Education South Africa Project #8007

Providing Outreach to Local Communities

by DAKTARI Bush School & Wildlife Orphanage

Project Report | Feb 10, 2017
A New Eco Club Approach

By Micah Heineck | Outreach Manager

Testing their water wheel design

It's a brand new year for the Eco Clubs, and with it comes a brand new approach! Building off of UNESCO's Environmental Education activities, we have developed a hands-on curriculum that lets the students learn by doing. Each week the students will engage in an experiment, demonstration, or other activity focused on the environment. Our past experience has shown that the students respond more positively to this style of teaching, and we're anticipating that this approach will make our lessons more effective. So far, the students have built model greenhouses to observe the greenhouse effect in action, measured the rate of photosynthesis in spinach leaves, and built water wheels to harness the power of water!

Our goal for the year is to standardize a curriculum that can be improved upon each year. We have developed a measuring and evaluation system that involves direct student feedback for each lesson. We now have objective measures to evaluate how well they learn the subject each week, letting us see what works and what doesn't. This will let us improve on the curriculum, not only for this year but also in the future.

And the results? The average attendance for the first 4 lessons was 22 at Maahlamele High School, and a spectacular 51 at Rakgolokwana High School! Both of these averages are more than double last year's. 88% of students show comprehension of the subject, and 90% report having enjoyed the lesson. We're hoping that these trends continue as the year goes forward.

Take a look at the pictures for some of the fun the students are having. Without YOUR donations, we would not have the opportunity to reach as many students as we do. THANK YOU!

Measuring the greenhouse effect

Building a water wheel

50 attendees on the first day!

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Nov 23, 2016
We'll Miss You Ashandy!

By Micah Heineck | Outreach Manager

Ashandy at her second-to-last Eco Club

It's the end of the year for Eco Clubs, and while the party was fun and exciting, it also means we have to say goodbye to our graduating seniors. Ashandy, who was unanimously voted the Eco Club president this year, is one of those graduating seniors. She exemplifies everything we hope to see in an Eco Club member: well-spoken, very polite, always attentive, and a natural leader. Ashandy has been devoted to the Eco Club since Grade 8, not missing a single meeting in 2014 or 2015! The new President next year will have big shoes to fill!

We asked the students to tell us a bit more about their Eco Club experience and tell us how to make it better. Here is what Ashandy had to say:

What do you like about Eco Club?

I like the activities and the people we meet and also make friends with the volunteers.

What did you learn in Eco Club?

I learnt to be confident always. I learnt to respect nature and also to coserve biodiversity. I learnt to be a leader as I was the eco-club president.

How can you take care of the environment in your village?

By cleaning up the trash. By building dustbins. By planting more trees.

How can you take care of animals in your village?

Give them food when their hungry. Give them a nice cool bath when their dirty. Provide shelter for them.

After matric, Ashandy is planning to go to college to study tourism and travel, and then off to TUT University to study nature conservation. We will miss her and wish her all the best!

Without YOUR generous donations, we wouldn't be able to help students like Ashandy reach their full potential. THANK YOU!

If you would like to make an impact on another DAKTARI project, we are busy fundraising for our animal care project in December. As an added bonus, donations to all of our projects will be matched at 50% on #GivingTuesday, November 29th, starting at 7am South Africa time.

Until next time!

Ashandy

Ashandy playing at the Eco Club party

Links:

DAKTARI's Animal Care Project

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Sep 7, 2016
Kagiso and Tebatso's Crafts

By Micah Heineck | Volunteer Outreach Coordinator

Tebatso (left) and Kagiso

Today I'd like to relate the story of Kagiso and Tebatso, two Eco Club members who have shown tremendous artistic talent. The boys, who are long time participants of Eco Club, were inspired last year by the lesson "Art and Recycling", during which they discovered their talent in making animals out of recycled wire. They went home and surprised us the next week with an ostrich, elephant, giraffe, impala, monkey, and shark, all first drawn on paper and then perfectly copied into bends of the wire!

Later, during the rainy summer weeks, they began making clay animals. They collect and form clay into the shape of an animal, bake it in a homemade kiln, and paint it. Their portfolio is very impressive: everything from rhinos and elephants, to kudu, warthog, and even porcupines!

Last month, DAKTARI and the NPO Nourish were able to provide an opportunity for the young men to sell their creations at the local farmer's market in Hoedspruit. After some initial shyness, they opened up and were spectacular salesmen. The sold many of the animals; customers were especially taken by the detailing of the porcupines!

Kagiso and Tebatso's animals are now on display at DAKTARI, as well as at a local Craft Shop. They have realized that they can work hard and use their natural artistic talent to have fun, and get an income too! Kagiso, who will be in the 12th grade next year, has expressed an interest in pursuing an Art Degree after high school.

DAKTARI is incredibly proud of everything the boys have accomplished, and we THANK YOU, our fantastic donors, for allowing us to help these young artists.

I'll leave you with a letter directly from Kagiso:

Daktari and the eco-club made this possible, without daktari and the eco-club today i would not be making those beautiful animals. So thank you for bringing the eco-club to us and get a chance to learn new thing every week and I am greatful for knowing daktari. If it wasn't for your love and care, see and knowing about the environment and animals would not be possible. So thank you and all the volunteers at daktari, we are were we are because of you.

From: Kagiso

Animals made from Recycled Wire

The artists at the Farmer's Market

A sampling of their clay animals

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