Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Planning education to care for the earthresources, as well as with non-governmental organizations (NGOs),traditional leaders, the churches, and youth and women’s organizations. Therole of educators is to spread knowledge and create awareness which will betranslated into action and participation.In 1993, the inclusion of environmental education in the school curriculumwas discussed. Environmental issues have been taken up in science, socialstudies and home economics courses, and will be extended to syllabuses andtexts for other subjects in future. The curriculum review exercise still has tocover teacher training and secondary schooling.Environmentally-oriented education forms part of the normal activity ofcertain government Departments: Forestry, Natural Resources, Agriculture,Health, Fisheries, National Parks and Wildlife. Para-governmentalinstitutions such as the Environmental Council of Zambia, ECZ, and theSpecies Protection Department (SPD) of the Anti-Corruption Commisssion(ACC) are also engaged in environmental education which reaches out tocommunities.Several NGOs are active in the field of environmental education. Apart fromZEEP, they include the Wildlife Conservation Society of Zambia (WCSZ),the North Luangwa Conservation Project (NLCP), the National Centre forEnvironment Education (NCEE), the Young Women’s Christian Association,the Girl Guides’ Association, and the World Wide Fund for Nature. WCSZhas established a network of clubs in schools to create awareness aboutconservation. The society has prepared educational materials includingreaders and posters, magazines and a radio programme. Patrons of the clubsand teachers are trained to organize clubs.In preparation for the inclusion of environmental education in the schoolcurriculum, ZEEP has been training teachers and preparing materials.Trainedteachers have been appointed as ZEEP coordinators in 20 districts. ZEEPcoordinators organize workshops in environmental education for otherteachers, and develop projects for school children, such as tree planting, littercollection and wildlife conservation.The churches have a role. With their large following, the Baha’i faith, theCatholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Reformed Church of Zambia andthe Seventh Day Adventist Church are all helping to promote stewardship ofthe environment.Efforts by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Wetlands Project andZEEP to enlist local leaders - in particular chiefs and headmen - in natureconservation have met with an encouraging response. There is a needhowever to adapt environmental education techniques and materials to theparticular requirements of this group.Journalists have been given environmental training in Zambia and abroad.WWF and IUCN - The World Conservation Union have supportedworkshops for journalists and trainers of journalists. Regionally, the PANOS150