Wildlife conservation education is essential, from rural schools in Africa to Universities in the first world, we believe that any wildlife conservation program needs to include an education program.
We actively support education programs in the areas where we operate. This support includes the following:
- Providing support for community schools that are associated with or located in the vicinity of the wildlife research and conservation projects that are being supported. This support aimed at assisting in local community education to encourage local recognition and development of the value of wildlife species.
- Provide support and offer opportunities for pupils to develop a career in wildlife conservation.
- To deliver successful campaigns that engage local farmers through local papers, farmers meetings and one-to-one discussions, to promote the need for conservation in a non-confrontational manner.
When necessary, we have provided conservation associated funding to schools, i.e. the repairs to a school roof. This was necessary as the children were not able to focus on OTF conservation and wildlife teaching (or indeed other lessons) when their classrooms were not fit for purpose. Such involvement and interaction helped win the hearts and minds of the local community, aiding efforts to build an education conservation programme. This is, undoubtedly, a reality of operating in African communities where OTF require objective flexibility to be able to fund such solutions.
