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Conservation Education
Perhaps the most enduring and effective conservation investment is education. With the power to transform information into insight and awareness into action, conservation education is a cornerstone of the Fund. People of all ages, backgrounds and resources, once engaged, can overcome tremendous odds, reverse trends and help secure a sustainable future for wildlife.
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Project Archives
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Project: "Youth Education Program, Masai Mara, Kenya"
Partner: Friends of Conservation
Location: Kenya, Africa
The greater Mara region comprises a total of approximately 2,671 square miles, of which 25 percent represents the Masai Mara National Reserve and 75 percent is unprotected land. Much of the wildlife in this region exists outside the reserve on surrounding group ranches. In less than 20 years more than half of the wildlife on group ranches has been lost. The major long-term threats to the continued use of the group ranches for wildlife conservation are the changing cultural practices that lead to population growth, unplanned sprawling settlements and permanent agricultural activity. The SWBGCF grant helps fund Friends of Conservation's existing conservation education programs targeted to local ranchers and children. The grant specifically targets the children who, in the next 10 years will be responsible for taking care of the Mara region and the vast biodiversity that exists in the region. Many of them will become landowners in the next decade; their experiences and education as children will influence the decisions that they make as landowners and junior elders of their tribe. These programs teach about the value of wildlife, habitats and environmental governance. The goal of these programs is to instill a sense of ownership and pride for the land that the Masai people have been living on for hundreds of years. It also gives them the skills to practice sustainable natural resource management of their land.
Project: "Forums and Fixes"
Partner: Buddies of the Animal Regulation Center
Location: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Forums and Fixes: Buddies of the Animal Regulation Center (BARC) is a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to providing humane treatment for animals at the St. Louis City Animal Regulation Center. The SWBGCF grant helps fund BARC's low income spay/neuter program. The program offers free spay and neutering of low income citizens' pets. The pet overpopulation problem in the St. Louis metro area has filled local shelters to capacity and resulted in the deaths of thousands of adoptable animals every year. While there is no single solution to the problem, the first step to rectify the problem is for all pet owners to accept responsibility in spaying or neutering their own pets.
Project: "Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center"
Partner: Wildlife in Need
Location: Philippines
The Subic Bay Forest Zone (SBFZ) on the island of Luzon in the Philippines is a unique continua of intact forest, mangroves, grasslands and marine habitats. It is rich in wildlife, including many threatened and endangered species and species endemic only to the Philippines. Wildlife in Need, a US-based 501c3, has been given a building and land in the SBFZ for the purpose of creating an Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center to care for sick, injured, and confiscated wildlife. The center will provide critically needed short and long-term housing for these animals, with the primary objective of releasing individuals whenever possible. A conservation education and awareness program highlighting the plight of forests and the animals that inhabit them is being developed and disseminated to visitors and the local community. The SWBGCF grant helps fund the purchase of veterinary equipment and educational materials.
Project: "Peace Corps Partnership Program"
Partner: Peace Corps
Locations: Vanuatu and Micronesia/Palau
The Vanuatu Coastal Resources project forms part of an on-going effort by Peace Corps Vanuatu to increase community-based coastal resource and biodiversity conservation efforts in four biodiversity rich areas important to tourism, specifically cruise ship visitation. The Density Survey of Forest Birds in Micronesia/Palau project is part of a larger project to identify areas for protection using birds as indicator species of terrestrial biodiversity. The SWBGCF grant covers the cost of conducting a full-scale bird survey.
Project: "Establishing a Center for Conservation Training, Education, and Research in Argentina"
Partner: Smithsonian's National Zoological Park
Location: Argentina, South America
Since 1981 the Smithsonian's Wildlife Conservation and Management Training Program has conducted nearly 100 training courses in conservation biology, wildlife management and environmental education in 16 countries, and trained more than 1,700 wildlife professionals and educators from 80 countries. Many of these people are now high-level decision makers or respected scientists and educators, committed to conserving biodiversity in their home countries. Some have won international awards for their contributions to conservation. The SWBGCF grant helps continue this important professional development program while establishing a self-sufficient wildlife conservation center in Argentina.
Project: "The World of the Seahorse: an education poster on seahorses and marine conservation"
Partner: Project Seahorse: Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia
Location: British Columbia
Project Seahorse receives hundreds of requests annually from schools, conservation groups and aquariums for information on seahorses and marine conservation. The SWBGCF grant helps fund the production of a high quality map that explores (1) seahorse biology; (2) international seahorse demand and resulting conservation concerns; and (3) creative solutions for sustainably managing wild populations. The poster targets grades 5-8, but engages adults as well as students. It is distributed free of charge to schools and other interested groups engaged in marine conservation initiatives.
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