Winnie Kiiru
{{Short description|Kenyan biologist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Winnie Kiiru
| image = Winnie Kiiru (Leading Kenyan Conservationist) & Peter Middlebrook (CEO Geopolicity Inc.).jpg
| caption = Kiiru at an Ivory Burn in Nairobi in April 30, 2016
| nationality = Kenyan
| alma_mater = University of Zimbabwe
University of Kent
| organization = Wildlife Research Institute
| known_for = Elephant conservation
}}
Winnie Kiiru is a Kenyan biologist, elephant conservationist, and the chairperson of the Wildlife Research Institute in Naivasha. She is currently the chairperson of Friends of Karura Forest, a Community-Based Organization (CBO) that helps manage Karura forests.
She is also the founder and Executive Director of CHD Conservation Kenya, a CBO based in Amboseli that believes in people-centered conservation.
Education
In 1995, Kiiru earned a Master's degree from the University of Zimbabwe in Tropical Resource Ecology.{{Cite web |title=Dr Winnie Kiiru |url=https://www.elephanttrust.org/index.php/meet-the-team/item/winnie-kiruu |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=www.elephanttrust.org |archive-date=2022-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410154502/https://www.elephanttrust.org/index.php/meet-the-team/item/winnie-kiruu |url-status=dead }} Kiiru earned a PhD in biology from the University of Kent in Canterbury.{{Cite news |title=To Count Elephants In The Forest, Watch Where You Step |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/05/11/182951560/to-count-elephants-in-the-forest-look-down |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135613/https://www.npr.org/2013/05/11/182951560/to-count-elephants-in-the-forest-look-down |url-status=live }}
Career
Kiiru has worked for the Elephant Protection Initiative and the Stop Ivory initiative.{{Cite news |title=Two Sets Of Elephant Twins Born Amid Elephant Baby Boom In Kenya |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/911828419/two-sets-of-elephant-twins-born-amid-elephant-baby-boom-in-kenya |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135614/https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/911828419/two-sets-of-elephant-twins-born-amid-elephant-baby-boom-in-kenya |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2017-06-07 |title=How can humans and elephants better coexist? |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/how-can-humans-elephants-better-coexist |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=the Guardian |language=en |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135614/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jun/07/how-can-humans-elephants-better-coexist |url-status=live }} Dr. Kiiru is the chairperson of the Wildlife Research Institute in Naivasha{{Cite web |last=Koech |first=Gilbert |date=22 Dec 2021 |title=Challenges facing elephants outlined after 631km walk |url=https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-12-22-challenges-facing-elephants-outlined-after-631km-walk/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=The Star |language=en-KE |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135614/https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2021-12-22-challenges-facing-elephants-outlined-after-631km-walk/ |url-status=live }} and the acting chairperson of the Wildlife Research Training Institute in Kenya.{{Cite news |date=2021-05-07 |title=Kenya starts its first national wildlife census |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-starts-its-first-national-wildlife-census-2021-05-07/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135614/https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/kenya-starts-its-first-national-wildlife-census-2021-05-07/ |url-status=live }} Kiiru is a trustee of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Amboseli Trust for Elephants.{{Cite news |title=Can Economics Save The African Rhino? |language=en |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/05/15/184135826/can-economics-save-the-african-rhino |access-date=2022-04-07 |archive-date=2022-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407140556/https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/05/15/184135826/can-economics-save-the-african-rhino |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Meet the Team |url=https://www.elephanttrust.org/index.php/meet-the-team |access-date=2022-04-10 |website=www.elephanttrust.org |archive-date=2022-04-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410154456/https://www.elephanttrust.org/index.php/meet-the-team |url-status=dead }}
Kiiru helped persuade the Kenyan government to publicly burn ivory tusks, and a video of the burning featured in the 2018 film Anthropocene: The Human Epoch.{{Cite news |date=26 Sep 2018 |title=Anthropocene project highlights the apocalyptic beauty of humans' effect on the planet |work=CBC |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-26-2018-1.4838781/anthropocene-project-highlights-the-apocalyptic-beauty-of-humans-effect-on-the-planet-1.4838811 |access-date=7 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407135614/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-26-2018-1.4838781/anthropocene-project-highlights-the-apocalyptic-beauty-of-humans-effect-on-the-planet-1.4838811 |url-status=live }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/197811 Kiiru's 2016 op-ed Stop the Ivory Trade]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiiru, Winnie}}
Category:Kenyan conservationists
Category:Elephant conservation
Category:21st-century Kenyan women writers