One of the key factors in wildlife conservation is that of education. In Indonesia very few schoolchildren, especially in cities, feel close to animals or nature. They only know animals and nature from an incidental program on television and often there they see how rich persons have wildlife as pets. This is a very wrong education that we need to tackle. The Gibbon Foundation through its more than 100 conservation projects over the years in Indonesia has provided nature conservation education to millions, yes you read this correct, millions of school children.
The facilities at Tasikoki have also been designed to host large school groups and serve as a hub of knowledge for local conservation groups. We also provide our meeting facilities free of charge to local government agencies that hold all kinds of meetings there, as well as church groups, youth groups and other organizations. But they must pay a price…. They have to be willing to listen for at least half an hour to us why conservation is so important.
In this picture you see the large room with school children getting information why animal protection, especially in Sulawesi, is so important. The children are also taken on a tour of the animal rescue center, but are not allowed to enter more senstive areas such as the facilities where the groups of animals that are soon to be released or the sick animals in the quarantine are located.
We are currently looking for voluntary education officers to facilitate the continuation of our education programmes at Tasikoki. Please contact edu@tasikoki.org for more details.
Existing work is in collaboration with
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tangkoko-Conservation-Education/102363603173931
and
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Selamatkan-Yaki/189185994444523