Wildlife Trust Engages Educators on Conservation Practices
The trust recently hosted a two-day meeting that brought together over 10 environmental educators from national parks, game reserves and education centers.
LILONGWE, Malawi — The Lilongwe Wildlife Trust is working to ensure environmental educators across Malawi embrace consistent best practices when teaching students about conservation, writes Abraham Bisayi.
The trust recently hosted a two-day meeting that brought together over 10 environmental educators from national parks, game reserves and education centers.
The goal was to share effective teaching methods, discuss collaboration and create a networking platform.
"If we can have one approach to be used amongst the environmental educators in our nature reserves, this can help our students to have a clear understanding of environmental conservation even if they visit other national parks or game reserves," said Clement Manjalera, head of environmental education at the trust.
"These similar approaches can help in safeguarding wildlife species."
Manjalera expressed concern that educators have been using different techniques when engaging students during environmental visits, leading to inconsistent messaging.
Dixy Makwale, community extension manager at Majete Wildlife Reserve, said continued engagement among the educators is crucial for achieving environmental education objectives.
Maisa Kataya, a senior parks and wildlife officer at Lilongwe Nature Sanctuary, praised the training, saying it will help disseminate accurate, evidence-based information using standardized approaches across nature reserves.
Educators attended from sites including Liwonde National Park, Kasungu National Park, Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve, Lake Malawi National Park and the Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi.