EduConservation
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The Project
EduConservation is a pan-African educational project focusing on integrating well researched Africa-centric conservation resources to enrich and supplement the curricula of the formal education systems in African countries.
Partnering with governmental ministries, schools, inspectors and teachers, EduConservation aims to develop nature conservation awareness amongst the youth, inspiring a new generation of responsible citizens in Africa who will maintain focus and resolve to keep balancing human needs with available natural resources.
The EduConservation project was initiated by Sabine Plattner African Charities (SPAC) in partnership with Leadership for Conservation in Africa (LCA) after the 2014 World Parks Congress. Mrs Sabine PLattner, a keynote speaker at this congress, highlighted the need for conservationists to support the enrichment of school curricula with educational content aimed at the protection of nature.
Where We Operate
14.5 M Population
62.2% Youth
5.1 M Population
58.8% Youth**
EduConservation has thus far been piloted in three countries: The Republic of Congo, Senegal and Morocco, with Gabon and Namibia to follow as part of the next phase.
How We Work
It is estimated that 75% of Africa’s population of nearly 1.3 billion are under the age of 35 and nearly half of Africa’s population are under the age of 15. Given these dynamics, the EduConservation project primarily aims to impact youth during their school-going years and ensure that children’s positive attitude towards conservation is nurtured, carrying through into adulthood. This can be achieved by developing educational content that is relevant, country-specific, supportive, and that has a natural fit with the existing curriculum.
The EduConservation project developed and distributed an Activity Booklet covering nine core topics related to nature conservation for learners across the Republic of Congo, Senegal and Morocco. This Activity Booklet was developed in collaboration with local Ministries of Education for secondary schools. Before the Activity Booklets were introduced into the selected pilot schools, teacher training was delivered to ensure the material was properly incorporated into the various curricula. There is currently an extensive evaluation process underway to assess the efficacy and impact of this initial Pilot Phase.
EduConservation’s focus now shifts to developing resources for primary schools by conducting Informative Assessments and developing resources for the selected countries.
The way we work is firmly rooted in the value system of EduConservation:
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To work collaboratively with the countries for whom the content is intended and specifically with their national education departments and with input from their national environmental departments.
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To ensure that the material produced is not only Africa-centric but also country-specific/localised, bringing together local professionals including educators, biodiversity specialists, scientists, and environmentalists to develop resources.
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To be ‘teacher-centric’, by recognising the teacher’s role and producing material to support the teacher in the classroom, while ensuring the learner ultimately benefits.
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To ensure sound pedagogy and methodologies are developed
Milestones
The EduConservation project has developed and distributed approximately 20,000 Activity Booklets for secondary schools across the three pilot countries with teacher training being provided to approximately 300 teachers.
