A FORMER Stonehenge School and Wiltshire Collge pupil is near to returning home after a “dream” 12 months caring for injured birds of prey in Kenya.

Marianne ‘Maz’ Matthews, from Amesbury, has spent the last year doing voluntary wildlife work across the country, helping to nurture injured animals back to health.

During her time in the African republic, she has rubbed shoulders with actress Virginia McKenna at the Born Free Foundation and taken part in field rescues.

Maz, 25, is a charity co-ordinator with insurance company Animal Friends and the company has sponsored her year of voluntary work in Kenya in return for blog content for their website.

She had already gained hands-on animal care experience at the Wiltshire Wildlife Hospital, but conservation work in Kenya is on a totally different scale.

“What a year it’s been, and such an experience,” Maz said.

“I have been involved in, helped out with, and seen so much in the various animal charities and, after I return at the end of the month, I definitely want to work with animals in a rescue and rehabilitation centre.”

After an initial five months at Colobus Conservation, a coastal primate rescue centre, she then moved inland to spend four months with the Born Free Foundation in Nairobi – which was co-founded by McKenna.

Then she spent time in the Masai Mara – a vast game reserve which is famous for its population of lions, leopards and cheetahs – getting involved with field rescues of both a zebra and an elephant.

She is now finishing her final month at Navaisha, a conservation centre, where she assisted in the care of injured birds.

While there she has also formed a special relationship with Frizbee, a black kite who fell out of his nest at the top of a tall gum tree at just two days old.

After two weeks of careful hand-rearing, the young bird of prey is now eating from the glove and will soon be taught to fly before his release back into the wild.

Maz added: “This is the last stop on a year’s dream adventure and my time with Frizbee has completed months of truly worthwhile work.

“Birds that imprint on their human parents cannot be released, so I’ve done my best not to imprint him and it’s working.

“I only have two weeks left, and I hope to have Frizbee flying short distances by then, but I’ve also promised to help the centre from the UK.”