By Vicky Flynn | Communications Manager
Education forms a core part of what the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation supports. Park protection and anti-poaching programmes work in tandem with community outreach and education to create an holistic response to the issues facing endangered wildlife and the people who share their landscapes.
In Zimbabwe we have been funding the Children's 'Iganyana' Bush Camp since 2004 and have welcomed over 10,000 students to this amazing residential camp.
The aim is to teach children about conservation concepts, ecological relationships and the value of biodiversity along with an appreciation of painted dogs and the role they play in the ecosystem. It also works to inspire an emotional attachment to the beauty and complexity of nature.
Our funding means that the programme is free to all grade six students (11 year olds) from the 19 primary schools in the Hwange area.The four day programme reaches more than 800 children each year and each of those children, inspired by the amazing experience, invariably returns home as an ambassador for wildlife and for the painted dog.
A follow up session called Kids for Science is now offered to 14 year olds with many of the same children returning following their original Bush Camp visits.
The really exciting part of the programme is that the children who have attended the camps are now coming back to the project to work - as rangers in the anti-poaching units and as guides. In a country where formal education and employment is sometimes hard to come by this great programme is not only providing those key staples to locals but also an enduring and life-long understanding and respect for wildlife and, most importantly, the painted dog.
It costs around £40 (US$53) for one child to attend a four day Bush Camp. So, for as little as £10 ($13) a day you can help change not only a child's life but the future of the painted dog and other wildlife in Zimbabwe that relies on people understanding and appreciating its true value.
Education not only matters but in Zimbabwe, it is helping to make a real difference to wildlife survival.
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