Haller Park

Haller Park is a nature park in Bamburi, Mombasa, on the Kenyan coast. It is the transformation of a quarry wasteland into an ecological area. Haller Park holds a variety of plant and animal species which serve as a recreation spot for tourists and locals. Up to March 2007 it held the attraction of Owen and Mzee – the friendship of a hippopotamus and a tortoise.

In 1952, Cementia Holding searched for a site at the East African Coast to build a cement factory. Felix Mandl found a location 12 km (7.5 mi) north of Mombasa. Over the years cement production grew from 1.2 million tons to 25 million tons. The area soon became inhospitable arid wasteland with brackish water. The Bamburi Cement company decided to rehabilitate the quarries which seemed to be an impossible task. No plants had been able to establish themslves there. In 1959, Rene Haller was hired as manager of the garden department and given the task to beautify the area. In the 1970s Haller embarked on the reforestation project.

The vital task was to find pioneer plants which could survive the limestone desert. The plants had to survive the fierce tropical sun. After planting 26 plants only three of them survived: The damas, coconut palm, and the casuarina.

The casuarina was used initially to colonise the barren quarry floor. The casuarina is adapted to grow under severe conditions. Its branchlets look like pine needles and have a strong outer surface skin which protects the tree against loss of water. The casuarina could tolerate salty water which seemed perfect for the environment. However, due to the causarina's high tannin content its needles are too tough and bitter to be broken down by bacteria into humus for other plants to grow in.

Haller observed a red legged millipede (Mombasa trains) feeding on dry casuarina needles and introduced hundreds of millipedes into the quarry forest. The droppings of the millipede while feeding on the casuarina needles made it easier for bacteria to break down resulting in a rich layer of humus allowing other plant species to grow.

After five years the casuarina began self-seeding and colonizing the surrounding area. After 10 years the casuarina trees reached a height of 30 m. After 20 years some of the trees had a trunk circumference of 2.4 meters and the humus layer was 10 cm deep. Many of the trees began to collapse after 20 years. However they had accomplished their task and created a friendly environment conducive to new plants. The tree trunks were used for building timber and firewood.

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