Planning education to care for the earth - IUCN Knowledge Network

Planning education to care for the earth•to apply the programme in all parts of western Africa where IUCNis present;•to share information and experience among the different partners inenvironmental education in the region in order to create a Saheliandata bank;•to develop among the people in each country a sense of belonging tothe Sahel as an encouragement to common action;•to train teachers to pass on their knowledge to the community.The first project in the Sahel was Walia, in Mali, which has becomeemblematic of the IUCN environmental education programme throughoutwestern Africa. Named after the migratory stork which heralds the arrivalof rains and good harvests, Walia is an educational programmespearheaded by a 24-page magazine published three times a year. Themagazine has a specific readership: secondary school pupils from 13 to 18years of age. The magazine is carefully and logically planned; subjectmatter reflects the immediate surroundings of readers and each issue isdevoted to a single major topic - wetlands, arid zones, water, trees, etc.Great attention is paid to pupils' and teachers' suggestions. This, plus thefamiliar form of address, involve directly the reader and create a sense ofcloseness and a need to react.When the magazine has been distributed, all schools taking part in theprogramme receive a follow-up visit from the publishing team to developthe themes and challenge students to speak up and to think about solutions.Students interview key people in the community to collect information, andthus learn more about traditions, tales, legends, environmental managementin previous times, and past and present rural practices. Once this informationis collected it is possible to start discussions on potential actions. Maps andpanels illustrating the current theme are also used to engage students indiscussions.These follow-up sessions take place outside the school scheduleor during biology classes and students attend of their own free will. (It hasbeen observed that young people taking part regularly in environmentaleducation programmes not only become more involved in communityactivities, but are also more successful in school).Students are encouraged to make surveys and organize contests. Studentsurveys, together with letters, help to define topics to be dealt with in futureissues of the magazine. The magazine is very often the only writtendocument in a school and becomes a valued teaching aid.Walia clubs provide young, motivated readers of the magazine with theopportunity to “do something”. Teachers help them to find local partners fora practical activity. Guinea worm disease (dracunculiasis) was eradicated ineight villages in the Dogon country of Mali after a campaign by youngpeople on the importance of filtering drinking water. They were supported bythe traditional authorities. Another example of youth activity from a villagein the Dogon country was the destruction of egg sacs of locusts. Adult76