Environmental education for rural schools

The vision of the Lapalala Wilderness School is to promote an appreciation for the importance of sustainable development and respect for the extraordinary diversity of Africa’s natural world, and to develop and encourage a passion and commitment to conserve nature and ecological processes, identifying and nurturing the conservation champions of the future.

OVERVIEW

The Lapalala Wilderness School (LWS) works to build the capacity of young people to make informed decisions on environmental issues in and around their communities. The LWS works mostly with schools and offers camps and overnight educational programmes on environmental education.

While many of the schools that attend LWS courses come from resourced schools that pay fees to attend the courses, at least 40% of the school year calendar is reserved to accommodate schools from disadvantaged communities. LWS arranges sponsorship to cover the costs of these camps.

This project will make it possible for 90 learners and eight of their educators from two disadvantaged community schools to attend a three-day environmental education course at LWS. The targeted schools have expressed interest in obtaining Eco-School status, an accreditation awarded by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA) awarded to schools that are committed to continuously improving their environmental performance, and have been part of the LWS outreach activities for some time. The two schools will be sourced from the Bakenberg community (east of Lapalala Wilderness Reserve) within the Mogalakwena Municipality in the Waterberg district.

The camp will be part of a 12-month structured interaction with the schools to assist them in being awarded Eco-School status. The camp will be part of the portfolio of evidence submitted to WESSA by the school, and LWS will provide further guidance and support to help the schools obtain Eco-School status. LWS maintains contact with community schools for at least one year and as long as five years or more for ongoing support.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• The schools that will benefit have registered for the Eco-Schools programme and have invited LWS to assist them with environmental education projects, which indicates commitment and buy-in from the schools.
• The teachers from the schools will be given the opportunity to select topics to be covered during the camp so that they can incorporate the experience into the normal school curriculum.
• LWS will actively support both schools to qualify for the Eco-Schools award for a minimum of 12 months leading up to the adjudication of schools for the awards.
• LWS is a coordinator of the WESSA Eco-Schools project node in Limpopo Province and have successfully assisted 18 schools to be awarded with the Eco-Schools flag

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

A Funding grant of R 49,920 would make it possible for 90 learners and 8 of their educators from 2 disadvantaged schools to attend an Environmental Education course at LWS for two nights and three days.

Estimated direct life change is R509 per participant.

NEED

In the African continent where many of the people are directly dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods it is important to protect the biodiversity and ecosystems that support life. The life support systems and access to them are threatened by increasing population levels, widespread poverty, global inequality and inappropriate economic frameworks, the spread of HIV/AIDS and inadequate education and training facilities.

The reality of high unemployment, a crisis in education and a limited awareness of environmental issues all point to a need for structured environmental education. For the villages of the Bakenberg community in the Waterberg district of Limpopo Province, environmental education is beyond simply creating an awareness of Africa’s extraordinary diversity of fauna and flora it is about being intimately entwined with issues of development, survival, sustainable livelihoods, improved quality of education and quality of life.

These environmental education camps provide essential support for teachers and exposure for young people for understanding and appreciation of nature. Many of these children are confined to their impoverished communities and have never had the opportunity to enjoy the natural beauty right on their doorstep. This kind of experience will teach them the importance of sustainable living and environmental conservation.

STRATEGY

The LWS works to achieve its mission by running a number of environmental education programmes at their training centre within the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve and through its community outreach programme and Eco-Schools activities.

Through its outreach activities, LWS is able to identify schools and provide support to teachers on environmental education in line with the school curriculum. Schools are informed of the programmes offered at LWS and advised on the benefits of the Eco-Schools programme. When a school is funded to attend a camp, the teachers are consulted on the topics to be discussed during the camp so that the teacher can incorporate the learning into the school curriculum.

LWS employs a full time Eco-Schools Coordinator who works directly with the schools on environment and conservation issues and assists them to achieve the Eco-Schools status. During the course of the year each school will need to schedule a camp with LWS to enhance their environmental education programme. It is a requirement that teachers also attend the camp and participate in all the sessions with the learners. This is an important element of ensuring commitment and shared understanding of environment and conservation issues especially in relation to the school’s strategy for achieving the Eco-school award.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

The two schools will be selected from a group of schools that have expressed interest in becoming an Eco-School and have been actively engaging LWS on environmental education and conservation projects. Buy in and commitment from the school governing body, principal teachers and learners is a key selection criteria.

Implementation

Once the schools are selected the Eco-Schools Coordinator at LWS will visit both schools and discuss with the principal and teachers their goals and strategies for achieving the Eco-Schools status. This plan will be the guideline for ongoing support that will be provided to the school by the Eco-Schools Coordinator.

The Coordinator also assists the school with determining appropriate dates and establishing learning outcomes for the camp in relation to the broader environmental education programme of the school. The camp, while as an important component of the learning, must be informed by the needs of the broader environmental education objectives of the schools.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Once each school has determined their goals and strategies on environmental education for the year, the LWS Eco-Schools Coordinator will conduct site visits twice a month to monitor progress and support the teachers with specific elements of the process.

A monthly report is compiled by the LWS Eco-Schools Coordinator based on key criteria for the Eco-Schools programme. The reports are kept as part of each school’s portfolio of evidence toward achieving the Eco-Schools award.

ORGANISATION ASSESSMENT

The Lapalala Wilderness School has a clearly defined and understood purpose; the vision is shared by the staff and reflected by their enthusiasm and passion for their work. The LWS engages actively in outreach activities to support community schools and their respective communities to undertake environmental and conservation projects.

Financial planning and budgeting is done yearly based on a comparison of planned and actual expenditures of the previous year, a projected budget is approved by the board. LWS enjoys financial support from the Parker Family who are proprietors of the Lapalala Wilderness Reserve, as such the LWS has financial reserves for up to two years and are currently raising funds to support the community outreach activities. LWS has recently concluded a strategic planning exercise, which is a collaborative effort with contributions from all staff and establishes a strategy for five years and will be up for review annually.

RISK PROFILE - Low

Key Strengths

• Concept: The programme provides an opportunity for young children to experience nature first hand and to participate in ongoing environmental projects in their schools.

• Design: The camp is incorporated as an element of the Eco-Schools programme with a strong link to existing school curriculum.

• Sustainability: Continuous outreach activities with each school ensures long term commitment and interest in environment and conservation issues. Learners and teachers will not only integrate their awareness of environment and conservation issues but will be able to initiate projects and engage LWS for assistance.

Key Risks

• Capability: The staff of LWS is well informed on environment and conservation issues and are able to work with the schools effectively. However, only one staff member interacts with the community schools directly – this may lead to key person dependency. In addition limited understanding of the social realities outside the environment and conservation issues and limited partnerships with other community groups means that the LWS outreach activities are indirectly exclusive for some.

• Control: The organisation keeps a record of activities during site visits; these are reported verbally by the Eco-Schools Coordinator and incorporated into a written report by the course coordinator. While the Eco-Schools Coordinator knows what to look for during a site visit, some information and detail could be lost in translation.

• External: The proprietors of the nature reserve have entered into a partnership with the community following a land claim of the reserve and have been restricted from trading commercially. Although LWS is not affected by this, the land claim on Laplala Wilderness Nature Reserve could adversely affect the LWS if the issue is not resolved within a reasonable time period.