Giraffe and Lion Conservation in Kenya School Trip
Projects Abroad
Kenya offers one of the most iconic and biodiverse environments in the world, making it the perfect setting for conservation-focused learning. Students step beyond the classroom to engage directly with real-world environmental initiatives, gaining firsthand insight into the challenges and achievements of wildlife protection and sustainable community development.Through wildlife monitoring and community sustainability projects, students build leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking skills while working alongside conservation specialists and local partners. The hands-on structure of the programme ensures that learning is practical and measurable, with clear contributions to ecosystem protection and community wellbeing.
Immersion in Kenyan culture adds another powerful dimension to the experience. By living and working within a rural conservancy setting, students gain insight into local traditions, daily life, and the balance between conservation and community needs. These cross-cultural experiences foster resilience, adaptability, and global awareness, creating personal growth alongside meaningful environmental impact.
Your trip:
Become immersed in the African Savannah and Kenyan traditions whilst contributing to meaningful environmental and community-led projects. Your programme will combine hands-on fieldwork with cultural discovery, as you support wildlife protection initiatives and sustainability projects within and around Soysambu Conservancy. Fieldwork will include giraffe, Colobus monkey, lion, and bird surveys, camera trap monitoring, and conservation workshops, giving you a deeper understanding of biodiversity protection in action.
Working alongside professional conservationists and local community members, you'll develop practical skills in teamwork, data collection, environmental awareness, and problem-solving while contributing to the protection of Kenya's unique ecosystems.
You'll also be immersed in Kenya's rich culture and landscapes, from Swahili language sessions and traditional dance to community visits and cooking experiences.
Discover Kenya's extraordinary wildlife with excursions to Lake Nakuru National Park and Menengai Crater, where you'll encounter iconic species such as white rhinos, buffalos, baboons, flamingos, and more, while learning about conservation efforts that protect their habitats. A night game drive and time spent exploring the conservancy offer unforgettable opportunities to experience Kenya's landscapes and wildlife up close.
Teacher Checklist
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Example Itineraries for our 2026 & 2027 trips
Day 1 - 2
Arrive at Nairobi Airport, where our local team will welcome you before travelling to Soysambu Conservancy, located around three hours from Nairobi. After settling in, you'll enjoy dinner at the conservancy and time to rest after your journey.
Get familiar with the landscape, wildlife, and the work you'll be supporting as you take part in a project induction and guided conservancy tour. After lunch at a local restaurant, you'll visit Nakuru town before joining a cultural awareness and conservation workshop.
Dinner will be back at the conservancy, followed by a relaxed evening to unwind after the day's activities.
Days 3 - 6
Engage in hands-on conservation fieldwork, starting with Rothschild's giraffe surveys and lion and carnivore monitoring, learning how to observe wildlife and record data that supports long-term protection efforts. You'll also take part in a wetland bird survey, exploring the importance of these habitats for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Support the local community through a practical sustainability projects and joining an anti-poaching patrol to help identify and remove snares, supporting conservation efforts on the ground. You'll help install energy-saving eco-stoves for families living near the conservancy - cooking units that can reduce firewood use by up to 70%, lowering pollution, protecting local forests, and improving respiratory health. You'll also gain a meaningful opportunity to connect with community members in a rural setting, gaining insight into daily life and the environmental challenges they face.
Days 7 - 8
Head out on two exciting day trips to explore more of the local area. First, you'll visit Lake Nakuru, a famous shallow lake and UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its wildlife and stunning scenery. Keep an eye out for endangered black and white rhinos, Rothschild's giraffes, buffaloes, baboons, flamingos, and more. There will be time for some souvenir shopping before returning to the conservancy.
You'll then travel to Menengai Crater, one of the largest volcanic calderas in Kenya and the second largest in Africa. After taking in the views and learning more about the area, you'll stop for lunch and have some time for souvenir shopping.
Days 9 - 13
Building on the skills and experience gained earlier in the programme, you'll deepen your conservation experience through a range of monitoring and habitat support activities. You'll help set and monitor camera traps, explore giraffe activity patterns, monitor birds of prey, and remove invasive plants to protect local ecosystems.
You'll also conduct a Colobus Monkey survey, support the maintenance of natural waterholes and roads, and continue lion and carnivore monitoring, building on the skills developed earlier in the programme.
Alongside your conservation work, you'll enjoy memorable experiences such as a night game drive, time to relax at a luxury safari camp pool, and evenings spent unwinding at the conservancy.
To round off your programme, you'll come together for a farewell barbecue and campfire, celebrating everything you've achieved as a group.
Day 14
Today your trip comes to an end. After breakfast, you'll prepare for departure and travel onwards, bringing your conservation experience in Kenya to a close.
You'll leave Kenya with new skills, meaningful memories, and a real sense of achievement from supporting education and community initiatives abroad.
Arrive at Nairobi Airport, where our local team will welcome you before travelling to Soysambu Conservancy, located around three hours from Nairobi. After settling in, you'll enjoy dinner at the conservancy and time to rest after your journey.
Get familiar with the landscape, wildlife, and the work you'll be supporting as you take part in a project induction and guided conservancy tour. After lunch at a local restaurant, you'll visit Nakuru town before joining a cultural awareness and conservation workshop.
Dinner will be back at the conservancy, followed by a relaxed evening to unwind after the day's activities.
Days 3 - 6
Engage in hands-on conservation fieldwork, starting with Rothschild's giraffe surveys and lion and carnivore monitoring, learning how to observe wildlife and record data that supports long-term protection efforts. You'll also take part in a wetland bird survey, exploring the importance of these habitats for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
Support the local community through a practical sustainability projects and joining an anti-poaching patrol to help identify and remove snares, supporting conservation efforts on the ground. You'll help install energy-saving eco-stoves for families living near the conservancy - cooking units that can reduce firewood use by up to 70%, lowering pollution, protecting local forests, and improving respiratory health. You'll also gain a meaningful opportunity to connect with community members in a rural setting, gaining insight into daily life and the environmental challenges they face.
Days 7 - 8
Head out on two exciting day trips to explore more of the local area. First, you'll visit Lake Nakuru, a famous shallow lake and UNESCO World Heritage Site, known for its wildlife and stunning scenery. Keep an eye out for endangered black and white rhinos, Rothschild's giraffes, buffaloes, baboons, flamingos, and more. There will be time for some souvenir shopping before returning to the conservancy.
You'll then travel to Menengai Crater, one of the largest volcanic calderas in Kenya and the second largest in Africa. After taking in the views and learning more about the area, you'll stop for lunch and have some time for souvenir shopping.
Days 9 - 13
Building on the skills and experience gained earlier in the programme, you'll deepen your conservation experience through a range of monitoring and habitat support activities. You'll help set and monitor camera traps, explore giraffe activity patterns, monitor birds of prey, and remove invasive plants to protect local ecosystems.
You'll also conduct a Colobus Monkey survey, support the maintenance of natural waterholes and roads, and continue lion and carnivore monitoring, building on the skills developed earlier in the programme.
Alongside your conservation work, you'll enjoy memorable experiences such as a night game drive, time to relax at a luxury safari camp pool, and evenings spent unwinding at the conservancy.
To round off your programme, you'll come together for a farewell barbecue and campfire, celebrating everything you've achieved as a group.
Day 14
Today your trip comes to an end. After breakfast, you'll prepare for departure and travel onwards, bringing your conservation experience in Kenya to a close.
You'll leave Kenya with new skills, meaningful memories, and a real sense of achievement from supporting education and community initiatives abroad.
Which Curriculum Subjects do we cater for?
Cultural
Students will get stuck into a variety of social and cultural activities during their stay in Kenya. From a Kiswahili language lesson to a Maasai traditional dance class, the group will leave feeling fully immersed in Kenya's vibrant cultures and traditions.
Through food, we believe people can learn a lot about a country's history and values, so students are also invited to take part in a cooking class where they can learn how to make a delicious Kenyan dish.
Environmental Science
Due to human activity, poaching, pollution, and damage caused by residential and commercial development have become major threats to Kenya's wildlife. Students will learn more about the knock-on effects of human activity on the environment and take steps to combat the impacts on the area.
Through crucial outreach in the community, students will share the importance of sustainable and conscious living. Their conversations with the local people aim to inspire change and action, triggering long-term positive change.
Conservation Wildlife Animal Care
Students taking part in our Kenya Conservation Programme will work alongside experts to ensure the survival of precious wildlife species, completing tasks such as:
> Researching the Rothschild giraffe
> Lion monitoring
> Wetland and terrestrial bird surveys
> Learning skills in animal identification
> Setting up camera traps and studying animal behaviour
> Maintaining waterholes to ensure vital water access to wildlife
Community Projects
Your group will engage with and give back to the local community as they take part in community clean-ups and plant trees. This is a great opportunity to develop connections, learn about a different culture, and teach others the new environmental knowledge they have gained during their time in Kenya.
Expedition
What size groups do we cater for?
All group sizes of 5 or more. Free staff place with every 9 students.
Access for visitors with disabilities?
Disabled facilities can be offered on request.
Visitors with Special Educational Needs (SEN)?
Visitors with special educational needs can be catered for on request.
Anything else?
Projects Abroad holds the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge and operates in compliance with BS 8848 standards for overseas activities. For school leaders and governors, this means the programme meets recognised national benchmarks.
We provide comprehensive risk assessments, safeguarding policies, and approval-ready documentation for every trip, supporting SLT, governor, and district approval processes. The team that plans your trip is the team on the ground when you arrive.
By travelling with us, you also contribute positively to local economies, environmental protection, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Don't take our word for it; we're B Corporation Certified! We're committed to setting the new sustainability standard in school travel by offsetting 110% of carbon emissions associated with your in-destination programming.
Our Partnerships Team is happy to answer any queries and guide you through the process of booking the school trip of a lifetime!
We provide comprehensive risk assessments, safeguarding policies, and approval-ready documentation for every trip, supporting SLT, governor, and district approval processes. The team that plans your trip is the team on the ground when you arrive.
By travelling with us, you also contribute positively to local economies, environmental protection, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Don't take our word for it; we're B Corporation Certified! We're committed to setting the new sustainability standard in school travel by offsetting 110% of carbon emissions associated with your in-destination programming.
Our Partnerships Team is happy to answer any queries and guide you through the process of booking the school trip of a lifetime!
Who are Projects Abroad?
Since 1992, Projects Abroad has helped young people step beyond the familiar and discover what they're truly capable of. As a global leader in educational travel, we've partnered with over 500 schools to deliver transformative school trips that help shape students' passions, careers, and futures.
We realise that each school has its own goals and interests, and the students have their own interests. We work with every school to develop a tailored itinerary that reflects their values and allows the students to make a connection with the community in which they serve.
We're proud of our dedicated in-country staff whose diverse skill sets, local knowledge and love of their community allow us to develop relevant, immersive and worthwhile schedules for school trips. These experiences give the students responsibility and teach them to see the world through a different lens.
The result is a trip that students remember long after they've left school, and one that reflects well on the school that made it possible!
Teacher Checklist
Risk Assessments Inspection Visits Free Places for Teachers Resource Packs LOtC Quality Badge Expedition Providers Association Tailor your trip Help promoting your trip Offset your trip carbon footprint
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