Michael Dyer

Catch Michael Dyer on Do Radio: It’s Not About Trees with John Lunn 7th - 13th September 2026.

Michael Dyer is the Managing Director and co-owner of Borana Conservancy, a pioneering conservation and regenerative land management enterprise on the slopes of Mount Kenya. For more than four decades he has helped transform a traditional livestock ranch into an internationally recognised model that integrates conservation, regenerative agriculture, tourism and community development.

Working alongside his wife Nikki and a dedicated team, Michael has championed approaches that restore soil health, improve biodiversity and demonstrate how carefully managed livestock can regenerate landscapes. Under his leadership, Borana has become home to one of East Africa's most successful black rhino conservation programmes while also supporting education, healthcare and economic opportunities for neighbouring communities.

Today, Michael's work extends beyond Borana through collaborations across Kenya on landscape restoration, ecological monitoring and innovative approaches to financing nature. His belief is that healthy ecosystems, thriving communities and successful businesses are not competing objectives, but interconnected parts of the same system—and that long-term stewardship offers the best path towards a more resilient future.

Show Notes

In this episode, John Lunn speaks with Michael Dyer, Managing Director and co-owner of Borana Conservancy in Kenya, about what it means to become a steward of the land and why regeneration is as much about people as it is about nature.

Michael reflects on his family's long connection with Kenya and the journey from managing a traditional livestock ranch to creating one of Africa's leading conservation landscapes. Faced with degraded land, recurring drought and conflict between farming, wildlife and local communities, he describes how a different approach—guided by regenerative grazing, ecological restoration and collaboration—has transformed both the landscape and the business.

The conversation explores the principles behind Borana's work, including the influence of Allan Savory's holistic grazing methods, the importance of healthy soils and the growing use of ecological data to measure biodiversity, water retention and carbon storage. Michael argues that livestock, when managed well, can become a powerful tool for restoring ecosystems rather than degrading them.

A central theme is the relationship between commerce and conservation. From protecting one of Kenya's most successful rhino populations to investing tourism revenue directly back into nature and local communities, Michael believes businesses have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to place nature on the balance sheet and create value beyond financial returns.

Despite the environmental and political challenges facing the world, Michael remains optimistic. He believes that collaboration, regenerative thinking and a renewed understanding of our relationship with nature can help build healthier landscapes, stronger communities and a more resilient future for generations to come.