Welcome back girls! – After a month off school, all of the girls were reunited on campus safe and sound last weekend. They spent the weekend together catching up on what they did over their holidays and getting ready for the start of the new term. We’re thrilled to have everyone back together and working towards an amazing third term!

Betty and Emily exploring the caves

Form 3 visits nearby caves – Along with teachers Joseph and Wycliffe, the Form 3 geography class had a field trip to a group of caves outside of town. The caves are important geographically, but also historically as they were used by Mau Mau rebels during the uprising against colonial rule in the 1950s.

The group walked through the forest at the base of Mt. Kenya to access the caves – stopping to test the cold water flowing down the mountain’s slopes. Leila, who is from the northern town of Isiolo, said it was a great experience, not just for what she learned about the caves and their history, but also to experience a new environment.

Naturalist lecture – Guest speaker Luca Borghesio, a biologist with a fellowship with the University of Illinois, treated the girls to an incredible talk about his research on biodiversity in the Matthews Range, a remote area north of Daraja. He talked about how some species can actually benefit from human activity in the forests. Where people remove trees, Luca said, new plants are allowed to flourish that attract different insects and the birds that feed on them. It was a great example for the girls of how science is being put to use in Kenya, and helped them to imagine career possibilities they may not have considered before.

Luca showing the girls pictures from his field research