For many years, significant parts of Kenya’s forests were cleared. But in recent decades, the attitude of the people of Kenya towards the nature around them has changed.
One man who plays an important role in this development is Dr. Rene Haller.
The story began in 1970, when Dr. Haller started an ecological experiment, trying to re-establish an ecosystem in the area of an old limestone quarry.
Since the area was relatively close to the coast, the salt content of the groundwater was quite high; at the same time, the groundwater level varied due to the tide. Most of the fertile soil had been eroded, so no vegetation developed of its own. The wind from the coast tended to dry out all the newly planted trees. In summary: The terrain was highly unsuitable for any type of plant.
Haller decided to rehabilitate the region’s natural diversity of flora and fauna, rather than simply cover the area with vegetation. The main difference is that a remediation (if successful) would result in a self-sustaining ecosystem, while covering the area with fast-growing vegetation for cosmetic reasons alone would have required a lot of support and intensive care without offering significant benefits.
To start the rehabilitation, twenty different species of trees were planted, three of which survived. Of these three, Casuarina trees withstand the stress of wind and dryness best. But even this robust species could not survive the difficult climate and scarce resources, until the mycorrhizal symbiosis that the casuarina benefits from in its natural habitat was established, providing the roots of the trees with minerals bound by the fungi involved. in symbiosis.
Centipedes and microorganisms turned the withered leaves shed from the trees into humus, allowing Dr. Haller to plant secondary vegetation of more than 350 different native tree species.
Every imbalance in Rene Haller’s newly established ecosystem was resolved without the use of chemical pesticides. Instead, he spent time finding out what kinds of ways nature provided to overcome these problems. Whenever a pest began to upset the balance of his system (such as a bark beetle severely damaging secondary vegetation), Haller would look for a natural (preferably indigenous) predator that he could introduce into the system to regulate the pest population (with In order to regulate the number of barking beetles, barking owls were released in the area).
Dr. Haller had developed a vision of a landscape that included lakes, forests, and swamps. He planned to harvest wood, food, honey, and fruits. Part of what later became known as “Haller Park” was a fish farm producing mainly Tilapia. One advantage of tilapia was the fact that this species could be fed entirely vegetarian, making it easy to avoid ecologically questionable additives. The fish excrement was used as fertilizer for the rice paddies that were also part of Haller Park, adding value rather than polluting nearby waters. To make tilapia maintenance possible, Haller had to study the behavior of the species and design special tanks that would allow the farm to be maintained profitably. But maintenance wasn’t the only problem Rene Haller faced: Lured by fish food, rats became a pest. Once again, the system was balanced by biological pest control: snakes were introduced to regulate the rat population, monitor lizards were used to contain snake numbers, while predatory birds and crocodiles preyed on the lizards.
Since then, Haller Park has grown into an amazing terrain that includes lakes, wetlands and savanna grasslands with trails for walking and biking, as well as a nature park and wildlife sanctuary with an enormous diversity of animals: here live antelopes, giraffes and hippos. , buffalo and giant tortoises. More than 80 species of palms can be found in Haller Park, many of them collected by Dr. Haller himself.
Surrounded by the beauty of abundant nature, visitors can eat at a restaurant called “Whistling Pine”.
Haller Park has brought a remarkable number of benefits to the region and its inhabitants. First, it provides a habitat for hundreds of species. Apart from that, the wood extracted in this area helps to protect the scarce mangrove forests by providing substitute materials that replace the mangrove wood. Twenty-five tons of rice is harvested each year from the paddy fields, the fish grown in the tanks are fed to animals in the park and sold locally to hotels.
While antelope and crocodiles provide meat, other exotic animals attract tourists and thus provide another source of income. Due to the beach and the nearby hotels, Haller Park is very frequented by tourists; in 2002, the number of visitors was close to 100,000. The facility provides 400 jobs for the region’s inhabitants.
Although it showed only little response, the Haller Park orchard was planned as an example for local farmers, trying to demonstrate simple techniques to increase their yield. Apart from that, the garden itself is another source of food.
Rene Haller’s work has contributed a lot to the establishment of environmental awareness among the local population. Following the motto “Never give up, just find another way to achieve your goals”, Dr. Haller founded the “Baobab Trust” with the aim of improving the food supply of the local population. One of his recent projects is the protection of the Shimba Hills National Park in Kenya. For this purpose, Dr. Haller purchased land around the national park to provide a new habitat for elephants that destroy the national park’s vegetation.
Visit the official website of the haller foundation for more information: http://www.haller.org.uk/
(c) Dino Schachten 2010. All rights reserved worldwide.