William Holden Wildlife Foundation
Encyclopedia
The William Holden Wildlife Foundation (WHWF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the United States
whose principal project is the William Holden Wildlife Education Center located near Nanyuki
, Kenya
, East Africa
. The Education Center is dedicated to wildlife conservation
and environmental studies
for local people, with occasional visits from international groups. The office of the Foundation is located in California
.
. To foster a better understanding of the crucial role flora
and fauna
plays in the quality of life and its sustenance on our planet
with emphasis on practical methods of sustainability
accessible to all. To teach alternatives to habitat
destruction for man and animals. To enlighten students and visitors to the available innovations in energy producing techniques with low environmental impact. To inspire a personal commitment in all who participate.
The Center has served as many as 11,000 students in one year. The groups come to the Center from all over Kenya, generally for a stay of thee days, during which curricula is adjusted with the consideration of the age, level of sophistication, and number of times the group has visited the Center. No visitors under the age of 9 years are accepted for overnight stays. All groups must be accompanied by teachers or adult group leaders, and must be prepared to provide their own food and bedding. Cooking facilities and dormitory tents are provided on the grounds of the Center, within the 15 acres (60,702.9 m²) site.
Lectures are given by the Education staff, as are guided visits to the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy's animal orphanage and surrounding pastures.
On site educational displays include the following:
books for all grades, along with a full spectrum of magazines, periodicals, books, pamphlets, and charts conveying the lessons of environmental concerns and information on wildlife.
Over the years, each school has been partnered with overseas schools where dedicated teachers lead their classes in a pen pal
program, exchanging letters with Kenyan students in our rural program, as well as in other urban schools.
and his partners Don and Iris Hunt, with Julian McKeand, and Deane Johnson as directors, after the purchase of an 1800 acres (7.3 km²) mixed game farm
on the slopes of Mt. Kenya at 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) above sea level. Over time, 37 species
in nucleus breeding herds were captured and brought to the ranch to create the first game ranch of its kind in East Africa. This effort was inspired by observing the diminishing herds due to over-hunting, poaching
, and population encroachment.
While his partners remained on the ranch to oversee its development, Holden carried on with his renowned acting
career, providing the much needed financial support for the operation, and visiting whenever possible. Holden always spoke of the importance of education for local people in order that they might learn the valuable role wildlife plays in the balance of nature.
After his untimely death in 1981, his long time life partner actress Stefanie Powers
, and Don and Iris Hunt created the William Holden Wildlife Foundation as a fulfillment of his desires and as a tribute to his dedication. Powers serves as the President of the Foundation and chief fund raiser and Don Hunt as the Vice President. Fifteen acres of land was excised from the game ranch as a site for the Foundation's Education Center, which was inaugurated in a groundbreaking ceremony in 1982.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
whose principal project is the William Holden Wildlife Education Center located near Nanyuki
Nanyuki
Nanyuki is a market town in central-east Rift Valley region of Kenya lying northwest of Mount Kenya along the A2 road and at the terminus of the branch railway from Nairobi. It is situated just north of the Equator . It was founded in 1907 by British settlers, some of whose descendants still live...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. The Education Center is dedicated to wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation
Wildlife conservation is the preservation, protection, or restoration of wildlife and their environment, especially in relation to endangered and vulnerable species. All living non-domesticated animals, even if bred, hatched or born in captivity, are considered wild animals. Wildlife represents all...
and environmental studies
Environmental studies
Environmental studies is the academic field which systematically studies human interaction with the environment. It is a broad interdisciplinary field of study that includes the natural environment, built environment, and the sets of relationships between them...
for local people, with occasional visits from international groups. The office of the Foundation is located in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Mission statement
To focus on the educational component of wildlife and environmental protection and conservationHabitat conservation
Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
. To foster a better understanding of the crucial role flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
plays in the quality of life and its sustenance on our planet
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
with emphasis on practical methods of sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
accessible to all. To teach alternatives to habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
destruction for man and animals. To enlighten students and visitors to the available innovations in energy producing techniques with low environmental impact. To inspire a personal commitment in all who participate.
Educational Programs
Lectures are given by the Education staff, as are guided visits to the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy's animal orphanage and surrounding pastures.
On site educational displays include the following:
- A practical example of high-yield companion plantingCompanion plantingCompanion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity , on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control, pollination, and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity...
using compost fertilizers and crop rotationCrop rotationCrop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
on a small plot. - A tree nursery with Indigenous (ecology)Indigenous (ecology)In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
trees that are fast-growing and nitrogenNitrogenNitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N, atomic number of 7 and atomic mass 14.00674 u. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78.08% by volume of Earth's atmosphere...
-producing. - Displays of natural historyNatural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
, including soil samples and installations demonstrating how soil erosion occurs. - A fish farm borrowing water from the adjacent river, and returning it to the river unpolluted.
- A nature walk to experience an unexploited virgin forestVirgin ForestVirgin Forest is a self-described B-movie starring Sarsi Emmanuel, who plays a barrio lass of Chinese ancestry; the late Miguel Rodriguez, as a Filipino-Spanish illustrado; and, Abel Jurado, who plays the lover of Sarsi's character.-Synopsis:...
. - A biogas digester that produces methane gas from llamaLlamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
dung for either low-level lighting or for cooking.
- A hand press for the production of alternative fuelAlternative fuelAlternative fuels, known as non-conventional or advanced fuels, are any materials or substances that can be used as fuels, other than conventional fuels...
briquettes to burn in the highly efficient Bellerive cookers. (The Bellerive cooker, developed for the Third World by the Bellerive Foundation, is able to cook a stew for 40 people on ½ a kilo of wood; therefore being highly fuel efficient.) - A bush refrigerator.
- A solar cookerSolar cookerA solar cooker, or solar oven, is a device which uses the energy of sunlight to heat food or drink to cook it or sterilize it. High-tech versions, for example electric ovens powered by solar cells, are possible, and have some advantages such as being able to work in diffuse light. However at...
. - The first known breeding herd of ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an llamaLlamaThe llama is a South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times....
s on the AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n continent, donated by the family of the Foundation's Vice Chairman. The llamas provide a dramatic study in biodiversityBiodiversityBiodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
, as they are of the same genusGenusIn biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
as the camelCamelA camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
. - A permaculturePermaculturePermaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
wetlandWetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, enabling the complete water treatment and water purificationPurified waterPurified water is water from any source that is physically processed to remove impurities. Distilled water and deionized water have been the most common forms of purified water, but water can also be purified by other processes including reverse osmosis, carbon filtration, microfiltration,...
of all used water at the center. - Solar panels for water heating.
- A fully equipped library inside a lecture hall with a video system.
- Sleeping accommodations for 45 students and four teachers.
Rural Outreach Programs
WHWF has constructed four libraries at two primary and two secondary schools in rural communities serving roughly 2,200 students on a continual basis. The libraries provide much-needed syllabusSyllabus
A syllabus , is an outline and summary of topics to be covered in an education or training course. It is descriptive...
books for all grades, along with a full spectrum of magazines, periodicals, books, pamphlets, and charts conveying the lessons of environmental concerns and information on wildlife.
Over the years, each school has been partnered with overseas schools where dedicated teachers lead their classes in a pen pal
Pen pal
Pen pals are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail.-Purposes:A penpal relationship is often used to practice reading and writing in a foreign language, to improve literacy, to learn more about other countries and life-styles, and to make friendships...
program, exchanging letters with Kenyan students in our rural program, as well as in other urban schools.
History
The Mt Kenya Game Ranch was founded in the 1960s by William HoldenWilliam Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
and his partners Don and Iris Hunt, with Julian McKeand, and Deane Johnson as directors, after the purchase of an 1800 acres (7.3 km²) mixed game farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
on the slopes of Mt. Kenya at 7000 feet (2,133.6 m) above sea level. Over time, 37 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in nucleus breeding herds were captured and brought to the ranch to create the first game ranch of its kind in East Africa. This effort was inspired by observing the diminishing herds due to over-hunting, poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
, and population encroachment.
While his partners remained on the ranch to oversee its development, Holden carried on with his renowned acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
career, providing the much needed financial support for the operation, and visiting whenever possible. Holden always spoke of the importance of education for local people in order that they might learn the valuable role wildlife plays in the balance of nature.
After his untimely death in 1981, his long time life partner actress Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers is an American actress best known for her role as Jennifer Hart in the 1980s television series Hart to Hart.-Early life:...
, and Don and Iris Hunt created the William Holden Wildlife Foundation as a fulfillment of his desires and as a tribute to his dedication. Powers serves as the President of the Foundation and chief fund raiser and Don Hunt as the Vice President. Fifteen acres of land was excised from the game ranch as a site for the Foundation's Education Center, which was inaugurated in a groundbreaking ceremony in 1982.
See also
- SustainabilitySustainabilitySustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
- Wildlife managementWildlife managementWildlife management attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best available science. Wildlife management can include game keeping, wildlife conservation and pest control...
- Endangered speciesEndangered speciesAn endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
- Conservation biologyConservation biologyConservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...