In the first 6 months of 2021, also the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, SVW collaborated with the Pu Mat National Park’s Ranger Department to successfully implement the first set of activities of the Education Program to Raise Awareness of Nature and Wildlife Conservation in Pu Mat National Park.
On April 2, the inaugural conference of the Education Program to Raise Awareness of Nature and Wildlife Conservation in Pu Mat National Park was successfully organized with the participation of nearly 40 people who are representatives of Pu Mat National Park, Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, Con Cuong Department of Education and Training, Con Cuong Youth Union, together with the representatives from School Board Directors and teachers in charge of the Youth Union of 13 primary and secondary schools in Yen Khe, Chau Khe, Mon Son communes and Con Cuong town.
The plan for implementing the Education Program has been highly agreed with 5 main activities from March 2021 to May 2022. The participants have contributed positively to perfect the plan for effective coordination among related parties to carry out the Education Program. In the afternoon of the same day, the participants also visited the Open Museum of Nature and Culture, the Wildlife Rescue Center and the Peripheral Botanical Garden to learn more about the conservation efforts of Pu Mat National Park and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife.
In April and May, the first two activities of the Conservation Education Program in Pu Mat National Park, namely the pre-survey and the Conservation Event 1 “Our Pu Mat, Our Pride”, were held before the Year End Ceremony 2020-2021 of the schools. Although the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnam in May was extremely complicated, causing schools in the area to accelerate the curriculum to end the school year 2 weeks earlier than expected, SVW’s education officers had flexibly rearranged the event time and created a plan to practice social distancing among the participated students to suit the situation, and we were able to carry out these two activities at 18 out of 21 Primary and Secondary schools in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park (the activities for the remaining schools will be organized in the first semester of the school year 2021-2022). Both activities were successfully organized and received the support of teachers and students at schools.
There are 742 students in grades 3, 4 and grades 7, 8 who were surveyed and 3,027 students participated in the Conservation Event 1. The students especially love the animal stickers and the photo book “The Story Behind the Fence” about the animal Education Ambassadors at the Rescue Centre; those are the presents that we brought to school as gifts for the games. Ms. Hoang Thi Huyen – teacher in charge of Con Cuong Ethnic Minority Boarding Secondary school commented: “I am very impressed with the enthusiastic and professional team that run the program. The knowledge they deliver to students and teachers is very useful and practical in the current situation. The program has left a special impression on me and everyone, it has successfully conveyed meaningful messages with sustainable and long-term value.” It can be seen that the program has achieved initial success in arousing students’ pride in Pu Mat National Park after the Conservation Event 1. During and after the program, we often heard them saying: “Today I am very happy, as I get to learn and play at the same time” or “Hopefully you will come to school next semester to organize a lot of games for me, and next time I’ll definitely volunteer to receive gifts!” Nearly 99% of students participating in the Event agreed to participate in protecting nature and wildlife. The pre-survey data entry and the selection of beautiful images to be sent to the schools were also completed immediately after the end of the activities.
After finishing the first two activities of the Conservation Education Program in the second semester of the 2020-2021 school year, we will continue to develop the content of the remaining activities (Conservation Event 2, 3, Student Club, “Kid Presenters” broadcasting program, nature interpretation field trips and post-survey), as well as preparing needed paperwork and teaching materials for the activities that will take place in the upcoming school year 2021- 2022. Through these activities, we hope to inspire children – the future of our country, so that they can take practical actions to protect nature and the wild animals that they love.
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.
