Skip to content

Ecological Restoration Partnership at Brackenhurst in Kenya

NTU, JKUAT, MKU and CER-K faculty planting a tree - January 2024

Brackenhurst Kenya - Centre and Centre for Ecosystem Restoration – Kenya – (CER-K), Tigoni, Kenya.

Visit the Eastern Africa Centre homepage

Overview

The School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences (ARES) through the Eastern African Centre (EAC) is collaborating with Eastern African Partners such as the Centre for Ecosystem Restoration – Kenya - (CER-K), Mount Kenya University (MKU) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to develop research into ecological restoration.

The partnership was initiated in 2019. Key academics came together to discuss how they might collaborate to understand the value of Brackenhurst’s newly-grown indigenous forest.

Drawing upon their collective expertise a long-term plan of research has been drawn up to underpin the restoration of the site. Looking at all aspects of the forest to measure its success, its impact on the surrounding area, and the learning that can be used to inform future rewilding projects.

The team has set in motion a series of activities and opportunities for staff and students to engage in and to establish a centre of excellence in ecological restoration in the future.

In 2020, the Ecological Restoration Partnership successfully bid for Erasmus+ funding and was awarded a 36-month grant of €136,360 to support mobility between the partners.

Brackenhurst Forest, Kenya

Over the years, the land surrounding Brackenhurst Forest in Kenya has become degraded as more invasive plant species moved in, seeding the once-cleared land to make way for a golf course. The rewilding work undertaken by Plants for Life International to restore the land means propagating and conserving many native and endangered plant species.

The forest that grows is now made up entirely of African trees and shrubs, many found on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list. Invasive plants are routinely removed to give the indigenous species the best possible environment in which to thrive.

Events, related links and resources

Events

June and July 2025:

Related links and resources

Team members and collaborators

Team members

NTU

JKUAT

MKU

CER-K

Collaborators

Networks