Own research: Vegetation

So I decided to study the vegetation in the Taita hills. I first did some research on the topic in Finland  by searching information on the internet and then I also borrowed some books from the library. There wasn’t much info to be found except for the fact that the weather plays a great role in how the vegetation changes during the year, and that the vegetation on different heights (like mountains and savannas) differ greatly.

After the pre-research I had the vision that the vegetation on the mountains is rich and green since there are clouds forming over the mountains at night and so the trees are able to gather moisture, and that the vegetation on the savannas is mostly made up of grass and bushes since it is so dry there. I also found out that the rain seasons play a huge role in what the vegetation looks like.

While in Kenya I noted all of this to be very true. Since it was January the trees were magnificent looking, filled with rich green colours due to the fact that the rain season had just ended. Some trees though were already starting to turn yellowish and shedding leaves to better store the energy for the next dry months. While climbing on the mountains we walked trough thick forests reaching high up towards the sky and surrounding us. The vegetation consisted of many different species of trees, bushes flowers etc.

Then when we were at the Lumo safari the scenery was entirely different, lots of grass everywhere, some bushes and only a few trees. The savannas are dry and wide. While on the safari we did see some  water spots which were surrounded by more vegetation. The trees in the savanna often get destroyed by elephants when they are eating.

Altogether the vegetation was very different from what we are used to in Finland, and differed greatly from place to place because of the variation in water resources.

Sara Hartman

Traffic in Kenya

Traffic in Kenya


I picked traffic as my research topic, because I have always been very careful moped driver and I always obey road rules. It was very interesting see how different the traffic was in Kenya.
I had some prejudices against Kenyan traffic and they happened to be pretty right. Kenya's traffic was pretty weird because they have left-hand traffic.

My prejudices against Kenyan traffic were that there wouldn't be as new cars as we have.
I also thought that the roads would be a lot worse than we have in Finland, and road rules wouldn't be as strictly followed as we do in Finland. I also thought that there would be a lot more cars in there, and that there would be a lot of traffic jams.

The road condition in Kenya was very variable. Some of the roads were even better than we have here in Finland but they were rare. Roads were overall very bad and bumpy, and of course there wasn't that many roads. Motorcycles were very common there, but they were very cranky, like cars. The most common car brand there was Toyota. We also saw many broken cars on the side of the road.

The road rules weren't followed in Kenya. For example no one used motorcycle helmets or seatbelts. I also heard that it was very usual to drive under influence of alcohol or drugs in Kenya. People also drove very fast and recklessly. We had one scary situation on our way from Taita to Nairobi, because one oncoming bus started to overtake truck very lately and we had to dodge it and go to side of road. Luckily our bus driver was experienced and sharp, and nothing happened. Overtaking was very aggressive, because of many trucks.

We didn't see any big traffic jams, but i heard that they are very usual in Nairobi. We were also stopped by cattle a few times.

Own research: Termites (Isoptera)

During my visit in Kenya, Taita hills I studied a bit termites. 

Impala antilope standing next to a termite mound in the Taita Hills Wildlife Sanctuary.

Termites belong to the order of insects. They are typically 10 mm long and their composition is soft. The closest relatives to termites are cockroaches and praying mantises. Termites live in a community. The community changes repeatedly for one individual to a million. Usually in a community there is a king and a queen, soldier termites and worker termites.

 

There are three steps in termites life journey. First the worms develop and their wings grow. After that they fly to their honeymoon. Second step is that their wings fall down and they establish a mound. Third step is that they raise their first termites workers (feminines and males) by themselves. Then they have enough workers to take care of the mound. Some of the termites will change to be soldiers. Soldiers protect the mound and the workers. 

 

Termites have an important role in the carbon cycle. They eat wood and carry it to the mound in their stomach and defecate it in the mound.The mounds are build by a composition of the feces and the soil and that is why the mounds are always the same colour than the soil. Termites feed the feces to the mycelium (mushroom) which live and grow in the mounds. The termites, feces and mushroom generate to of gases in the mounds which is released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. There are several termite and mushroom species in the Taita hills.

 

In the Taita hills the termites are a little bit hindrance because termites try to rustle up every wood that they found. They destroy people´s homes and furniture. That is why people paint their wood furniture in black. People also eat termites. They have some kind of traditional soup made from termites. I did not have a change to taste that but they said it is delicious. 

Termite mound on the slope of Maktau hill called Ndolwa.

 Venla Pellikka

Own Research: Infectious Diseases

Infectious Diseases

I was interested in health and diseases in Africa. I decided to orientate myself to infectious diseases. In Finland as a conjecture I thought there are many diseases caused by poor hygiene and especially unclean water.

In Africa I interviewed five secondary students and a biology teacher. According them the most dangerous and frightening diseases in Kenya are HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. People are aware of the severity of HIV. When we drove from Nairobi to Taita hills we saw an advertisement for fight against HIV. Tuberculosis is usually caused by mycobacterium tuberculosis. Without treatment tuberculosis kills more than half of the people who are infected. Protecting against malaria is very common. Many people sleep under mosquito nets and women who are pregnant get free mosquito nets from hospital.

Worm Diseases

Ascariasis and hookworm are diseases which are infectious either via food that has been grown in infective soil and not well washed (poor hygiene) or from soil if larvae penetrate in to the skin (barefoot). Worms live in the intestine and can cause various symptoms for example abdominal pain.

Schistosomiasis aka bilharzia is infectious from water. Not-boiled fresh water can contain larvae. Worms live in the veins draining the urinary tract and intestines and can cause severe damage.

Mosquito-borne Infection

The most pernicious disease is malaria. It is caused by parasites. There are 4 types of protozoans, one of which can cause a life-threatening disease (falciparum malaria). Malaria is spread by a certain mosquito species which bite at night time but it can’t be said that malaria couldn't be infectious at day time. Malaria symptoms include episodic fever, malaise and headache which can start several weeks after the bite.

Malaria is extra pernicious for tourists who don’t have any immune for malaria. Unlike the local people may be semi-immune. Treatment must be started within 24 hours after symptoms (falciparum malaria). There is no vaccination against malaria. Prevention of malaria involves protecting yourself against mosquito bites and taking anti-malarial medicines but these are not 100% preventive. 

Sofia Huotilainen

Own research

Mapping, GPS, digital maps

I decided to familiarize myself with the idea of mapping the forest’s features, using GPS and making different kinds of maps during our trip to Taita hills.

   

Before the trip I tried to find some basic information on the web. What is the University of Helsinki mapping in the area? I was trying to find out any possible problems that this sort of research might face. I discovered that the Taita research station investigates the forest’s capacity to gather moisture. They also research the land cover change with photos taken from the air with the help of an airplane.

 

In the Taita Research Station I tried to find out more about my topic. I learned the role of the GPS in making different sorts of maps and charts. Every one of us had to use GPS during one day and make some sort of map with the help of the data from the GPS and with the help of Pellikka’s student who is studying geoinformatics. We also visited several data collecting stations for measuring the moisture and other weather conditions. At first I was a bit doubtful: how is it possible to study the forest’s capability to gather moisture? However this was opened up to me through the visits to the weather stations. We also learned about the issues that this research faces. Vandalism is a serious problem. If these stations get in bad condition the scientists might lose a big amount of data and so on the research is being disrupted. Nonetheless this doesn’t affect making maps from the areas around Taita Hills for travellers use. Therefore many maps have been made from the Taita Hills surroundings.

Jyri Havukainen

What did we learn and experience?

The excursion was organised by the Taita Research Station of the University of Helsinki in Kenya and namely by Prof. Petri Pellikka, who is the director of the station. To learn more about the Taita Research Station, please visit the station homepages at: http://blogs.helsinki.fi/taita-research-station/ 

The students learned about development issues, local education system, geoinformatics, physical geography, ecology, climatology, agriculture, forest management and society and culture of the Taita people. After the excursion each of the students received a certificate of participation indicating the lessons learned as following:



Mountain rain forest ecology 
Ethnographical exposure to the traditional Taita skull caves 
Agricultural practices of a small-scale farmer in the humid highlands and dry lowlands 
Life of a farmer family in the Taita hills 
Mapping routes and geographical locations using GPS receiver and preparing digital maps 
Primary school and secondary school education practices 
Group work with Kenyan secondary school pupils 
Meteorological measurements carried out in the Taita hills and the lowlands 
Large-scale sisal plantation land use practices 
Landscape ecology and wildlife observation at a community wildlife sanctuary 
Vegetation zone observation at an isolated mountain outcrop 
Forest management in Kenya 
Reporting on activities on a daily blog

Excursion programme: Multidisciplinary studies on environmental issues in Taita Taveta, Kenya

The daily schedule between 1-12. January, 2015

1.1. Thursday. Helsinki – Nairobi.

Flight with KLM via Amsterdam to Nairobi. Overnight at ACK Guest House, Bishop Rd., Nairobi.

2.1. Friday. Nairobi – Taita Hills

View to Kibera slum and visit to Nakumatt to do shopping.

3.1. Saturday. Taita Hills

Hike or climb to Vuria mountain and visit to skull caves in Mwanda.

4.1. Sunday. Taita Hills

Morning mess at Anglican Church of Kenya, visit to Darius’ farm in the Taita Hills, and football match against U-13 boys of FC Juniors of Wundanyi.

5.1. Monday. Taita Hills

Family day. Pupils learn and report on daily activities of the families on their farm.

6.1. Tuesday. Maktau

Visiting Mwadime’s family in the lowlands of Maktau. Introduction to the weather station of University of Helsinki, visit to Maktau primary school and climb to Ndolwa, one of the Maktau hills.

7.1. Wednesday. Taita Hills

Visit to Ngangao indigneous forest remnant.

8.1. Thursday. Kasigau

Drive through the sisal plantation to the Kasigau mountain and hike to the smaller top at 1500 m.

9.1. Friday. Taita lowland

Safari at LUMO – Sarova wildlife sanctuaries. Swimming in the pool of Taita Hills Lodge.

10.1. Saturday. Taita Hills

Group activities and lunch with the Canon Kituri High School students.

11.1. Sunday. Taita – Nairobi

Back to Nairobi. Dinner at Fairview Hotel and overnight at ACK Guest House.

12.1. Monday.  Flight back to Amsterdam and Helsinki.