Student Learning

Rural Development and Wildlife Conservation

Day 1 – 3 Orientation / Lusaka

Welcome to Zambia! Upon landing in Lusaka, Zambia, participants will spend this time getting to know one another as well as the group leaders and the facilitator. Accommodation is in comfortable stone chalets located in a quiet and safe area outside of the city center.

Days are spent exploring Lusaka; Zambia’s capital city. Visits to both private and public schools will be arranged- giving participants the opportunity to experience the division of classes within Zambia and to engage with students of their own age.

Day 4 – 5 Rural Development and African Culture

Tikondane is a community center run for and by the people of Katete. It has a thriving community school and adult education program as well as various income generating activities such as the garden and skill training initiatives. It is a grassroots venture started by Zambians who adopted the mission of fighting the poverty in Katete through education, especially targeting women.

Day 6-9 Wildlife Conservation & Management: South Luangwa

The next 4 days are spent in workshops with game scouts, park wardens, and safari guides, exploring the park and learning about human/wildlife conflicts and wildlife management strategies in the region. Visits to community organizations such as Tribal Textiles, the Elephant Orphanage Project, and a number of local schools can be arranged. A primary focus here is the work of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which works with over 500 local farmers in peanut butter and honey production. Participants also have some free time to take game drives in the park where they find all the magnificent animals of Africa.

Day 10 – 13 Wildlife Conservation & Management: Lower Zambezi

The Lower Zambezi region is an outstanding example of how local communities and wildlife are embattled in one of Africa’s greatest conflicts; for territory and subsistence. Program activities will focus on community needs: health care, education, and food resources. Visits to the local clinic, schools, farms, and women’s organizations provide students with an overview of the community. Students have the opportunity to engage with the women of Chiawa, sharing meals with them, and working alongside them on various projects and activities. The partner institution participants invite selected women from the Chiawa community to stay with them at their accommodation facilities where the Explore facilitator has designed a special program for that would include team building activities (fishing, bush walks, baobab climbing, etc). Participants would be split up into mixed groups (student participants & women from Chiawa), and negotiate activities together, thus breaking down the boundaries between the two groups. Secondly, the time is spent engaging in discussions and games around themes in environmental education, sustainability, climate change, and ideas for building better social and ecological justice. The intention is that by both groups staying at the camp together and working together through the physical team building activities and discussion, we can create an equal and safe space through which ideas and experiences can then be shared, without disempowering or idealizing the local context the complexities of lived realities.

Leisure activities such as canoeing safaris and sandbar picnics are included.

Day 14 – 16 Conservation and Adventure: Lower Zambezi Region

Students travel by boat to a basic riverside camp on the banks of the Zambezi River. Here, students have 3 days to relax and explore the surrounding wilderness. This area is home to the magnificent wild animals of Africa, with plenty of elephant, hippo, crocodiles, lion, leopard, antelope, zebra, and warthog. Students have the opportunity to take game drives in the park to see the animals, explore the river by canoe or motor boat, go fishing, and take guided game walks with an armed ranger. The primary focus here is wildlife conservation and management as well as some well deserved rest and relaxation. During this time, local experts will meet with the students to discuss key conservation issues.

Optional Optional Extension:

Livingstone is the perfect setting to wind down in relative comfort and process the Zambian experience. Educational activities in this section of the program may include:

*Visit to a local school

*Visit to a local orphanage

*Visit the David Livingstone Museum

*Visit a traditional Makuni Village

Adventure activities during this portion of the program may include:

*Elephant-back safari

*Visiting Victoria Falls

*Boat trip on the Zambezi River

*Adventure activities