The Young Rangers' Club is available to all children aged between 10 and 15 who are visiting Heritage Hotels with their families or in organised school groups. By providing Rangers with a comprehensive programme of conservation education, community interaction and practical 'bush skills', the Club aims to help children to appreciate the importance of Africa's wilderness and tribal cultures - and the need to preserve both for future generations.

Rangers' courses are usually staged over a three-day period, with an established itinerary of interrelated activities. After each day in the bush, Rangers will spend the evenings watching documentary programmes, talking to local conservationists, and discussing what they have learned during the day. At the end of each course, each Ranger receives a certificate confirming their completion of the course, and - if desired - a safari uniform in the Club colours.

Here are just a few of the many activities presented by the Young Rangers' Club:

• Bush Orienteering
  The Rangers are divided into groups and learn to find their way through the bush using traditional methods (sun and stars), compasses and watches, as well as high-tech Global Positioning Systems equipment.
  

• First Aid
  Rangers are presented with practical lessons on how to treat and administer to shocks, snakebites, bleeding, circulation problems, and other debilitating conditions.
  

• Snakes
  Everyone is both intrigued and afraid of snakes, and our lectures on identifying different snakes, the properties of venom, and the treatment of snakebites are invariably one of the Club's highlights!
  

• Bird Identification
  Through a variety of lessons and bush walks, our avian experts help Rangers to learn how to identify African birds through their calls, bills, feet, habitats and plumage patterns.
  

• Tree Identification
  Through a similar variety of face-to-face encounters, Rangers learn how to identify various key tree species, their importance and roles in their environment, and their local and medicinal uses. The activity often ends with a 'tree marathon' contest, through which Rangers try to identify as many trees as possible in a given time.
  

• Mammal Behaviour Studies
  At the beginning of the Rangers' courses, each Ranger chooses a specific mammal to collect data on during their game drives and bush walks. Data is collected at specific times to ensure a comprehensive understanding of behaviour patterns. At the end of their stay, each Ranger is invited to give a short presentation on the data they have collected.
  Guided Bush Walks
  

• All the Rangers' Club properties are ideally located for safe and illuminating walks through a variety of bush, forest and mountain habitats. These walks offer an ideal way of getting close to nature, studying local flora, small mammals, reptiles, birds and insects, identifying larger mammals through their spoor, and finding water in the bush.
  Animal Obstacle Course
  Voyager Safari Lodge is equipped with a unique 'Animal Obstacle Course', which enables Rangers to mimic and study the movements and hunting techniques of 10 different animals, including lions, leopards, elephants and baboons. After imitating the movements of each animal, the Rangers are taught the scientific rationale behind them.

The Young Rangers' Club also offers Rangers the following facilities and excursions:

• 'Adventure Centres' with educational displays and audio-visual presentations
  

• Young Ranger game drives in our specially modified trucks, the Blue Gnus
  

• Excursions to Maasai and Samburu villages (a small fee may be charged)
  

• Overnight fly-camping at Siana Springs and Voyager Safari Lodge
  

• Overnight stays in an in-house Maasai manyatta at Voyager Safari Lodge
  

• Horse riding at Siana Springs, Voyager Safari Camp and Great Rift Valley Lodge
  

• Fishing and boating at Voyager Safari Camp and Great Rift Valley Lodge
  

• Golf lessons, practice and competitions at the Great Rift Valley Lodge.

© Choices Wild Limited / Heritage Hotels Ltd, 2003. All Rights Reserved.