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((PLAYBOOK SLUG: KENYA ENVIRONMENT CURRICULUM (TV/R)
HEADLINE: Schools in Kenya Adopt Environment Education to Promote Conservation
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 3/27/24, 5:24p
BYLINE: Juma Majanga
DATELINE: Mau Eburu, Kenya
VIDEOGRAPHER: Juma Majanga
VIDEO EDITOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: Purnell Murdock
SCRIPT EDITORS: MAS, Reifenrath
VIDEO SOURCE: VOA Original
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 3:36
VID APPROVED BY: Reifenrath
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[With global biodiversity loss at crisis levels, nearly 100 schools bordering the Mau Forest complex in Kenya have adopted a tailored syllabus that teaches conservation as part of its regular curriculum. Juma Majanga reports from Mau Eburu, Kenya.]]
((NARRATOR))
A unique class is in progress at Songoloi Primary School on the slopes of Mount Eburu, east of Mau Forest in Kenya’s south-western highlands.
Songoloi is among the nearly hundred schools bordering the Mau Forest complex that have adopted a tailored syllabus — one that includes lessons in conservation as part of the curriculum.
((Radio Track: Samuel Mwangi is a teacher at the school))
((Samuel Mwangi, Songoloi Primary School Teacher (male, English))
“We saw the pupils and schools as the best platform to reach out to the community and also create awareness to other people about the importance of the environment.”
((NARRATOR))
The Mau Forest complex includes about 400,000 hectares and is known as East Africa’s largest closed canopy forest. It is considered one of Kenya's "water towers" — named so because of the crucial role it plays in the collection and storage of water. According to satellite data from Global Forest Watch, Mau Forest lost 19 percent of its tree cover between 2001 and 2022.
The United Nations Environment Program says degradation of important ecosystems is a widespread problem in Africa.
((Radio Track: Abdelkader Bensada is a program management officer at the environment program's Ecosystem Division.))
((Abdelkader Bensada, UN Environment Program ((male, English))
"Sixty percent of the population of the African continent depend on their own resources, which are now really threatened, and some are on risk of extinction."
((NARRATOR))
The introduction of a conservation education curriculum by charity trust Rhino Ark — in partnership with Kenya’s Ministry of Education — aims to incorporate protection of resources into the country's new Competency-Based Curriculum.
((Radio Track: …as Peter Munene, the head of conservation education at Rhino Ark explains.))
((Peter Munene, Rhino Ark Conservation Educator ((male, English))
“We are investing long-term in conservation knowledge so that we start from the grassroots going up. So that these people, in a gradual way, they’ll be changing."
((NARRATOR))
Nashipai Lesalon is an eighth grader at Songoloi.
((Nashipai Lesalon, Songoloi Primary School Student ((female, Swahili))
“I want to encourage young people to love the environment. Do not cut down trees. We should nurture trees and plant many of them so we can have a better environment."
((Radio Track: She says she wants to encourage young people to love the environment and not cut down trees. She also urges other students to nurture trees and plant many of them so they can have a better environment.))
((NARRATOR))
Scientists largely blame the degradation of the Mau Forest on human activities. The conservation curriculum teaches students about the impact of charcoal burning and illegal logging and hunting, as well as how to reduce activities that harm the environment.
((Radio Track: Joseph Mutongu is a Rhino Ark fence/community manager at Eburu Forest in the Mau.))
((Joseph Mutongu, Rhino Ark Fence/Community Manager ((male, English))
“For the last few years that we’ve been working with the community, we’ve seen there is a lot of change now because the communities now they are embracing this project…and they are owning it now.”
((NARRATOR))
In 2021, the U.N. launched its “Decade on Ecosystem Restoration,” a flagship initiative to spearhead restoration of degraded ecosystems.
Bensada, of the U.N. Environment Program, says Indigenous knowledge and community involvement will play an important role.
((Abdelkader Bensada, UN Environment Program ((male, English))
“They are the ones who will apply restoration activities on the ground and not those who have planned for it. ”
((NARRATOR))
With large populations in Africa dependent on natural resources, experts say the threat of losing such assets can leave communities on the continent vulnerable.
((Juma Majanga, VOA News, Mau Eburu, Kenya))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
Subtitles / Dubbing AvailableNo
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateMarch 27, 2024 18:25 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
