When hiking meets conservation: A story of pure environmental love

When you book a hike, most of the time it feels like a race against the clock, your Strava record, and your own endurance.

Yet sometimes, it is a simple conversation with a stranger along the way that gives you the strength to push through and finish the hike.

For Elphas Masanga, together with his co-founder Caroline Muoko, hiking was never just about chasing views.

Instead, they were chasing an idea that travel could be more than simply ticking off destinations.

Connected by their mutual love for hiking and conservation, Masanga and Caroline went on to found Eco-Trek Adventure, an initiative where summits are not only conquered but conservation is also seamlessly woven into the journey.

According to Masanga, their adventures rarely follow the ordinary path.

Rather, they create space for meaningful conversations about the importance of conserving the environment with the people who join their hikes.

“Protecting the environment doesn’t have to be serious work. It can also be fun, creative, and rewarding,” he explains.

For this reason, every trip includes practical conservation efforts.

For example, the team always carries seed balls, scattering them along highways during their treks and tossing them across hillsides during rest stops.

Masanga emphasizes that Eco-Trek does not only promote environmental conservation to participants but also to the communities living in the areas they explore. 

He points out that many conservation initiatives often fail because they do not involve local communities. However, his biggest lesson has been that true change only happens when people feel a sense of ownership.

“When we involve local communities in our treks, tree planting, or seed balling while also listening to their knowledge, respecting their traditions, and engaging them in planning the projects become more impactful and sustainable. It has taught me that conservation is strongest when it is community-led, because people will always protect what they feel is truly theirs,” he says.

One of his most memorable hikes was to the Sleeping Warrior in Elementaita, where they were joined by children as young as four years old.

“Watching them climb with such enthusiasm and curiosity was truly inspiring. What made the day even more special was involving them in seed balling and teaching them how a simple act can help restore a degraded environment,” he recalls.

For Masanga, involving children in their hikes serves a greater purpose.

It introduces conservation at an early age and proves that protecting the environment does not always have to be serious work it can also be fun, creative, and deeply rewarding.

Eco-Trek Adventure also revisits areas where they have scattered seed balls, and Masanga finds it especially rewarding to see green shoots breaking through the soil.

For him, these small signs are proof that their efforts are taking root.

Through this initiative, Masanga has even been able to attract hikers from outside Kenya.

Looking ahead, he envisions Eco-Trek Adventure growing into a continental movement over the next decade, one that redefines travel in Africa.

“It will be more than trekking; it will be a network of eco-conscious journeys linking forests, mountains, lakes, and communities. We will have restored degraded landscapes through millions of seed balls and empowered families through agro tourism,” he concludes.