Students from around Nyungwe and neighboring places have started visiting Nyungwe forest as a way to learn how to conserve it.  

Students visiting the forest (photo Timothy Kisambira)

“You see we have been encouraging the teachers in different schools to teach their students on the different ways of conserving and protecting the forest and so we have decided that for what they have been teaching has been theory so it is time for the students to come and see for themselves physically and also have an experience,” Rugerinyange said.

He added that they have began with the students who are in holidays because they are going to have a good experience which they will carry on to school and also share it with their friends at school.

“Apart from the students learning practically what they are taught in school, we have also started encouraging them to come and visit the forest and other tourist sites.

We have a wrong perception in our country that tourism is only meant for foreigners this is wrong its for both foreign and the locals so we want also to begin sensitizing theses students who will be coming to visit the forest to not only stop here but also visit other places and not only for study tours but as tourists,” the chief warden said.

He said that there are many things to see in the forest for example many species that people should see and never seen but only heard of, and also added that they are not going to stop at the level of taking students around the forest but they are going to follow them at school to see whether they are putting in practice what they saw.

“We shall not stop here but we shall follow them and we shall also go ahead by putting up competitions in different schools and award prizes.

Excited

Olea Dusabimana a senior three student from Essi Mutovu in Nyaruguru district said that it was her first time to visit Nyungwe forest.

“I have just been hearing about the forest but today I am excited because we have spent three hours moving around the forest and seeing many tree species that I had never seen in my life, like the sencostacys Scandens (Umukipfu) the one that the elephants used to feed on it has been great though scaring because walking in a forest where you see birds and animals on trees its wonderful,” Dusabimana said.

She added that she wanted to walk through the whole forest but it’s big and that she is going to encourage her fellow friends to come and visit the forest because there are many things that they are missing to see and that they should see.

Jean de Dieu a teacher from GS Ruheru secondary school in Ruheru district said that he was happy because his students have seen what they have been teaching them practically.

“You see observation is a key to teaching and at times it’s very difficult for students to forget what they have seen by their eyes so this is a good experience for the students and I hope that they can now put in practice what we have been teaching them. But also they have heard the ample time to ask questions that they did not understand well in class” said Jean de Dieu.

“They have been teaching us to conserve the forest and I did not have the clear picture of what they were telling us at school. But today after walking in the forest this is when I got to know the meaning of conserving the forest”

“The beautiful monkeys I have seen here the trees for instance which drums are made of, the cool temperature in the forest is perfect. For sure if the forest was destroyed then I would not have been able to see all this. So we need to conserve the forest for our future children also to come and see this” said James Ndasingwa.

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