Students play the roles as forest researchers with equipped tools such as the discovery ha
ndbooks, pencils, colour pencils, magnifiers, medical tools, raincoats, mosquito repellent, etc., to ensure their safety and enhance the chance to explore the forest. They join various activities and lessons such as: sensing the forest atmosphere, observing plants, tracing and watching camouflaged animals, listening to bird sounds, measuring trees, and in combination with the lesson about the roots, stems, branches, and leaves.

Following the Forest Researcher activity, students get to do an experiment about soil erosion in the botanical garden. Our educators encourage their curiosity and observation, analytical skills by asking questions about the experiment. Children learn that soil is a precious natural resource but is easy to be destroyed, and they also understand the erosion possibility of forest land and bare land, and the impact of deforestation on their lives – those who live right in the buffer zone of the forest. Thanks to this experiment, children can figure out the important role of the forest, make and deliver messages about forest and wildlife protection, and share their wishes to protect the forest.

The children continue to learn while playing through an activity called “The web of life”. They learned that: the more floors, layers, and structures a forest has, the richer and more plentiful will the lives in that forest be. All lives in a forest are interdependent and have an influence on human’s lives. If mankind has too strong impacts on it, all the natural networks, including humans will be destroyed and cannot be recovered. This is a static activity to let the students learn and feel the connection among everything (human included) in our ecosystem. Our educators have also cleverly included the names of many wild animals that kids would have a chance to observe in the afternoon session to stimulate their curiosity.

“Tiger and Deer” is the final activity in the morning session of the program. This is a fun physical activity using situational questions which require children to react quickly to find the right answer in the shortest time, and encourages their movements, i.e. running and jumping, which are beneficial to their psychophysiology development at elementary level.

The afternoon session is a combination between indoor and outdoor study in the first Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Education Centre in Vietnam. Inside the Education Center, students learn about the diversity of Vietnamese wildlife, particularly about carnivores and Pangolins, the threats that they are facing, and conservation efforts through interactive exhibits and games. Students note down the information they are interested in their discovery notebook. When going outside, students get to meet the wild animals in the long term care areas who are our Education Ambassadors. Here, the students will listen to the stories of their rescues, and observe the animal keepers feeding the Binturongs. Our educators also raise a series of scenario questions for the children to learn and share the actions that children should take to protect wild animals.

An important activity of the day is to evaluate children’s awareness before and after the program. The program’s effectiveness can be assessed via the change in the perception of children before and after the one-day learning trip. Also, there will be adjustments in the contents and activities so that it will be more suitable with children’s perception in the following programs in the future.