Over 4,000 Kenyan Students Take Part in Second Shujaa Zone Conservation Competition

More than 4,000 learners from across Kenya’s Tsavo Landscape entered the second edition of the Shujaa Zone Competition, with the young conservationists celebrated at an award ceremony held at Ngwata Comprehensive School in Makueni County on 12 August 2026. Over 250 students received awards, according to the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), which runs the competition together with the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK).

Participation more than doubled

Applications to the 2026 competition more than doubled compared with the inaugural edition, with entries received from learners across seven counties in the Tsavo Landscape. The competition is implemented as part of the four-year Young Conservation Heroes project, supported by Bob and Emmy King, which aims to build a pipeline of youth-led conservation leadership around one of Kenya’s most important wildlife areas.

Part of a broader youth strategy

AWF and WCK have paired the competition with related initiatives in the same landscape, including a Young Conservation Champions Scholarship and community scout training, aimed at giving young people both recognition for conservation engagement and practical pathways into environmental careers. Tsavo, one of Kenya’s largest protected wildlife areas, faces ongoing pressure from human-wildlife conflict and habitat loss, making local buy-in from surrounding communities a long-term conservation priority.

Why It Matters

Community support is widely regarded as essential to the long-term survival of wildlife in landscapes like Tsavo, where protected areas border farms and villages. Involving thousands of school-age learners in conservation activities, rather than treating conservation as something managed only by rangers and NGOs, is intended to build a generation more invested in protecting the wildlife they live alongside. The sharp rise in applications between the competition’s first and second editions also suggests growing interest among schools in the region, giving organisers a larger pool of young participants to draw future scouts and conservation advocates from.