We know that education is an invaluable tool for conservation, and that through education we can teach children about the value of wildlife and the importance of preserving the environment. By creating positive attitudes and perceptions and encouraging children to be proud of Kenya’s wildlife, we can promote coexistence between people and wildlife. The Mara Predator Project and Serian Camp work together to run educational art workshops at local schools to teach young children about the value of lions and predators. Our aim is to enhance learning, highlight the issues of conservation, and bring new and exciting activities to the schools.
We have recently visited two schools. Our first visit was to Mara Rianda Primary, were we worked with the children for a day of arts activities. The children made lion kites from coloured plastic bags, and drew pictures of wildlife using picture books. Each class was told about the importance of lions and how they must be conserved for future generations. The children wrote conservation messages below their pictures.
Our second workshop was run at Ololomei School. We worked with two classes of children from ages 7 – 11. The children were given a short talk about lions the work of the Mara Predator Project and were introduced to some of the named lions we monitor. The talk highlighted the importance of lions to Kenya and their surrounding area. The class was told how each lion is an individual and belongs to a family, as giving lions personalities helps encourage children to build positive feelings. The children were told about how precious lions are to Kenya and how we must learn to live alongside them. The children drew a picture of a lion using books and coloured pencils, and coloured in lion pictures and join-the-dot drawings. The children named their drawings after their favourite lion. We also completed a large mosaic of a lion’s head between the two classes using paper and foam to construct the lion’s head and handprints on coloured paper for the mane. After the workshop these handprints were cut out and the lion’s head made into a display. The drawings of lions were used to make an educational poster for each class, with text explaining reiterating our conservation message. The display and posters were delivered to the school the following week.
We are planning to carryout more workshops with other schools in the area, and follow-up workshops with those we have already visited. We have found the workshops to be very successful and enjoyable for the children. Already we have seen a change in the children’s attitudes towards lions. We are confident that these workshops will play a significant role in community integration in conservation and in encouraging coexistence and tolerance for wildlife.
