale, Mount Elgon, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Tsipi Falls. He would like, in the future, to go to Kidepo Valley and Semliki National Park, the only two parks left in Uganda he has not yet seen.
His dissertation was a study of avitourism in the Tsese District, which is home to over 600 bird species. During his study, he noticed that there is less emphasis on birds in tourist and conservation publications, but found that once people start spotting different species and seeing charismatic birds like the shoebill and hamerkop, they become very interested in birds. He said that the only organisation he knows of that deals with bird conservation in Uganda is Nature Uganda. He feels more organisations should concern themselves with birds, and that more money is needed for bird conservation. People are beginning to realise that the Grey Crowned Crane (national symbol) is heading for extinction, but little is being done to stop people encroaching on wetlands for fishing, hunting, agriculture (for crops that need a lot of water, such as rice and sugar cane), settlements and even car washing bays. He said it comes back to the same problem of striking a balance between the needs of people and the needs of wildlife, and of finding the best way to make people understand their responsibility towards the environment.
Leslie Bratton and Lucy Radford Interview Timothy Bwana
Though Timothy would have loved to work for an NGO after graduating, he decided it was best for him to use his knowledge and skills to impress upon younger generations the importance of conservation. To this end, he set up a botanical garden at the school, in which each child plants a tree in their first year of school, which they must continue to nurture until they leave. This instils in them a sense of responsibility and belonging, and makes them feel that the environment is something everyone must care about; that it is not just somebody else’s problem.
Timothy is inspired by NGOs that have tree-planting programmes, and initiatives that encourage people to grow thorny bushes and trees around their properties, rather than using fences to keep wild animals out – all simple ideas that make a lot of sense and help both people and the environment. Each student is provided with two to three trees that they are asked to take home and plant on their families land. He is also inspired by the Kenyan idea of a public holiday for conservation and thinks Uganda should follow suit.
Timothy said that a lot of the teachers and pupils at the school are interested in conservation. He has been organising tours to national parks, but unfortunately finances don’t allow the entire school to go along. For those that do, it makes them even more excited about wildlife and they can’t wait for the next trip. He also had t-shirts made for them, with a global peace heart on the front and a dove on the back, to instil a sense of belonging, and to remind them of the importance of peace and harmony with other people and with the environment. He thinks that things like t-shirts or badges, which give a shared identity in relation to a common goal, are really useful in keeping people’s interest in matters such as conservation.
When asked if he thought outreach programmes such as that of the CSWCT, were useful in engaging younger generations with conservation, he said that they have a massive part to play. School pupils are used to seeing their teachers day in, day out, so a visitor from an outside organisation makes them sit up and listen, and gives a sense of importance to the issue being discussed. He said that if the organisations bring documentaries with them to show the pupils, this especially makes an impact. As Timothy puts it, “Someone needs to come from the outside to plant the seed and then the teachers can continue the propagation of the seed”
Kennedy Secondary School has many clubs, and each pupil must become a member of at least two of them. These include Geography and Wildlife Club, Drama Club, Fine Art Club, and so on. Of 1026 pupils, 480 are members of the Geography and Wildlife Club. The chair and vice-chair of the club are pupils, which again instils in them a sense of responsibility. One of Timothy’s former pupils went on to study Natural Resource Management at university, and, along with other pupils who have gone on to achieve their ambitions, is often invited back to the school to talk to and inspire pupils before their examinations.
Overall, Timothy feels that there needs to be a lot more information about the environment, wildlife and conservation available in the public domain. Though he thinks that word of mouth is one of the best ways to spread the information as it avoids ambiguity, he also places value on brochures, leaflets, and the information available at places like Ngamba Island and UWEC. Anyone outside a school or conservation organisation who cannot afford to visit national parks and sanctuaries needs to be able to access information about the environment and conservation, as if it doesn’t reach the grass roots, there is only so much that can be done. He feels that the next step for him is to try to find out if the lessons learnt by children at his school filter back through to their families and communities, and, if not, how this can be improved.
