IZE Newsletter first page.pmd - Zoo Outreach Organization

Asia Newsletter of Asian Regional Network of I.Z.E. Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2002

New ARNIZE members since Aug 01

1. Mr. Ramesh D. Katara,Asst. Conservator of ForestsForest Colony, Sakkarbaug ZooJunagadh 362 001, Gujarat

2. Mr. M.M. Bahir, Research AssociateWildlife Heritage Trust, 95, Cotta RoadColombo 08, Sri Lanka

3. Binu Priya, A.R., Research Assistant4. Sonali Lahiri, Graphic Designer5. K. Padma Priya, Research Assistant6. J. Vasantha Shyla, SupervisorZoo Outreach Organisation, P.Box 1683Peelamedu, Coimbatore 641 004, T.N.

7. Geetha Shrestha, Education Officer8. Rachana Shah, Assistant Edu. Off.9. Surat Bom Malla, Edu. Assistant10. Ramita Rai, Edu. AssistantKing Mahendra Trust for NatureConservation (KMTNC)/Central ZooPOB 3712, Jawalakhel, Lalitpur, NepalKathmandu, Nepalemail: [email protected]

11. Tomisawa Kanako23-5, 2 cho-me, Katsuradai, Aoba-kuYokohama 227-0034 Japan

12. Ms Rongxiu TU, Director of theEducation Department

14. Mr. Jinrong TANG15. Ms Mingzheng LINShanghai Zoological Park2381 Hong Qiao Road, Shanghai 200335China Email:[email protected]

16. Joyce Kwok, Education Manager17. Rebecca Cheng, Sr. Education OfficerHong Kong Ocean Park, Aberdeen,Hong Kong

18. Geeta Shrestha, Education Officer19. Ramita Byanjankar (Raj)20. Surat Bom Malla21. Rachana ShahConservation Education AssistantsKMTNC, Central Zoo, Jawalakhel, P.O. Box3712, Kathmandu Nepal

22. Gulam Mohd. MalikyarEducationist, Save Environment AfghanistanVolunteer, Kabul Zoo405, Haji Plaza, 4th Floor, Jamrud Road,GPO Box 831, Peshawar, PakistanEmail: [email protected]

Message from Asian RegionalRepresentative of IZE

Dear ARNIZE Members:This year marks the anniversary of theworld’s oldest zoo, the Schoenbrunn Zoo,Vienna, Austria, which celebrates its 250thanniversary. There will be a series ofmeetings of the international zoo communityheld there in sequence with the BiAnnualConference of the International ZooEducator Association among them. Othermeetings are the Conservation BreedingSpecialist Group and the World Associationof Zoos and Aquaria. The IZE fundraisingteam, lead by Chris Peters of the RotterdamZoo, Netherlands is making a grand effort toinsure that every region has represen-tatives at the IZE meeting in Vienna.

As your IZE representative I have tonominate a few people and this I will dobased on the activity and need of Asian zooeducators. There may be as many as tenscholarships for Asia.

In the meantime, keep sending articles,news and notes to ARNIZE newsletter. I willbe submitting this information to the WebEditor for inclusion on the IZE website, aswell as for the newsletter.

Recently, I was asked to be a member of theIUCN Commission for Education andCommunication (IUCN CEC). I haveaccepted this membership and during mytenure as a member, I hope to do at leastone thing -- to bring to the attention of theother members, the enormous potential ofzoos to educate the public in the manyaspects of conservation of nature andnatural resources.

A couple of years ago I attended a meetingof IUCN which was about regionalbiodiversity issues in South and South EastAsia. In formulating recommendations forresolving some of the problems ofbiodiversity, one of which was insufficientknowledge and awareness in the public atlarge. Although I tried valiently to push aspecies concept via zoos as the mostattractive and engaging way to catch publicattention, there seemed a complete lack of

knowledge and awareness of participantsof this valuable resource ! Although thesesuggestions were tolerated (barely) in themeeting, they found no place in the finalreport. Therefore, putting zoos on the mapof the IUCN CEC may be the best way ofreaching more members of IUCN.

Partnering with IUCN regional offices can bevery advantageous by zoos, and viceversa. IUCN regional offices have staff thathave much current information about thenational status of plant and animal speciesand also habitat and environmentalproblems. A zoo educator would find a realtreasure trove of information for signage,lectures, literature, public programmes, etc.in IUCN national or regional offices. IUCNbrings out a variety of publications alsowhich contain current information about theconservation scenario of different countriesand their species and habitats.

If any of you already have projects andrelationships with your IUCN national orregional office, I would like to hear about itand publish it in ARNIZE News as well assend it for the website. The next issue ofARNIZE News will be in July 2002, justbefore the IZE meeting in Vienna.

Total Members of ARNIZE as of February 2002

Countries Individuals Zoos/InstitutionsAfganistan 1 1Brunei 2 1Bangladesh 4 3Cambodia 2 2China 6 3Hong Kong 8 4India 70 30Indonesia 37 18Japan 6 3Korea 4 2Laos 3 1Malaysia 6 4Nepal 11 1Pakistan 8 5Philippines 4 3Singapore 6 3Sri Lanka 2 2Taiwan 4 3Thailand 10 7Vietnam 7 3 201 99

20 Asian countries total representation

Volume 5, Issue 1

February 2002


COUNTRY REPORTSZOO EDUCATION

IN ASIAAsia -- a world in itself ...

CHINA SHANGHAI ZOONew Long Corridor of BiotechnologyShanghai Science Educational Building, the first oneamong zoos in Chinese mainland, took on a new look afterelaborate reconstruction. One of the interesting newfeatures is the new long corridor of biotechnology.The corridor is divided into seven parts: Learn from animal,Animal adaptation for survival, Biological diversity, Mysteriesof insects, Animal travelers, Biological technology andCompare with animal. The exhibition takes advantage ofpictures, models, lighting and electric devices to teachanimal related lessons in unique ways. Here you will notonly learn more about the wonders of nature but alsounderstand the implications of the ecological crisis.Fortunately, the development of biotechnology gives moreand more help to wildlife from medical treatment, nutritionto embryo transplantation, cloning and so on.The corridor of biotechnology is a window for a betterunderstanding of wildlife for visitors to the zoo.

“Cherish Animal, Advocate Science and Enter NewCentury”, the Fifth Shanghai Animal Art Festival featured

a variety of unique performances

Introduction of the Fifth Shanghai Animal Art FestivalWith the theme of “Cherish Animal, Advocate Science andEnter New Century”, the Fifth Shanghai Animal Art Festivalintends to spread knowledge about wildlife, enrich citizens’cultural life and arouse enthusiasm for science. In additionto 600 species of animals, the star is a six-meter Indianpython. The festival also exhibited three cloned goats withdetailed information about cloning technology. During thefestival, there are performances by Shanghai AcrobaticTroupe, Shanghai Puppet Troupe, and Vietnam Above-Water Puppet Troupe presented Vietnamese state art.

Grand silk embroidery “Nine-dragons Wall” displaysChinese traditional culture and the tenacious characters ofdragon’s offspring. The new corridor of biotechnologyintroduces many aspects of wildlife and nature. With thetheme “Animals and Me”, a painting and photographycontest and exhibition for youngsters attracted a lot ofparticipation. The festival will last until June 10th.

New display at the Corridor of Biotechnology --many aspects of wildlife and nature explained

Photography and painting contest and exhibition heldin order to promote children’s awareness of environmentprotection and care for wildlife, Shanghai Zoo and workedtogether with three units to organize this activity during the

“Animals and me” -- Painting competition -popular activity everywhere, no less at Shainghai Zoo

2


Fifth Shanghai Animal Art Festival. The contest received2,000 pieces of works, 86 photos and 51 paintings by 120contestants were exhibited from 22 April to June 10. Twointermediary competitions were held on 15th and 22th Aprilon photography and painting respectively. Winners wereissued awards on May 19th. Approximately 20,000 visitorsenjoyed the exhibition.

Knowledge Contest for Bird Cherishing WeekDuring the annual Bird Cherishing Week, a contest aboutbirds was held. Several newspapers published thequestions. More than 20000 people joined the contest. OnMay 26th, 140 students from wildlife conservation schoolstook the final competition and 52 students received prizes.

Birding Cherishing Week --star attraction attracts the press

2001’s Earth Day—Activities for protection of waterresourceOn April 20th, the Earth Day, a series of activities with thetheme of protecting water resources, creating healthier andcleaner environment for life and work were held byShanghai Zoo jointly with Intel Sci-tech (China) Companyand Environmental Education Coordination Committee ofChanging District. Families were invited to take part in aknowledge contest and games on the subject of water.These activities promoted the visitors’ awareness about theimportance of protecting water resources and encouragedthem to take real actions.

Submitted by Director, Education

VIETNAM HANOI ZOOEducation is an important tool for conservation. In order toincrease awareness and in recognition of the importance ofconservation education for the public, Hanoi Zoo co-operated with WWF Indochina and held the WorldEnvironment Day Festival on 5th June 2001, which included a

puppet show and drawing contest with the subject: “Let’stake care of our Earth!” for the children. The puppet show:“Valuables of Forest” was written by Michael Matarasso, whois a head of Education Department of WWF Indochina. Manypeople attended the World Environmental Day Festival inHanoi Zoo.

“My Son is a Tiger” -- popular drama featuringrelationship between, environment and tiger

Recently also, Hanoi Zoo co-operated with WWF Indochinaorganized and held a Drama (photo above): ”My son is aTiger”. There was a free drama presentation by the YouthTheater of Vietnam on 19th & 21st November, sponsored bythe Netherland Embassy. The drama, written by MichaelMatarasso, features the public a relationship betweenhuman, environment and tiger. One of the tiger familyrescued the son of a hunter from a flood. Afterwards, thehunter’s son lived together with the tiger family, but thehunter did not know this so he continued to kill tiger to gainits leather and bone. Six years later, the hunter found a tigerin his trap once while hunting and, surprised, he recognizedhis son in tiger appearance in his own trap. He felt terriblyhurt. He turned himself into a river to provide a water sourcefor animals. The drama attracted a large audience, most ofwhich were children. The drama was very successful,enjoyed by children and adults alike. Through the drama thepeople came to understand that it is neccesary to protectanimal and environment - living together!

Submitted by Do Thanh Hoa, Dang Gia Tung, Hanoi Zoo,Vietnam

Environment Day Festival at Hanoi Zoo featureddramas, puppet show and other activities

3


‘CENTRAL ZOO -- Endangered Animal Facts File ExchangeProgram’ -- FOZ Member Winners visit to London

Central Zoo, King Mahendra and the UK Trust and HendonSchool of London collaborate on a Conservation EducationAwareness activity called “Fact File Exchange”. Under thisprogramme students and members share informationabout British and Nepalese endangered species of wildanimals.

Thus, in April 2000 three Hendon students and teachersfrom UK visited Nepal resulting in most successfulexperience for both countries. This inspired a reciprocalvisit by award winners from Nepal from 24 June to 8 July2001. Under this scheme, information about endangeredanimal species of Nepal was collected from FOZ memberstudents of 16 different schools in a competition. Therewere three “winners”, e.g. Chitiz Regmi of ShuvataraSchool, Tenzing Cheothan of MT Kailash School, MayaLama of Triyog Girls School. These lucky students got togo to London and experience different programs duringtheir stay at London ... a Cultural tour of London City, a visitto London Zoo, Morpeth School and to the Hendon Schoolwhere there was a conservation education interactionprogram.

After their return the team shared their experience on theirvisit to Hendon School of London. Mr. Chandrian Shrestha,teacher of Shuvatara School who had accompanied thestudents also shed light on the educational activities inwhich they had participated during their visit to London.

The objective of this visit was to share information onteaching and learning of environmental and conservationissues of both countries. Also it was desired to developand strengthen the partnership with Hendon school forfuture student exchange program. The King Mahendra UKTrust, the Hendon School of London and WWF-Nepalraised funds for the visit. The success of the programmeis clear from the write up by one of the students (box).

Our Trip to U.K by Chitiz Regmi, Shuvatara School

A jolt…screech…halt…the plane finally did land! Thiswas the moment I was eagerly waiting. As I lookeddown from clouds I could see bits of London, afraction of the Heathrow Airport and (unbelievably) Iactually could recognize the Millennium Wheel ! Itlooked so tiny !

Our group of eleven people dispersed from the airportto go and stay with different hosts, my host being Ms.Surinder, a teacher at Hendon School. On our way toher place she explained to us -- Erisha, Nevadata,Maya and me -- about how the traffic systems work inUK. It was very interesting to know that there werehidden cameras and ‘sleeping guards’ (also called“speed–breakers”) to control traffic violations. Wecould hardly see any pedestrians.

The next day we went sight-seeing. The beautifulVictorian buildings, the red telephone booths, thedouble-decker busses and the conventionalHansome taxi-cabs were all so very English! Wewere so delighted to see everything from BuckinghamPalace to Big Ben to the exceptional London Bridge.

The visit to the zoo, the following day, was just asexciting. It was very organized and provided wads ofinformation on Mammals, birds, reptiles andinvertebrates that are kept there. The naturalenvironment ensured for every animal was highlyinteresting and gave us something to work towardsas members of Friends of the Zoo in Nepal.

The next day took us to Hendon School. Somestudents of that school had recently come to Nepal asa part of Exchange Program organized by KMTNC.We attended English, Japanese, Arts and designingGCSE’s classes and presented Nepali Tamangs. Itwas a wonderful visit and we returned full ofenthusiasm for the Central Zoo FOZ programme.”Chitiz Regmi, Shuvatara School

NEPAL

Teachers meeting at Central Zoo

Endangered Animal Fact File and Educational Visit toLondon -- FOZ Members from Central Zoo

4


HONG KONGKindergarden at Ocean Park, Hong Kong

Environmental Education could be taught in many ways; webelieve that music, drama and games are effective meansto drawn the attention of young children.

Our newly launched kindergarden programmes, named“Journey into the Ocean” and “Whiskers’ Adventure”, createa joyful environment to stimulate students’ musical sensesand imagination. Lead by Professor Turtle, students will‘dive’ into the ocean and meet many marine animals.Students will join Ms. Crab for a sidewalk dance and swimwith Mr. Shark!

During the game sessions, students will have a chance toact as fisherfolk and learn to fish using environmental-friendly means. Students choose to catch the right-sizedfishes and leave the big ones to reproduce. To enhancestudents’ awareness of the recycling campaign in Hong

Teachers of Kathmandu and Central Zoo EducationDepartment collaborateAbout 50 teachers from different schools in and nearKathmandu attended a meeting of FOZ coordinatorsorganized on 16th August 2001 at the Central Zoo.

The teachers contributed their valuable ideas andsuggestion for the development of the conservationeducation program. A program participation form which hadbeen sent to schools prior to the meeting was collected.

Wildlife Essay CompetitionA Wildlife Essay Competition was held at Central Zoo on5th December 2001 in order to acquaint students with zooanimals particularly nocturnal and carnivorous animals ofthe Central Zoo. About 122 FOZ student members of class7 to 9 from 19 different schools participated in the program.

Drawing and Coloring CompetitionOn 12th October 2001 in coordination with BirdConservation Nepal an art competition was conducted toraise awareness about different bird species which can beseen at the Central Zoo. 165 students of class 2 to 5 from32 different schools participated in the program.

School children participating in drawingcompetition at the Central Zoo

School children drawing birds to raise awareness ofdifferent species that can be seen at Central Zoo.

Drawing, painting crafts, music, drama and games areeffective means to drawn the attention of young children.

Kindergarden programmes create a joyful environment tostimulate students’ musical senses and imagination.

5


Kong, three recycle-bins are available for them to practicesorting paper into the blue bin, aluminium cans into theyellow bin and plastic bottles into the brown bin.

Other than the puppet animals, students will also have aclose encounter with our live playful California sea lions inthe pinniped exhibit, Pacific Pier and hundreds of colourfulcoral fishes in Atoll Reef aquarium.

MALAYSIAEducation Program in Taiping ZooHappy New Year to all ARNIZE members. This is my news forthe first education program done in Taiping Zoo for this year2002. This program was planned earlier in January with theofficers from the Department of Youth and Sports, District ofBatang Padang, Tapah, in the State of Perak, Malaysia. Asthere is a National program called National Social ServicesProgram (in Malay, it is known as Program Khidmat SosialNegara) and every state Youth and Sport Department wereasked to organize the program with a standard module, theseofficers came out with an idea to slot in an educational activi-ties cooperated with the zoo.

This program was held from 11 to 14 February 2002 with 80young participants from the district aged between 17 to 20. Iwas given a one-day program on 12 February to organize thezoo educational activities. My Report is limited to this butactually, for the whole program they have set a campsite notfar from the zoo. It takes only 10 minutes walk from the zoo.

The one-day program were named KEMBARA ZOO TAIPING,it means “Wander to Taiping Zoo” and it was divided into threesessions. The first session was done in the morning, sec-

Crafts of the sea -- way to children’s hearts and minds.

ond session in the afternoon and the last session was in theevening. In the first session, the participants were dividedinto groups where each group must name their group basedon any animal name. Each group was also given instructionsto think of the behaviour of the animals they selected andprepare to present on why they chose the animal to be thename of their group . They were asked to make a flag byincluding the picture of the animals they chose. The sessionran smoothly and this is one approach for the participants tolearn, care and love the animals. At the end of the session Igave them a speech with the theme “Why Must Humans KillAnimals and Destroy the Environment? This presentationwas intended to open their minds that humans must be con-cerned about the threats to wildlife and the need for environ-ment conservation.

The second session was devoted to games and was veryenjoyable. I learned from Sally, a game called “Kiss theAnimal’s Part” -- Taiping Zoo version. This game was playedat the campsite and after that they were asked to fall-in likesoldiers and march to Taiping Zoo. They went round the zooin the Mini Tram. After the tour, the second games sessionbegan with Treasure Hunt . All the groups were given instruc-tions to answer questions as to follow the trail of the TreasureHunt. They must also pick up rubbish thrown by the visitorsas many as they can, collect it in a rubbish bag provided andbring them to the finishing point. The group that answered thetreasure hunt questions correctly and brought back the mostrubbish will be the winner. The main purpose of these activi-ties was to teach, train and learn at the same time. They weretaught and trained to keep the environment clean and learnabout the animals’ behavior during this session.

The third session was after dinner. Prior to Treasure Hunt,the groups had been given instructions to prepare a perfor-mance based on the environment and wildlife which had tobe performed after dinner. There were seven groups. Everygroup had come up with such ideas for the third session butmost of the groups presented a short pantomime and skit.They enjoyed the show from each group and even the com-mittee members appreciated some parts of the show. Thesession ended with all the groups and committee membersof the programme standing together and singing the songHIJAU (green), an environment song sung by a local Malay-sian singer/artist and then everybody held hands and shouted“Save our nature, save our wildlife, we are all living on thesame Earth!” Most of the participants then created a groupsong based on the animal they had chosen earlier and usedit for fulfilling another activity in the programme.

The whole programme was successful and I hope I could domore such programmes while adding more educational ac-tivities such as worksheet activities etc. (This might be for atwo-days programme)

Anyway that’s all from me. I wish you guys out there will do thebest to create awareness through education programmes ormaterials. Wishing you all ARNIZE luck and happiness.

Submitted by Musnarizal Abdul Manap, Education Officer,Taiping Zoo, Perak, Malaysia

6


INDIASepahijala Wildife Sanctuary, Tripura

We had arranged followingprogrammes to celebrate AnimalWelfare Fortnight 2002 at SepahijalaWildlife Sanctuary.

On 24-1-2002, we had arranged apainting competition and essaycompetition involving the students ofthe surrounding schools. 65 studentsof two age groups participated from 5schools. All the students weresupplied with one packet of theeducational materials and twoteachers viz. Smt. Manju Bhowmik ofBishalgarh H.S (+2) School and Sri AtulKr. Singh of Baidhyar Dighi HighSchool were selected to demonstratethe T-Shirt event and they were briefedabout the procedure.

Thereafter the teachers conducted theprogramme as per guidelines given byZOO in a very attractive way and all theparticipants as well as the spectatorswere pleased. Photos were taken forsuch events with two photos for T-shirtevent and one for the whole groupwearing masks and rakhis includedhere.

We had organized a bicycle rally tocreate awareness on the eve ofcelebration of Animal Welfare Fortnight2002 involving youths of tensurrounding Panchayat schools wherein all 60 boys and girls wereparticipated. We had also providedthem the materials received from yourend. The participants were very gladand thankful on receiving suchmaterials. A photo of this rally isappended.

Again, we have organized the visit ofschool groups at our Zoo on 30-1-2-2002 where 60 students participatedfrom 15 schools around Agartala whowere also supplied with the materialsreceived from Zoo OutreachOrganisation.

Submitted by Ajit Kumar Bhowmik,T.F.S, Director, Sepahijala Zoo, P.O.Bishalgarh Sepahijala, Tripura (West)799 102

Bicycle Rally -- a good way to call attention to the need for kind treatment of all animals.

Participants of the Sepahijala Wildlife Sanctuary Animal Welfare FortnightlyProgramme on wildlife trade play the t-shirt game described below.

How many kids . . .Have you ever seen in the news or in a feature magazine a report of some college studentsperforming a stunt to see how many can fit in a phone booth, a car, or some other container? This used to be a very popular event.

Zoo Outreach Organisation has created a similar stunt for our various educationalprogrammes using an XXL t-shirt. This stunt was introduced first during the “Dare to Carefor Bears” programme described elsewhere in this issue. Many of the programmes includedthis stunt which made for a charming photo op for ever hungry press reporters as well as alot of laughs both for participating kids as well as observers.

The game is simple. An XXL t-shirt is provided and the target group is instructed to chooseamong them which kids will try to get in the t-shirt. Clever groups select the smallest kids.Instructions include caution so that no child smothers to death or gets trampled. If care istaken, holes can be cut in the body to accomodate small heads. For the “against WildlifeTrade” programme the theme was more than fun. The t-shirt had an illustration of monkeysin a small travelling cage on the front with text reading “Poachers pack us like sardines ! Howwould you feel ?

7


INDIAVOC PARK ZOO, KOVAI“Against Wildlife Trade” daywas celebrated at V.O.C.Park Zoo, Coimbatore, Indiaon the occasion of AnimalWelfare Fortnightly on9.1.2002. Zoo (Threehundred) children from threeprivate schools and onecorporation schoolparticipated in theprogramme. Members ofthe Coimbatore DistrictForest and EnvironmentProtection Society took partin the celebrations.Educational materialsfeaturing the theme “AgainstWildlife Trade” supplied bythe Zoo OutreachOrganisation were handedout to the students. Thestudents were taught about Wildlife Trade, how itaffects bio-diversity, the ill - effects of it etc. by variouslecturers. The District Forest Officer, Coimbatore circlemade a brief visit and his inability to stay due topressing work spoke volumes about the pressingnature of wildlife trade. Games and other activitieswere conducted with students participating with muchenthusiasm and fun. A slide show was also arrangedon different endangered species and how they aretraded. The Press covered the event and officials wereinformed about the event.There was much appreciation for the programme.Submitted by Dr. N.S. Manoharan, Veterinary Officerand Zoo Director, VOC Park Zoo, CoimbatoreCorporation, Coimbatore

PATNA ZOO, PATNA,BIHAR, INDIAThe Sanjay Gandhi BiologicalPark, and the Society forConservation of Flora andFauna, Patna jointly organised aseries of events to mark theWildlife Week (2nd to 8thOctober), 2001

Painting Competition for SchoolStudents: About 800 studentsfrom 20 schools werecategorised in four groups andgiven two themes (“Wildlife andNature” and “Conservation ofWildlife”) for the painting. Sixprizes were given in each group.

Photo-Exhibition and Slide Showwas organised by the Museum

of the Sanjay Gandhi Biological Park. These events wereinaugurated by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs andPrimary Education and the Minister, Environment andForests, Government of Bihar was also present on theoccasion besides top forest officials, conservationists, andscientists. Photographs snapped by renowned WildlifePhotographers of the city were displayed in the exhibition. A“Video Film Show” on wildlife was also organised.

“Wildlife Conservation March” involved over 500 childrenfrom different schools of Patna. The March terminated neara newly constructed lake in the Biological Park.

Street play “Janwar Aur Insaan” was staged in the park byartists of “Jagriti Manch” a cultural organisation based atPatna. The play based on issues of wildlife conservationand management of biological parks was widely acclaimed.

These activities were followed by a Prize Distributionceremony on 7th October 2001 which was attended bydifferent officials of Forest Department, Authorities of thepark, schools’ representatives and students. Presscoverage of all events was good.Submitted by Sri S.D. Singh, IFS, Director, Sanjay GandhiBiological Park, Patna

ZOO OUTREACHORGANISATION,COIMBATORE,TN, INDIAAnimal Welfare Fortnightly iscelebrated in the last twoweeks of January every year.We celebrated with 125students of 12-13 years oldat their school, the RVSEducational Trust. Thetheme for this year’seducational programme was“…Against Wildlife Trade”.Activities included but werenot limited to thosedescribed here:

Song and puppet show -- The theme “…Against WildlifeTrade” was introduced with a song in the local languageabout a hunter who goes into the forest to hunt animals andeventually falls into the pit, which he himself had dug for anelephant. The animals feel sorry for the hunter and rescuehim which causes him to become friends with animals andstops hunting. Various puppets such as the elephant, frog,wolf, spider and crocodile were used during this session.

Slide show -- A presentation on Wildlife Trade was givenincluding information on various wildlife products in illegaltrade in India and abroad.

Quiz and Painting competitions were held simultaneouslywith different groups participating. Quiz competition: Fivegroups of two students each participated in the quizcompetition which included questions were on wildlifetrade and general wildlife. Winners were chosen after four

8


rounds of questions. The quiz was organised like atelevision game show so that all participants, including theaudience, enjoyed it. The Painting competion involved 21students who were given three topics based on wildlifetrade. They could choose any one of the topics. Thestudents were very creative. They were given one and a halfhours after which their drawing sheets were collected fromthem and the best three were evaluated and given prizes.

Games are always included in ZOO programmes as a wayto provoke the most lively interest among children. Gamesincluded :

Web of Life game which showed that even if one entity wereleft out of the forest, the web of life would be upset; Oh

Deer! showed that not the all resources are available at anoptimum level at the same time; Fish-a-fish is a game wasabout sustainable use of resources and the bad effects ofoverexploitation.

Education packets were distributed to all the students. Thepackets contained materials such as masks’, pledgebands, stickers, a small booklet on trade with informationand games, a board game on trade etc. Prizes of wildlifebooks were given to competition winners. The programmewas a local version of the Zoo Outreach Organisationnational activity to relate wildlife trade to wildlife welfare.UFAW sponsored the packets and Columbus Zoo the localarrangements.

LUCKNOW ZOOLOGICAL GARDEN,LUCKNOW, UTTAR PRADESH“Nature Trail” Quiz concept works well in the ZooGenerally people visit zoos for fun and enjoyment. Incommon language, it is a picnic spot; but as educationists,we are aware about the tremendous scope of educationalopportunities in zoos. Children are a major part of thevisitation to zoos and as children, they are particularlyreceptive to ideas and learning. Therefore a specialemphasis of zoo education efforts must be targeted atchildren. Since the mood is that of fun and games, thechallenge is to make our educational activities also fun.Centre for Environment Education, India, has a NorthernRegional Cell at Lucknow which experimented on this ideaduring the Wildlife Week events organized by Lucknow Zoo.

Lucknow Zoo CEE was to North to organize a quiz as one ofthe activities for Wildlife Week. This provided a goodopportunity to develop some innovative quiz ideas anddecided on a “nature trail” as the basis of the Zoo quiz.

The path for our “nature trail” began at the Zoo entrance,and included 7 enclosures, in which 4 were deer species(Blackbuck, Swamp Deer, Hog Deer and Spotted Deer), anelephant, Black Necked Stork and a Chimpanzee. All theenclosures had signage which could be referred by thestudents. A 30-question multiple choice format wasprepared based on the trail : how many branches do thehorns of swamp deer have? how much penalty you have topay for carrying polythene inside the zoo? what was the

former name of Lucknow Zoo? Salman Khan a film actorwas in news for killing which wild animal? etc.

A column for feedback on the nature trail permitted studentsto share their experience about the trail.

On 5th October 2000, 15 schools and 220 studentsparticipated in the quiz. Students were very excited as weexplained how to take the quiz. They had to observe theanimal in the enclosure and also read the information oninstruction boards and signages in the cages for 5 minutesper enclosure after which a quiz would be given based onwhat they saw in the trail. They should keenly observe theanimals, enclosures and signage. They were permitted totake notes if they handed them in during the quiz. Then theywere taken for the nature trail in batches, with their teacherin charge.

Special instructions were given some of which reflected therules of the zoo, e.g. no noise during the trail, don’t disturbthe animals, and observe everything around with the eye ofa detective. A few volunteers from Lucknow University,M.Sc Environmental Sciences also went with each batch tohelp the teachers.

After the trail, the students were taken to a quiet place to fillup the questionnaires, which they did in record time. Theyall said they liked the quiz. The level of awareness amongthe students, which could be learned from their responses,was amazing. The feedback from the students fullysupported our idea of using the Zoos as an educationaltool and the technique of a “nature trail” as a format. Awritten comment selected from the many by the studentsexpresses it all :

“I think this was an excellent opportunity for me to visit thisnature trail, I have visited Zoo several times but never caredto read about the animals. This was a great chance for me,which gave me an opportunity to read about the amazingfacts about these animals. I would be glad if I get anotherchance to visit Zoo with this nature trail experience. It wasfun” Ms. Harpreet Dhami, 13 years, Class 8.

Thus, the “nature trail”, a made-up concept which involvedno renovation or expense for the zoo or for us, has focusedthe attention of students in a better way and proved avaluable educational device. Submitted by Preeti RawatKanaujia, Programme Officer, Centre for EnvironmentEducation-North, Lucknow

9


MYSORE ZOO, MYSORE, KARNATAKA, INDIAThe Youth Club of Mysore Zoo --- Educating Youngsters to Educate OthersThe Youth Club of Mysore Zoo (alsoknown as the ChamarajendraZoological Gardens) is a successfulexperiment in zoo-public interaction;the Club has been running for sixyears with an overwhelming responsefrom Club members as well as thosewho associate and benefit from theiractivities. As Sri Kumar Pushkar,I.F.S., Executive Director of the ZooAuthority of Karnataka writes in thecompre-hensive Report on Youth ClubActivi-ties 2001 “no zoo is too small toserve as a learning centre.” He citesguidance through interpretive mater-ials, a minimum re-orientation andexposure to expert teams to be thekeys to forming this club and providinga core group of youngsters with anopportunity to enhance their aware-ness and store of knowledge onwildlife and environment.

It was decided to focus on studentsfrom 12 - 18, selected on the basis ofparental response and a recommen-dation from the schools. The numberis restricted due to limitations ofspace and resources at the zoo, notfor want of willing candidates.

The objectives of the Club are :1. to impart knowledge about thevalue and variety of wildlife as anational heritage as well as forpreservation of ecological balance,2. to serve the cause of wildlife bycreating an interest in wildlife withexhibitions, seminars, etc.3. to study the habits and behaviour ofanimals in near-natural surroundingsas well as in zoo habitat, utilising thezoo as an institute of scientific study.4. to encourage children to conductstudy on problems of animals incaptivity and to serve the zoo as aplace of mutual understandingbetween man and animals.5. to involve children incommunicating with visitors toencourage them in appropriatebehaviour towards the animals6. to prevent specific wrong actionstowards animals by the public7. to develop a holistic approachtowards animals by children, so thatthey will appreciate small and not sobright ones as well as the large,charismatic animals.

The Mysore zoo provides a variety offacilities and activities to the membersof the Zoo Club, such as t-shirts, caps,I.D. cards and other useful materials.Members get free entry to the zoo andaccess to reference books in the ZooLibrary. The zoo provides periodictheory classes as well as practicalworks in animal upkeep, feeding,breeding of wildlife and relatedresearch. Coaching in photography isprovided and they get an opportunity toparticipate in various competitions.Members can opt to serve the zoo byhaving a presence near the entry gateto orient visitors, conducting roundsfor visitors, working in the kitchen,generating data and helping intreatment of the animals as well ashelping in conducting workshops,seminars, exhibitions, conferences.They learn interpretive techniques.They are taken on tours toSanctuaries, Museums, etc.

The Club is very well organised. Apress release is given to informschools, parents and students aboutthe Youth Club. There is a detailedApplication form with a space for aphotograph. The variousachievements and aptitudes of theapplicant are considered. Parentsand the Head of the students schoolhave to sign the form beforemembership is considered.

There are detailed Rules andRegulations which protect the animalsand the reputation of the zoo as wellas keeping the members out ofdanger. The prospective membersmust sign this document attesting thatthey agree to the rules before joining.

Youth Club Members help with zooeducation and visitor behaviour. Thusthey not only educate the public, theyare themselves getting educated. ZooYouth Club is an excellent tool forintensive and effective zoo education.

For samples of various documentssuch as the letter to parents andschool, press release, rules andregulations, write to Sri KumarPushkar, Executive Director, MysoreZoo, Zoo Road, Mysore, Karnataka.

Zoo Club members promoting good zoo behaviour :“Don’t do it. Don’t feed the animals.”

10


INDIADARE TO CARE FOR BEARSAll-India Asian Bear Education Programme for Wildlife Week, October 2001

India is unique as a country in having fourspecies of bears. Bears are increasinglythreatened in the wild by a variety of humancaused threats – habitat destruction, develop-ment, and even killing or capture for selfishhuman pleasures. Bears are hunted for sport,for food, for medicine, and even for perfor-mance. Mendicants ply the trade on the roadwith their dancing bears, being pulled alongwith a painful ring in their nose and made towalk on hot pavement on tender feet?Performing bears often are taken when theyare cubs which means killing the mother.There are many bad things happening tobears.

Zoo Outreach Organisation asked ourselves"What can we do ?" The answer was clear :with the help of the International BearFoundation IBF and Indian zoos andconservation organisations we couldmake people appreciate bears by conductingawareness campaigns – in zoos, or in naturecenters, forest related centers, schools, etc.We could also try to improve our bear enclo-sures by providing zoos with information forenriching the environment and explaining to thepublic how this relates to the bear’s behaviourand needs. We could highlight bears duringIndia's most popular wildlife event, WildlifeWeek by designing materials and activities forbusy zoos, NGOs, Natural History museumsand others to use in an organised programmefor up to 200 people each.

The "Dare to Care for Bears" programmeworked like any Zoo Outreach OrganisationEducation programme. We shortlisted zoosand other institutions and individuals andasked them to send us a short proposal for aprogramme or even more than one, involving agroup of people (numbering from 25 – 100)involving kids from the age of about 8-12years. It could be a school class, or anorphanage, or group of boy scouts, etc., or acombination of parents and their very youngchildren perhaps. This was left up to theorganiser.

The materials were free to groups organisinga programme. They had to pay postage. Theyalso had to complete a task for us. They hadto send us a Report and photos of theirprogramme, including any press reports.

Zoos were able to educate many more peoplethan we were able to give Bear Bags. Theyran programmes for kids to educate adultswith drama, games and elocution. More than14,000 people were involved in the end. Notbad for a small programme. Good for bears.

BEAR KITS FOR ZOOSCONTAINED- BEAR BAGS forparticipants (mask,bracelet, booklet, sticker,game, certificate, etc.)- bear t-shirts for prizesand for identifyingeducators, keepers,volunteers etc.)-- guidelines for conduct-ing a programme.-- a book of articles onimproving captive bear’slife by enriching itsenvironment-- One XXL t-shirt forplaying a very fun andfunny game

11


The Madras Crocodile Bank Trust,Mamallapuram, which is well knownfor its effective, innovative, indigenous,and low-cost educational signage anddemonstrations hosted anEnvironmental Education workshopfrom 28 - 30 December 2001.Resource persons and collaboratorswere Meena Naresh, Ambika Aiyadurai,Santhosh from Centre forEnvironmental Education, Ahmedabadand Gowri Shankar and ZahidaWhitaker from Madras Croc Bank.

CEE is known for its cutting edgeeducational and workshop techniques.For introductions, for example, eachparticipant filled a form giving the usualinformation of name, etc. and also hisfavourite animal and bird. They did notintroduce themselves, but gave theform to his neighbour who introducedhim to the group !

Participants were encouraged toshare their expectations of theprogramme, which were learningabout :1. New and appropriatemethodologies in teaching2. Developing visually effectivematerials for students3. Networking4. Education for zoo visitors5. Reaching out to villagers6. Funding agencies in India andabroad

Many, many features of EnvironmentalEducation were covered in the threeshort days. Environmental education(EE) was exhaustively defined,including definition of “environment”and of “education” and thecombination. The objectives of EE aswell as the skills required by EE’erswere explained in detail.

There was a presentation about CEEitself as well as other NGO’s andGO’s which conduct educational andother activities having to do withwildlife and environment in India.Mr. Gowri Shankar, Education Officerat MCB pointed out the potential role ofvolunteers in zoo education andsuggested that zoos can createvolunteers through their educationprogrammes. Afterwards there was a

group activity to practice designing aneducation programme for a full day fora designated target group. One groupwas given Wildlife week and the otherWorld Wetland day as the occasion fortheir programme.

The Wildlife Week Group created aprogramme called “Snakesperience”with Snakes as a theme for 50-100students from 10-12 years. Theyallocated a time budget for anInauguration, an introduction, themesong, slide show, games, LunchBreak, Competitions and games,pledge session and valedictory.

The World Wetland day groupdescribed a programme for 30 kids of10-12 years and planned a Field trip toVedanthangal from 6-10am. Theprogramme included breakfast andlunch, a “plant walk” focusing onwetlands plants, a water testingexercise, games and a talk onwetlands.

After the groups presented theirprogramme ideas there was adiscussion with participantscontributing concerns about the

MADRAS CROCODILE BANK WITH CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTALEDUCATION, CHENNAI, TN, INDIA

programmes. The programmesshould not be too long; outdooractivities should not be done in the hotpart of the day, involve every child in tothe programme, etc.

Other techniques were discussed indetail, such as using media, includingdeveloping a slide show, the use ofposters, graphics, waysides and otherprinted materials. Approaches to EEare many. Some which whichenumerated and demonstrated were :Games, Exhibitions, Performing arts,Classroom displays, Outdoor fieldtrips, Exhibits, Creative expressions,Creative writing, Arts and craft

A very important aspect of any type ofeducation is finding ways toincorporate it into the SchoolCurriculum. Many schools have aunified curriculum which they arerequired to complete. Teachers areunder pressure to cover all subjects inthe curriculum, so if an organisationhas a message to convey, it will bemore welcome in the school system ifis consistent with and, in fact, asubstitute for something in the text.

There are many kinds of puppets that can be designed for effectivelycommunicating with young children ... an even older persons as well.

12


What is environmentaleducation?In the first session the meaning ofenvironmental education wasdiscussed in detail :

Environment is:

SurroundingsManmade and naturalPeople and communitiesPlants and animalsWeatherEarth

Education is:

A process of learningIncreasing knowledgeLearn about a specific subjectAwarenessChanging attitudeDeveloping skills of communicationSensitivityPath of learning

Overall EE is:

Learning from the environmentLearning about the environmentLearning for the environment

Environmental education is aboutunderstanding interdependence of alllife, sustainable development, use ofnature and natural resources. It givesscope for developing individual skills.

Objectives of environmentaleducation:

1. Skills to solve problems2. Evaluate

3. Find solutions to problems

Environmental Educators should be:

1. Multidisciplinary

2. Dynamic3. Scientific, social, economic andtechnical

4. Practical activities and real lifeexperiences in environmentaleducation

A nice group exercise was conductedrelating to this: each of 2 groups hadto go through a school sciencetextbook and note down whereEnvironmental Education could fit.They then made a table with a columneach for Information given in textbook,concepts missing from the textbookand activities to be added. They foundthat Interdependence (Web of Life)and Conservation by Zoos wasmissing in our textbook.

Networking -- Participants were askedto explain about the networking thatwas being done by their organisation,e.g. Arignar Anna Zoo, MadrasCrocodile Bank, ITWWS (Irula TribalsWomens Welfare Society) and ZooOutreach Organisation.

Plan of Action -- Each group wasasked to present a plan of action oneducation programmes for a wholeyear, inclusive of all that they hadlearnt from the course. The groupfrom ZOO planned to conductprogrammes according to national orworld special days, e.g. AnimalWelfare Fortnightly, World ForestryDay, World Environment Day andWildlife Week.

Details of the number and age ofchildren, Funding, Dates of designing,packing and dispatching materials,collecting and publishing reports,evaluation etc. had to be included.

Summing upThe whole programme was reviewedwith what our initial expectations of thecourse was and how much it matchedwith what we learnt at the end of thecourse.

An evaluation questionnaire wasprovided for rating presentations andactivities given by the resourcepersons.

Ms. Zahida Whitakar gave conclusivespeech on how we should make useof the course and educate more andmore people effectively. The courseclosed with certificate distribution andvote of thanks.Binu Arthur, Padma Priya, SonaliLahiri, Sheela Joseph

About CEECEE was started in 1984 as aCentre for Excellence, fullysupported by the Ministry ofEnvironment and Forests. Itsareas of concentration are : - Publicawareness on environmentalissues and wise use of naturalresources; Environmentaleducation for schools, youth andcolleges, decision makers throughmass media; Natural resourcemanagement in rural areas

Thrust areas are1. Environmental education in theurban context2. Training, both short term(TALEEM) for 5 days, and long term(International course for South eastand south Asia with IUCN andUNEP for 3 months) and TEE an 8month in house course for PostGraduate students3. Experiencing nature4. Interpretation of natural andcultural heritage5. Networking

CEE conducts many activities forschools, such as teachers training,provision of educational material,development of EE by variousgroups, follow-up and monitoring ofEE programmes and support ofnon-formal environmentaleducation, such as Eco-clubs.

13


Report submitted by Annette Berkovits, IZE President,Senior Vice President – Education, Wildlife ConservationSociety

The International Zoo Educators Association, formed in1972, continued to grow and evolve with the needs of theentire zoological community. The organization currently has352 members representing 60 countries. Increasedemphasis on accelerating conservation education andinfusing it throughout the multitude of zoo programs, werethe prevailing themes over the last year. The association’sboard itself took steps to strengthen IZE’s commitment toconservation education at its biennial meeting held inGuadalajara, Mexico in October 2000. 183 members from26 countries attended the conference.

In addition to electing Annette Berkovits, from the WildlifeConservation Society in New York, as the new president,the following new board members were added:

Romana Anderova, Prague Zoo – SecretaryKris Struyf, Zwin Nature Reserve, Regional Representative− Europe & Middle EastBarbara Revard, Columbus Zoological Gardens, RegionalRepresentative – North AmericaKeven Tanner, Underwater World, Regional Representative− Australia & New ZealandDaniel Hughes, Melbourne Zoo, Regional Editor forAustralia & New Zealand

In the course of the year Sally Walker from the Zoo OutreachOrganisation in India replaced Ang Phuri Sherpa of theNepal Zoo as the Asian representative. Francis Maina ofthe William Holden Wildlife Foundation, Kenya, replacedPeter Micheni as the African regional representative to IZE.

At its meeting, board members from ten countries made thefollowing major decisions:

− To update the World Zoo Conservation Strategy Educationchapter to more accurately reflect modern trends in zooeducation.

− To strengthen the organization’s mission statement.

− To develop a web site as a tool for communication.

− To seek ways to fundraise for support of colleagues fromdeveloping countries.

Almost immediately after the Guadalajara conference, a re-edited chapter of the WZO Education chapter was circulatedto IZE board members for comment. The re-edited drafthas been submitted to Lars Andersen. Some of thechanges included statements that education should beavailable and use appropriate means of communication forevery category of zoo visitor: adults, children, families,

literate and non-literate people. To maximize their impact,zoo educators should place high priority on providingtraining programs and materials to “multipliers” such asteachers, and community leaders. Because the time factoris critical for conservation education, educators shouldstrive not to “reinvent the wheel” but share and collaborateto maximize their global impact. In situ conservationeducation was also addressed in the revised chapter, aswas evaluation of exhibits, programs and materials.Construction of an IZE web site was initiated by IZEpresident, Berkovits in the late fall of 2000. Based on inputsolicited at the Guadalajara Conference from associationmembers and the Board, a variety of web site sections weredeveloped: officers, regional updates, membership andconference information. Most importantly, members cannow access the IZE Journal through the site, reducingcosts and increasing speed of information delivery.

By early spring 2001 all members were notified of the website address (www.izea.net) and encouraged to use it. Notonly has the site been a boon for member communication,it has become a resource for contact with the world-at-large. Individuals interested in the work of zoos have beensending varied inquiries and comments. Since inceptionthere have been nearly 70,000 hits from users in 28countries on the site.

Since involvement of zoo education colleagues fromdeveloping regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America is highon the IZE Board’s agenda, various efforts were undertakento facilitate such involvement. Chris Peters, Head ofEducation at the Rotterdam Zoo in Holland, had undertakento produce a fundraising brochure that would seek supportfor membership and biennial conference attendance for zooeducation leaders from the developing world. Inconjunction with the development of this brochure, themission statement of IZE was reviewed. The Boardunanimously agreed to adopt the following wording:

“IZE is an association dedicated to expanding theeducational impact of zoos and aquariums world-wide. Itsdual mission is to improve the education programs in thefacilities of its members and to provide access to the latestthinking, techniques, and information in conservationeducation. IZE facilitates communication and professionaldevelopment among zoo/aquarium educators and supportsliaison with related organizations such as WAZA (The WorldAssociation of Zoos and Aquariums) and CBSG(Conservation Breeding Specialist Group).”

To increase IZE membership in general and to fundraise, anew institutional membership category was developed. Afee of five hundred U.S. dollars will automatically supportfour members of an institution’s staff as full professionalmembers of IZE, with a portion of the fee supportingconservation education in situ. The IZE Board expressedhope that zoo directors throughout the world would find thisnew membership category of high value for their staff andtheir mission, and support it actively.

Report on the activities of the International Zoo EducatorsAssociation presented to the WAZA Conference,

Perth, Australia, October 2001

14


In line with its mission to provide professional developmentfor its members, IZE was extremely active over the last yearin providing and supporting training for educators in muchof the world. In the Asian region ARNIZE, the Asian regionalnetwork of zoo educators, conducted three major trainingactivities.

In August 2000 a workshop was held in Nepal. In March2001 a workshop was held in Singapore, supported by theMinistry of Foreign Affairs. The large number of science,nature and wild animal facilities in the region made it anexcellent site. Its success was followed by a workshop inIndonesia in July 2001 hosted by the Gembira Loca Zoo inYogjakarta. Fourteen zoos throughout Indonesia, includingparticipants from Sumatra, Java and Bali were representedat this workshop. Like the two workshops before, itincluded wide ranging content on conservation biology,methodology for teaching the public, signage and labelling,visitor behavior and program marketing.

The Board of IZE approved a grant of $1,000 to support theproduction of a zoo education book, based on the work ofSoutheast Asian zoo educators. The book will be ready thisfall. In total, forty new members from 9 countries joinedARNIZE over the last year. Their regional communicationwas supported by an excellent newsletter published by theZoo Outreach Organisation based in Coimbatore, India.

AZOREN, the African Zoo and Reserve Educators Network,the African branch of IZE, launched in Pretoria in May 2000,supported a conference and training congress inSeptember 2001 at the foothills of Mt. Kenya.The congress was attended by more than 30representatives of environmental organizations in 10countries. The presentations covered a wide range oftopics, including partnerships between environmentaleducators and schools and the bushmeat crisis.Participants enjoyed in-depth looks at the environmentaleducation programs from a diversity of organizations andinstitutions, such as the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda, MundaWanga zoo in Zambia, the Nairobi Safari Walk, the OkapiWildlife Reserve, and many more.

Field trips to the William Holden Wildlife Education Centreand Sweetwaters Game Reserve allowed delegates aglimpse of Kenya’s spectacular wildlife and a view of howthe local environment is being used to motivate and teachKenyan children as well as foreign tourists.The Wildlife Conservation Society in New York providedtraining support for the AZOREN conference and sponsoreda Ugandan participant. The Vienna Zoo also providedsupport for the educational work of AZOREN and ARNIZE.In the spring of 2001 a committee that includes Europeaneducators from zoos in: the United Kingdom (Chester,Colchester), Vienna, Prague, Rotterdam, Copenhagen,Cologne, the Givskud Zoo in Denmark, and the Zwin NatureReserve was formed to enhance the support for African andAsian colleagues.

Zoo education colleagues in Europe continued to meetactively in conjunction with EAZA. The EAZA exhibit designand education committee worked out an action plan that

included an education survey and education standards. Agreat deal of attention was paid to rainforest and bushmeatcampaigns.In the German speaking countries many educationalworkshops were offered and included educators from alliedinstitutions including aquariums, national parks andreserves, museums, and WWF. Close cooperationbetween zoos and nature parks around the world was amajor area of discussion.

The Latin American region, IZE Representative YolandaMatamoros, Director of Amazoo-Fundazoo, reported that azoo education conference and training workshop will bescheduled in 2002.

The Australian region also continued to be a vital force inconservation education. Australian zoo and aquariumeducation departments are reaching diverse audiencesthrough on-site programming, community outreach andcomputer aided zoo education. Conferences andcollaborative projects involving schools, colleges, otherzoos and aquariums, and industry are bringing peopletogether.

New technologies helped educators address broad rangeof topics. For example, an interactive online program thatprovides people with information about the floral and faunalemblems of Australia’s states and territories wasdeveloped in recognition of the Centenary of AustralianFederation. An innovative partnership between zoos,aquariums and education departments across Australiaand the Australian Stock Exchange created curriculum-based resources focusing on Australian frogs. A CD-ROM,which complements the web site, will be delivered free toevery school in Australia.

Forty Australian Region educators met at the Adelaide Zooin late August 2001 to finalize a regional education policy.The policy has been developed out of the EnvironmentAustralia, Environmental Education National Action Plan,July 2000. The document will contain a range of usefulmaterial such as exemplar programs, principles ofinterpretation and minimum standards for effectiveeducation. Environmental educators from around the worldcame together for the biennial conference of the AustralianAssociation for Environmental Education in January.

The North American region too, was home to tremendousactivity in zoo education. Well over 12 million peopleparticipated in education programs presented by accreditedzoos and aquariums in this region. The ConservationEducation Committee of AZA has been extremely active inall facets of the zoo field. Over the last year, three actiongroups have been formed to immerse zoo educators moredeeply in interpretive activities. These include a GraphicsAction Group to improve the effectiveness of interpretivemessages, a Children’s Zoo Interest Group which focuseson animal contact areas, and a Librarian’s Interest Groupwhich works to improve access to special collections andresources.

The Conservation Education Course, offered by AmericanZoo & Aquarium Association on an annual basis, has been

15


fully developed, as was a strategic plan. A ConservationEducation Resource Guide, which features much of AZA’steam work and individual activities in education, has beenproduced and is available from the AZA. In the past year theConservation Education Committee spearheaded animportant exercise in writing acceptable conservationmessages to be included as part of education programs.Work on animal handling guidelines to improve the use oflive animals in education programs is currently underway.

Another exciting zoo education initiative in North America isa multi-institutional research project, which will help zoosand aquariums to measure the impact of facilities on theirguests. Like its European counterparts, the AZAConservation Education Committee members have joinedwith the Bush Meat Crisis Task Force to developeducational materials. The Wildlife Conservation Society inNew York, one of the leaders from the North Americanregion in extensive work with colleagues from thedeveloping world, continued its work with hundreds ofeducators throughout China and Papua New Guinea.

Despite much work accomplished, IZE has set for itself anambitious action agenda for next year. Fundraising tosupport zoo and reserve educators from the developingworld will continue. Shortly, all WAZA members will receivea newsletter that includes a message from the IZEPresident urging enrollment of their institution to supportthe conservation education mission and outreach of IZE.The Statutes of IZE, a document drafted nearly three

decades ago, and modified only modestly until now, willundergo a substantial revision in the next year to meet theevolving needs of the field and of IZE itself. The web sitewill continue to be updated and provide more resources forits members including model lesson plans and archivedjournals.

A set of guidelines for the conduct of IZE conferences andfor high quality presentations is under development and willbe approved by the board at the Vienna conference in 2002.These guidelines will help in enhancing the value of thehighly popular IZE biennial conferences.

Finally, a great deal of work has been invested by GabySchwammer of the Vienna Zoo in laying the groundwork forthe IZE biennial conference in August 2002. As hasbecome the practice, this conference will coincide with theWAZA and CBSG conferences to give zoo educators world-wide both an incentive and an opportunity for greaterprofessional involvement.

We hope that as zoo directors, you will actively encourageyour educators and others in your institution who areindirectly involved with education to attend the IZE Viennaconference. Hopefully you, as directors, will also take partand provide both leadership and inspiration because youbelieve that education is an essential part of yourinstitutional mission.

The IZE Trust FundThe IZE Trust Fund was set up to help IZE carry out itsinternational mission of promoting zoo education throughoutthe world. The IZE Mission statement reads:

IZE is an association dedicated to expanding the educationalimpact of zoos and aquariums worldwide. Its dual mission isto improve the education programs in the facilities of itsmembers and to provide access to the latest thinking,techniques, and information in conservation education. IZEfacilitates communication and professional developmentamong zoo/aquarium educators and supports liaison withorganizations such as WAZA (the World Association of Zoosand Aquariums) and CBSG (Conservation BreedingSpecialist Group).

IZE has developed an attractive brochure to help withfundraising for various projects, among the next IZEConference of 2002, which will be held at Schoenbrunn Zoo,Future-Oriented Cultural Heritage of the World.

Schoenbrunn Zoo is the world's oldest and only baroquezoo but today it is also among the most modern zoos withrespect to animal keeping and research. The Zoo was theprivate menagerie of Emperor Franz Stephan von and wasopened in the summer of 1752.

Schoenbrunn Zoo focuses on critical issues ofenvironmental protection by conservation, education and

research. The Schoenbrunn's educational task is to helppeople get a better insight into the world of animals andplants, their habitats and their ecological aspects. TheSchoenbrunn Zoo has committed assistance for a numberof IZE participants from low-currency countries to attend the2002 meeting by subsidizing accomodation andregistration. The IZE Trust Fund is raising funds for airfaresto this important meeting as well as other projects.

16


Letter from Lars Luding Anderson, former IZEPresident

Dear Zoo Educator

For years we have been discussing how the co-operation between zoo educators and rangersworking in the field could not strengthened. Now 10years beyond Rio there is a great opportunity to meetwith fellow professionals from the InternationalRanger Federation, the Heritage InterpretationInternational and other colleagues at the WorldConference taking place 9-13 September 2002 inElsinore, Denmark.entitled :

“Nature Interpretation as a Tool in PromotingSustainable Development”

The Conference is organised by the Danish Forestand Nature Agency under the Ministry of Environmentand the Danish Outdoor Council.

The aims of the Conference are:

-- to share the knowledge and experience of usingNature Interpretation as a tool in promotingsustainable development.

-- for the participants to produce a “Code of Conduct”for Nature Interpretation as a tool for promotingsustainable development.

-- to present examples of “best practice” andguidelines for Nature Interpretation in the form of ahandbook.

-- As chairman of the conferences’ “Contents Group”it is a pleasure for me to invite you to participate in thisinternational event. I surely believe that both zooeducators and rangers could benefit a lot by inspiringeach other and by working more closely together inthe future.

Lars Lunding AndersenManaging director of Copenhagen ZooChairman of EAZA’s and WAZA’s EducationCommitteesCopenhagen ZooSdr. Fasanvej 79DK 2000 FrederiksbergDenmark

Announcement

The IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC)The IUCN Commission on Education and Communication (CEC)is a global network of experts in environmental communicationand education. This website will help you find out what we do, whois involved and what we know. You will also see the benefits CECmembers find in volunteering their expertise to help IUCNintegrate communication & education into its environmental work.

IUCN CEC Environmental education debate lauches secondround, February 15, 2002The results of round one of an International Internet Debate onBiodiversity Education and Public Awareness (BEPA) managed bythe IUCN Commission on Education and Communication is nowavailable at http://www.bepa-online.org/. The 31 participants inthe first round of the debate would welcome input from others inthe second round. The questions posed for round 2 can beanswered up until February 25th. Bepa-Online is being developedas an interactive and knowledge sharing site on biodiversityeducation and public awareness that will serve the needs of theConvention on Biological Diversity.

Biodiversity Education and CommunicationIUCN CEC has cooperated in organising an international expertmeeting on Biodiversity Education and Public Awareness with theDutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheriesand the Dutch Inter Ministerial Program ‘Learning forSustainability’. The expert meeting, held in the Netherlands,October 11-13, is part of a process of dialogue that commencedbefore and after the meeting. Speakers and participants startedinteracting through an internet site set up for the purpose.The internet site will provide services to Convention Parties andbiodiversity educators and communicators by providing access toexperts, discussion groups, and a portal to information onawareness and education programs, resources and web sites.Experts are invited to join in the discussion. Four new meetingpoints were posted from the deliberations of the meeting. Wehope that you will find the time for active participation in the on linedialogue started in Egmond and that this will lead up to a next offline meeting during the Global Biodiversity Forum in The Haguenext year. For a more information see the Report attached andtune in to the discussions http://www.bepa-online.orgEducation for Sustainable Development and the World Summit onSustainable Development, September 2002CEC has a product group working on Education and SustainableDevelopment. To keep you abreast of developments of thisworking group we have set up a new series of pages for thisgroup. You can find ESD Product Group information under “How toHelp”.

17


16th IZEINTERNATIONAL ZOO EDUATORS CONFERENCE

17 - 22 . 8. 2002 -- VIENNA - AUSTRIA

Letter from the President of IZE, Dr. Annette Berkowitz

Dear Zoo and Aquarium Colleagues !

As you know, we have a unique opportunity to meet every other year to share ideas aboutconservation education, discuss challenges, expand our professional horizons, and make decisionsabout the course of conduct for our association. The next IZE biennial conference in Vienna isscheduled for August 17th - 22th, 2002. Gaby Schwammer and her staff have worked for morethan two years making plans for us to have the most productive and exciting experience possible.I hope that the events of September 11the will not discourage you form making travel plans toVienna.

Of course, we are all affected by the consequences of the dreadful terrorist attack, but if weabandon our plans and shrink our professional horizon we will be giving the terrorist attack, but ifwe abandon our plans and shrink our professional horizons we will be giving the terrorists ameasure of success. With multi-national collaboration so much more attention is being paid to airtravel safety. We in the U.S. who were one of the most directly affected, believe that we mustget on with our lives. Certainly, a year from now the prospects for security should be even better.

I strongly urge you to start making travel plans for the Vienna Conference. I know you will havean extremely rewarding personal and professional experience. Your presence at the conferencewill be a symbol of faith in our collective future.

Please consult the IZE web site at www.izea.net for complete conference information andupdates. Shortly you will be asked to vote for IZE Board members and to submit your proposalsfor conference presentations. The entire IZE Board invites you to participate actively in theaffairs of the association.

With best wishes,

Annette BerkovitsIZE PresidentSr. Vice President-EducationWildlife Conservation SocietyBronx, New York

18


International Zoo Educators ConferenceSponsorship Application

The International Zoo Educators Association (IZE) is a professional organization dedicated toexpanding the educational impact on zoos and aquariums worldwide. Its dual mission is to improvethe education programs in the facilities of its members and to provide access to the latest thinking,techniques, and information in conservation education. IZE has members from more than 50countries around the world who are interested in communicating and cooperating within our field ofzoo and aquarium education and with other conservation professionals. The Schoenbrunn Zoo inVienna will host the 16th biennial IZE Conference from August 17 – 22, 2002. The conferencetheme is “From Menageries to Conservation Centres.” A limited number of professionaldevelopment grants to attend this year’s conference is available. Each conference sponsorshipincludes support for conference registration, airfare, accommodation and some meals.

As a condition of acceptance, each sponsored educator will be required to present a high quality20-minute paper or 2-hour workshop strongly tied to the conference theme. An abstract and anoutline of the paper or workshop must be approved in advance by the IZE Regional Representativein consultation with the IZE President. The complete and final text of the paper must be submittedprior to the disbursement of any funds. In addition to the conference presentation, educators willbe required to write an article for the IZE journal and must agree to do so in writing.

Application for Conference Sponsorship

Family name _________________________ First name _________________________________

Position ____________________________ Institution _________________________________

Mailing address ________________________________________________________________

City__________________________ Country_____________________ Zip code ____________

Telephone _______________________________ Fax _________________________________

e-mail ________________________________________________________________________

1) How long have you been working in your current job?

2) What are your job responsibilities?

3) Why do you want to attend the conference?

4) The language of the conference will be English. Please rate your working knowledge of

a) spoken English: ____ fair ____ good ____ excellent

b) written English: ____ fair ____ good ____ excellent

5) Do you have all the required travel documents (passport, visa, etc.)? ____ Yes ____ NoIf No, how much time do you need in order to obtain them? _______________________

6) Below, give the title of the paper or workshop you plan to submit for approval and a brief description

I have understood and agree to comply with the conditions of the sponsorship.

Signature: _________________________________________ Date: ______________________

Send your completed application form, a current resume or CV, and a letter of support from the director of your institution to your IZERegional Representative by February 28, 2002.For more information, contact your Regional Representative. For an updated list of Regional Representatives and information about IZE,please visit www.izea.net. For conference details, see www.zoovienna.at.

Xerox, fill out and post toyour Regional Rep :

Sally Walker, ARNIZEc/o Zoo Outreach OrgPOB 1683, PeelameduCoimbatore, 641 004 TNIndia

FAX 91 422 563 269

Email :<[email protected]>

(cover this up first)

19


ARNIZE is the regional armof the International ZooEducator Association. TheARNIZE Newsletter isproduced twice yearly bythe Asian Regional Network of International ZooEducators (ARNIZE) in collaboration with ZooOutreach Organisation. Zoo Outreach Organisationhosts the network of Asian zoo educators

There is no fee membership in ARNIZE or for thenewsletter which is sent free to all Asian Zoos andselected individuals, organisations and institutionsinvolved with zoo education.

To get on the network, write us a letter and tell whatyou do. Include your email address and yourwebsite if you have one along with your mailingaddress.

Write to : ARNIZE c/o ZOO,Box 1683, Peelamedu,Coimbatore 641 004 TN India

email [email protected] www.zooreach.org

This issue of IZE Asia Newsletter was fullysponsored by Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund.The Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund hassponsored the network since its inception.

IZE AsiaEditor: Sally WalkerAsian Regional Representative of IZEPublisher: Zoo Outreach Organisation, CoimbatorePrinter: ZOO’s Prints, Coimbatore.

ARNIZE Membership Form and QuestionnaireXerox, Fill and Return to IZE Regional Rep for AsiaSally Walker, ZOO / ARNIZE, 29 1st X, Bharati Colony,

Peelamedu, Coimbatore 641 004 Indiaor retype and email to <[email protected]>

Name: ________________________________________________

Designation: __________________________________________

Postal address: _______________________________________

______________________________________________________

Name and address of your zoo or organisation:

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Fax: _________________________________________________

Email: ________________________________________________

Your story -- what you do at your zoo :

www.izea.net

Check out theIZE Website

20

IZE Newsletter first page.pmd - Zoo Outreach Organization

Documents

Transcript of IZE Newsletter first page.pmd - Zoo Outreach Organization