A real education...

The last few days have been very eventful. Seeing the huge amount of amazing work that goes on here is phenomenal. One of the flagship programs of Painted Dog Conservation (PDC) is its Bushcamp. All the local primary schools get a free 3-4 day residential trip to learn about wildlife, conservation and the environment.

The highlight of their stay is the game drive. For most if not all of these children it is the first time they have ever been inside the national park that is on their doorstep and a chance to see the amazing wildlife that lives there. Seeing the excitement on their faces as they witness elephants bathing or giraffe feeding was fantastic.

Bradley, one of the young lads, was a very talented little artist in the making and kindly helped my Mum with her homework.

Later in the evening we watched the children perform a play that explained the traditional respect their communities had for hunting and the wildlife all around them and how indiscriminate snaring had impacted on the number of game and left many animals (including the Painted Dogs) dead or horribly injured. These kids are so bright and aware of the issues and marvel just as much as we do at their spectacular wildlife that they are proving to be a real vehicle for change. When they go back to their communities they carry these important messages with them. 

Times have been very hard for the population here and you can understand the desire to go and get meat for their families but we have to look to the future and the sustainability of all our actions. PDC is not only helping to spread the word to the next generations but is also giving local people an alternative today with all of its community projects that I will tell you about in my next blog...