Conservation Education to Promote Biodiversity

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SCERA has conducted a series of Conservation Education workshops aimed at sensitizing local communities around the Amurum Forest Reserve about environmental protection while at the same time addressing social issues. Our approach is to train community members to conduct environmental communication within their communities, as hearing from their fellow community members would drive the message home. Also, it would ensure messages are designed and broadcast using culturally appropriate language and media. We also ensure gender balance and mainstreaming in our activities. At the Amurum Forest Reserve, youths from the three communities surrounding the Reserve, Kerker, Zarazon and Laminga were trained during a training-of-trainer programme to conduct environmental education for children and community members in the local dialect, educating them about the importance of biodiversity and impact of the loss of species and degradation of ecosystems, including forests, streams, rivers etc.

Community youths created awareness around the Reserve, within communities and in the local schools. One of the community youths, Elisha was highly enthusiastic about an opportunity to impact his community with knowledge of conservation. He contributed to planning outreach activities and took it upon himself to lead a team of community youths to create awareness among school children, being a teacher in one of the schools. He supported the design of instructional materials to best communicate to the children. His enthusiasm reflects the kind of impact conservation can make if communities are made partners in environmental communication.

Community people, women, men, youths also participated actively in a fuel-efficient stove awareness campaign, promoting the Amurum fuel-efficient stove and the importance of forests and trees. The community members took the lead in communicating the messages to other communities.

Several awareness raising materials were produced and distributed, targeting different community groups and levels of audience. Amongst the outreach tools was the use of calendars to promote indigenous trees and an almanac showing the diversity of bird species found in Nigeria among the general public. The idea with the calendar was to encourage people to plant trees and make them think more about indigenous species rather than exotic tree species. The almanac showing birds drew attention to the beauty of birds and nature, as well as their existence value as part of the environment. Other awareness raising materials included posters and flyers demonstrating the value of nature.

SCERA continues to promote biodiversity conservation through environmental communication, more recently emphasising the link between biodiversity loss and emerging zoonotic diseases, especially epidemics and pandemics, in its conservation education approach. This is currently being addressed in outreach activities promoting preventive measures against the coronavirus pandemic.