Home BECT at a Glance Elephants in Sri Lanka BECT Activities School Awareness Support to Families Publications Support BECT Contacts  
   

School Awareness Programme

  
   
  BECT conducts a School Awareness Programme in the rural districts of Sri Lanka, where there are incidents of human-elephant conflict. The programme consists of a half-day session in each school, where the children are given lectures/presentations on Sri Lanka’s biodiversity and elephants.
   
 

   
  Objectives of the programme
   
  The objective of the Schools’ Awareness Program is to create an awareness amongst the children living in the areas where there are human-elephant conflicts on:
 
1. The value of elephants
2. Their ecology, biology and physiology
3. Their role in the religion and culture of the country
4.

How and why elephants cause damage to crops and houses, and cause human fatalities and how children and their families can contribute to minimize conflict
5. Of the need to conserve elephants for the future
   
  With the knowledge that is imparted to the children, they will have a better understanding and appreciation of the problem of human-elephant conflicts and know in greater detail about the natural and socio-cultural history of the elephants. This will reduce the negative attitude towards the elephant by the local communities, especially among the younger generations, so that they can then be persuaded to take a more positive role in the conservation of elephants.
   
  For the last six years the Biodiversity & Elephant Conservation Trust has conducted 900 Schools’ Awareness Programs at a rate of 150 schools each year. The children are given a thorough knowledge of the elephant and shown how elephants and humans can live in harmony. Through this program we have reached over 55,000 children in the six years. This program is ongoing.
   
 

Funding has come mainly from the US Fish & Wildlife Service, Nagao Natural Environment Foundation and many US & UK based Zoos.
   
 

Dialog Telekom PLC has funded a similar programme in 2008 where we will have sessions in 150 additional schools
   
 

We also identify the lack of essential resources in some schools (clean drinking water, library books, educational material) and attempt to help, within our capacity or try to link up with third parties who are willing to help.
   
 
 

A presentation during an awareness programme
   
 
  Children listening to a presentation
   
 
  Books and posters donated to the school
   
 
  Children who participated in a programme
   

© 2008 Biodiversity and Elephant Conservation Trust

  

Last updated: 18 November, 2009