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The Journal

Dispatches from a mountain that makes its own weather.

Reporting from the slopes of Mount Kulal on conservation science, indigenous knowledge, pastoralist livelihoods, youth leadership and the climate pressures reshaping northern Kenya.

Mist moving through the ancient forest canopy of Mount Kulal
Featured · Conservation

The forest that makes rain

On Mount Kulal, the cloud forest does not wait for rain — it harvests it from the air. Understanding that single fact explains almost everything about why this mountain must be protected.

12 March 2025 · 9 min read

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Elders of the Mount Kulal community in discussion under a tree
Culture

Fifty years of elders: how a movement began without funding

Wazee wa Mazingira means 'Elders of the Environment'. It started as an unpaid agreement between neighbours and became an internationally recognised conservation institution.

2 February 2025 · 8 min read

Young conservation scouts planting seedlings on the slopes of Mount Kulal
Youth

The youth who stayed

In every dryland community, young people face the same question: leave, or find a future here. On Mount Kulal, a growing number are choosing the mountain.

18 January 2025 · 7 min read

Wildlife within the Mount Kulal Biosphere Reserve
Wildlife

An island in the desert: the biodiversity of Mount Kulal

Isolated by desert on all sides, Kulal's highland forest has been evolving on its own terms for a very long time. The result is a species list found nowhere else.

9 December 2024 · 8 min read

The arid plains beneath Mount Kulal during the dry season
Climate

Drought and the grazing calendar

Pastoralist grazing systems are often described as a threat to rangelands. On Mount Kulal, a well-run grazing calendar is one of the most effective conservation tools we have.

21 October 2024 · 7 min read

An indigenous seedling raised in a community nursery on Mount Kulal
Community

A seedling is a fifty-year promise

Indigenous highland trees grow slowly. Planting one is an act of confidence in a community's continuity — and a logistical exercise most restoration projects underestimate.

5 September 2024 · 6 min read