Washington Wachira: For the love of birds
華盛頓.瓦奇拉: 對鳥類的愛
Birder and ecologist Washington Wachira started the Youth Conservation Awareness Programme to nurture young environmental enthusiasts in Kenya. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
beautiful birds we have in Kenya,
最美麗的鳥類之一,
of different sizes,
astonishing pieces of technology
has helped birds to keep dry,
協助鳥兒們保持乾燥,
can actually make a feather.
可以真正做出羽毛來。
who can make something
and any other animals we have on earth,
其他動物有很大的不同,
you cannot call yourself a bird.
你就不能稱你自己是鳥。
to conquer gravity
in an extraordinary way.
you could fly like a bird?
能像鳥兒一樣飛翔嗎?
each one of you thinks about them.
is because they are beautiful.
最簡單的理由是牠們很漂亮。
is uniquely beautiful.
to all the birds of the world.
世界上所有的鳥。
part of our lives and cultures
生活和文化的一部份,
和鳥有關的故事。
childhood stories of different birds
一些故事,是關於鳥兒
would follow flocks of vultures
have been dropped by large carnivores,
and eat part of that meat.
and labels all over the world.
來設計的品牌和商標。
emblem for the US
in virtually all habitats of this earth,
所有可以居住的地方定居,
these beautiful penguins
you can imagine.
have conquered this world.
we call the weaverbirds,
in which they weave their nests.
just like us humans.
會戀愛、會約會。
that males dress to impress the women,
公鳥會用穿著來讓母鳥印象深刻,
just like humans.
wondering about this one.
to cheat on their spouses.
to find other males to mate with
to take care of the chicks.
in our ecosystems each day.
扮演關鍵的角色。
disease-causing pathogens,
病原體給消化掉,
that would otherwise cost us lots of money
is capable of bringing down a carcass
the environments of rodents
齧齒目動物的環境,
because it saves us money --
to buy harmful chemicals
we see in our environments
pollinators like insects,
that we depend on for many years.
一直賴以為生的作物。
is by far not perfect.
鳥類的故事並不完美。
every day wherever they live.
每天都要面對許多挑戰。
especially migratory species
to flocks that like to stick together,
特別容易被毒害,
are electrocuting birds
of climate change
許多氣候變遷的言論,
from better breeding and feeding grounds
較佳的繁殖地及飼育地,
where they used to live
towards birds was changed
of a bird we called the augur buzzard.
in a similar situation,
any biologist by then,
and we decided to house the bird
我們決定養這隻鳥,
and then let it free.
to feed on beef from our school kitchen,
吃從學校廚房拿來的牛肉,
for its dinner every day.
附近找白蟻來給牠當晚餐。
changed the way we looked at birds.
within our own high school.
made me the conservationist I am today.
成為一位自然環境保護主義者。
should especially matter for Africa
對鳥類的熱愛應該是
of the most amazing bird species
in highest numbers of diversity
to provide the continent
services that Africa needs.
是非洲大陸很需要的。
in avian tourism.
will benefit from groups of tourists
just to see the endemic birds
才找得到的地方特有鳥類。
to their continued survival,
by becoming a citizen scientist.
公眾科學家,來做到這一點。
around the world,
where people are sharing information
分享交通新資訊、
about traffic updates,
we realized as bird-watchers,
are found everywhere,
and everyone else in Africa
以及非洲的其他人,
they find where they live,
or even where they work,
with a map of every single species,
有所有品種的地圖,
conservation efforts
in the continent of Africa,
捕食型鳥類製作地圖,
that occur in my country, Kenya.
1,100 種鳥類製作地圖。
now have online databases
都有線上資料庫,
into very interactive websites
and make decisions from.
there was a big challenge.
from bird-watchers,
and I cannot access a computer.
what birds live in my home,
and come up with a sustainable solution.
提出永續的解決方案。
common in Africa
could get access to one.
mobile phone applications
and on your Android phone,
Android 手機上,
enthusiast out there.
which is used by the Kenya Bird Map,
配合「肯亞鳥類地圖」使用,
the African Raptor Observations,
Observations(非洲猛禽觀察)
by the African Raptor DataBank.
enormous amounts of data
out there in the regions.
that citizen science
citizen science is adaptive.
convert many bird-watchers
野鳥觀察家做出轉變,
could be a huge gateway
of other forms of animals.
in the Virtual Museum for Africa,
「虛擬博物館」中,
and damselflies,
we are even mapping mushrooms.
我們甚至為菇類做了地圖。
we've created a community of people
創造出了一個社群,
to love and care for that which we know.
去關心我們知道的事物。
in your free time
at school, or maybe at home,
and see which beautiful birds are there.
看看能看到什麼漂亮的鳥類。
in the places where you visit.
你發現了哪些鳥類。
how beautiful these birds are.
這些鳥類有多漂亮。
they will want to care
to love our feathermakers,
我們的羽毛製造者,
to appreciating all forms of nature.
各種形式之大自然的欣賞及感念。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Washington Wachira - Wildlife ecologist, nature photographer and safari guideBirder and ecologist Washington Wachira started the Youth Conservation Awareness Programme to nurture young environmental enthusiasts in Kenya.
Why you should listen
If you take a walk, the animals you're most likely see are birds. Birds are some of the most fascinating creatures on earth. We wake up to their songs in the morning; they're in our cities, farms and even schools. They are, however, facing many challenges, and we should do something to help them.
By age 14, Washington Wachira was already on a career path towards nature interpretation and conservation. Wachira holds a BSc in environmental science and is currently taking an MSc animal ecology from Kenyatta University. Washington founded Youth Conservation Awareness Programme (YCAP) to nurture young environmental enthusiasts in Kenya. He is a keen writer and has published multiple articles in a variety of local and international publications. As a result of his conservation passion, he has won many awards including Mr. Environment and Ambassador for Nairobi Province in 2012 and The Daisy Rothschild Award in 2015. He is a passionate and talented nature photographer featured in many publications worldwide. He has won multiple photo awards including the first position in the underwater category of the 2016 East African Wild Life Photo Competition and Honourable Mention in the Best of Nikon Kenya 2016 Photography Competition.
Wachira is an experienced safari guide and has led many expeditions and research projects across Kenya. He founded Cisticola Tours, a tour company that leads professional birding and nature tours across Kenya and the rest of East Africa. Through Cisticola Tours, he has been leading multiple sustainability projects to support bird conservation and help communities to appreciate birds and nature. He is also a member of the Bird Committee of Nature Kenya, Chair of the National Bird of Kenya Sub-committee, the Country Representative for Kenya at Youth Africa Birding and Manager for the Kenya Bird Map Project. He is a National Geographic Explorer for his work with African Crowned Eagles, and he is a birds of prey graduate student with The Peregrine Fund.
Washington Wachira | Speaker | TED.com