“The Way Home” is a game designed and produced by SVW Education Outreach team for elementary and secondary school students in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park that participated in the Conservation Education Program. This is a backup plan for the Conservation Event 2, which is expected to be organized for all the students in the first semester of the school year 2021-2022, in order to ensure uninterrupted knowledge for students during the complicated pandemic situation in Vietnam.
Ms. Le Thi Kim Ngan – Education Outreach Coordinator said that: “This game aims to promote creativity, interactivity and is hoped to help children have fun while still getting to know useful information about nature and wildlife of Pu Mat forest. The game takes students on the journeys of Pangolin, Otter, Saola and Elephant through dangerous traps of hunters in the forest to return home safely. The advantage of the game is that teachers can reuse it many times, for many students of different cohorts.”
The cover and the forest map of “The Way Home”
Each game set includes a large map, a set of cards, four symbols of Elephant, Pangolin, Saola, Otter representing the four teams, and an instruction sheet for the game master. The most special and important component in the game set is 70 cards with fun challenges or questions about nature and wildlife, especially related to Pu Mat forest. To move the animals on the map, students need to pick up a random card and do the challenge or give the correct answer to the question on the card.
Inside a game set
Ms. Dang Quynh Trang – Education Outreach Officer shared: “Due to the difference in abilities, knowledge and psychology of children at each age, we have built the game set with two distinct levels for elementary and secondary school students, differing only in the content of the cards. Challenges such as squatting, single leg hopping, singing songs related to animals… are carefully designed to create laughter and excitement for the students. Conservation questions are selected based on the ability and knowledge level of each age group, and the information is fact-checked with the Research team, Anti-poachers, Rangers of Pu Mat National Park…. The images selected for each question are clear, vivid and easily attract the attention of the children.”
In September 2021, the team held two pilot tests of the game with SVW staff and primary students who are children of Pu Mat National Park officials, and we have received very helpful and practical suggestions, in terms of content and design, to complete the game.
Demo playing sessions with SVW staff and primary students who are children of Pu Mat National Park officials
The game sets will be distributed to schools in October 2021, so that the homeroom teachers can actively and flexibly organize the game for students during classes.
About the “Education Program to Raise Awareness of Nature and Wildlife Conservation in Pu Mat National Park”
The Conservation Education Program taking place at schools for children in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park is implemented by Save Vietnam Wildlife (SVW) in collaboration with the Ranger Department of Pu Mat National Park, under the sponsorship of the organization Welttierschutzgesellschaft e.V. (WTG). The program includes 5 main activities: (1) Social research on awareness, attitude and behavior of students towards nature and wildlife conservation before and after the program to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation education methods; (2) Conservation Events as after-school activities; (3) Student Club “Join me to protect Pu Mat forest” at schools in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park; (4) Nature interpretation field trips to create opportunities for students to have close contact and understand more about nature; (5) “Kid Presenters” program with contents to call for wildlife protection, broadcasting in schools and villages in the buffer zones of Pu Mat National Park. The entire education program is implemented at Primary schools and Secondary schools in Yen Khe, Chau Khe, Mon Son communes and Con Cuong Town in Con Cuong District, Nghe An Province.
In addition to SVW’s official website and Facebook page, images and information about the program’s activities will be updated continuously on the Nature Conservation Education website: https://facebook.com/GiaoDucBaoTonThienNhien.svw.vn. We invite you to follow and spread the program’s conservation education message to the community.
