Haller Park
In 1959, Dr. Rene Haller was employed by the Bamburi Cement Company to produce food for its workers using its land.
In 1970, he persuaded them to extend his remit to rehabilitate the cement quarries along the Mombasa coastline which had been left barren by years of excavation. This was a formidable task. The sun-baked quarry floors were hard as rock, air temperatures were up to 40 and the water was saline.
Dr. Haller introduced 26 different species of tree, finding that only the casuarina tree, whose leaves are like tough pine needles, would grow in such severe conditions. Causarina leaves are bunched together like pine needles, protecting them from losing moisture through evaporation.
Although casuarina trees would grow, their needles just lay on the forest floor, with nothing to decompose them. In order support other plant life, Dr. Haller introduced local “red legged” millipedes who ate the needles, turning them into the first layer of soil.
Through careful observation of how plants and animals interact with one another, and a series of trial-and-error experiments, Rene Haller was able to transform this barren wasteland into a tropical paradise. Over 1 million trees were planted in the quarry, and a range of insects, butterflies, birds and mammals were also introduced.
Nearly 100,000 visitors come to the Nature Park and Wildlife Sanctuary which hosts over 30 species from The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Adhering to his believe that economy and ecology needed to be in balance, Dr. Haller went on to create over 47 income-producing ventures in Haller Park. These ranged from fish and crocodile farming to commercial tree nurseries, honey and biogas production. Dr. Haller transformed a barren limestone quarry into a natural park that was both environmentally and financially sustainable.