Olive's students hit Haller Park

This weekend, Standard 5 were chosen to take the inaugural Olives Rehabilitation Centre trip to Haller Park, a local disused quarry that has been transformed into an ecological and wildlife centre. They were sooooo excited! I took a science lesson with them on animal classification to give them a focus for the trip. We had some fun debating (or was that arguing?) and then agreeing which group some animals belonged to! The students finished by meticulously drawing tables ready to fill in with data.

Standard 5 enjoying their day at Haller Park

Excitement had reached fever pitch by Saturday, and that was just amongst us volunteers! The students had arrived at the school and hour early, as is their custom, and accompanied by their teacher David, we hijacked a matatu (local bus). Oh yes, we even threw an old man on crutches off so we could all get on!

Giraffe feeding

On arrival we were greeted by a giant tortoise. This was a great start, as the children, (big and small), ran over to see it. We walked round with a guide and the students marked off on their tables when they saw hippos, antelopes, monkeys, weaver birds, millipedes and many other species. The highlight was feeding the giraffes by hand which brought many squeals of laughter and smiles. However, this was hotly contested by the vervet monkeys who are famous for their bright blue testicular bits. They took great delight in jumping everywhere and chasing people who coincidently were wearing bright blue tops. Great amusement for the rest of us!
The morning was finished with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (yum), in the shade of the trees, then we reluctantly headed home. This was a fantastic trip, with some intelligent, funny children who did a great job learning about their animals.

The kids enjoying sandwhiches made by volunteers

- Kirsty Macgowan

A vervet monkey enjoying snacks meant for the giraffe (turquoise testicles not shown)

Olive's students hit Haller Park