How education nurtures future conservation leaders in Zambia
Born Free is proud to support Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust, a grass-roots organisation encouraging thousands of local school children to cherish the wild.
Community Conservation Educator Christine in Action (c) CWET
We’d like to introduce Titus – a remarkable young conservation champion in Zambia. With a passion for wildlife, 18-year-old Titus was recently named the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust’s Conservation Club Pupil of the Year.
Despite being one of the most wildlife-rich countries in southern Africa, conservation education has been largely absent from the school curriculum in Zambia. In the heart of the country, Born Free’s long-term partner, the Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust, is inspiring children and providing them with the tools they need to become future conservationists.
With rugged terrain and wonderful wildlife, Zambia is home to many incredible species – including elephants, lions, leopards, wild dogs and hippos. As a major African wildlife stronghold, it is vital the country’s rich biodiversity is appreciated and protected.
Bridging the link between wildlife and people is vital, which is where Chipembele Wildlife Education Trust comes in. They have been changing the lives of Zambian youth through conservation education since 1998.
Having previously supported their wildlife rescue work – including the rehabilitation of Douglas the rhino calf back to the wild in 2013, Born Free proudly began supporting Chipembele’s education programme in 2018. Today, thousands of children have benefitted from their Conservation Clubs, run across 41 schools.
Meet wildlife champion Titus
Titus (c) CWET
When it comes to creating wildlife champions, Chipembele’s years of experience and their dedicated outreach team know how best to engage with students, helping nurture their potential and develop leadership skills. One such student, who recently excelled in the Conservation Clubs, is Titus.
From a small village, where opportunities for young people can be limited, the skills he has gained in the club are setting him up for success.
Once a shy student, first coming along to a Conservation Club in Grade 8, aged 14, Titus was always dedicated to attending, but remained quiet and spoke little. As time went on, his teachers began to see changes and, as his confidence grew, he became comfortable offering his opinions and even leading class discussions.
Now 18 years old, Titus has passed his Senior Year exams and will be applying to Chipembele’s Aspiring Conservation Leader (ACL) programme. This programme supports school leavers and helps them gain further conservation skills, ahead of applying for university – as Titus hopes, or following other conservation careers.
“This year, Titus was awarded the Conservation Club Pupil of the Year and recognised as the best performer across all 41 clubs,” explains our delighted Head of Community Engagement, Laura Eastwood. “Well done Titus! Your dedication and passion for conservation are remarkable.”
Titus continues to inspire his classmates to think differently about their role in protecting nature. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for him.
Working with people, to protect wildlife
Chipembele aims to create behavioural changes, that lead to the conservation of biodiversity, by working closely with communities that live around South Luangwa National Park in eastern Zambia. As the population continues to grow, natural resources are being pushed to their limited, with forests cut for firewood, land cleared for farming or wildlife illegally killed.
“Like Born Free, Chipembele promotes community education as one of the key pillars of successful wildlife conservation,” Laura continues. “They promote practical, cost-effective solutions that allow people and wildlife to prosper together.
“Despite many communities living alongside South Luangwa National Park and the Lupande Game Management Area, conservation education is largely absent from the national school curriculum. Chipembele is filling this gap, providing an engaging and transformative extra-curricular conservation education programme, and thus nurturing future Zambian conservation leaders.”
Learning to love the wild
Conservation Club members (c) CWET
Working in schools around the national park, Chipembele, supported by Born Free, has created Conservation Clubs in schools across the region. Every week, the Chipembele Education Team delivers fascinating conservation lessons, where students learn about animal behaviour, climate change and its impact on biodiversity, conservation ‘ethics’ and conflict between people and wildlife, and much more.
Some students even have the opportunity to visit South Luangwa National Park which, despite being so nearby, can be difficult for local people. Chipembele works hard to ensure that children and communities have the opportunity to see wild animals in their natural environment, facilitating curiosity and, importantly, building understanding.
Chipembele also now has an internationally acclaimed Conservation Education Centre in Zambia’s Eastern Province, where rural school children come to learn and communities are empowered.
Born Free is so grateful to be involved in this remarkable outreach, and thus helping secure a safe future for Zambia’s extraordinary wild animals and wild places.