Intrepid Travel has begun its initiative to plant 20 000 native seedlings to help restore 6 hectares of degraded forest in Kenya’s Rift Valley.
With the support of travellers, a local NGO and the Kenyan government, Intrepid plans to restore the Mau Forest, a vital catchment providing water to the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti National Park through the Mara River.
From 2027, tourists on specific Intrepid trips in East Africa can visit the site to learn about the degradation of the environment, after which they can plant, water, or help maintain a tree and thus contribute to conservation efforts on their trip.
Intrepid plans to plant 5 000 trees each season to reach its targeted 20 000 trees. The adventure travel company hopes to expand this initiative at the end of the current licence by moving into a new tract of land to repeat the process.
"As a purpose-led business, we see impact KPIs as being just as important as profit-related ones. And we need to protect the resources that all travel, and life, depend on. This project is the first of 10 nature-related projects in our 2030 strategy,” said Rochelle Turner, Head of Impact for EMEA at Intrepid Travel.
