Primary children visit Calabar centre

CERCOPAN considers education a priority, and has welcomed visitors from the beginning.  We have a dynamic education programme in both Calabar and Rhoko. Without an extensive education programme, all efforts towards conservation and rehabilitation of primates would be in vain. The hope for the future of Africa's wildlife is with the young people of today, and it is difficult to imagine a situation where educational inputs could have a greater impact. Since resources are very scarce, young people in Nigeria have little exposure to the wonders of nature and animal behaviour, something we take for granted in our own culture.

For most children, CERCOPAN is their first opportunity to observe primate behaviour -- all are fascinated by what they see. One of the points we emphasize is the need for sustainable hunting practices, thus attempting to reduce the number of orphans by discouraging hunting of nursing females and endangered species. In addition, although some adults, and very occasionally children, in rural areas have extensive knowledge about the forest, including medicinal wild plants, this knowledge is not valued by young people and is in real danger of being lost. There is a need to re-emphasize the value of nature and the forest; CERCOPAN can help the young people of today recognize this value.
 

Education Officer Jerry speaks to university students at Calabar centre

Calabar Centre
Entrance to the centre is free, and full time Education staff have been part of our programme for the past 8 years. This allows an active outreach programme as well as escorted visits- we visit more than 50 schools every year.  All visitors to CERCOPAN in Calabar are escorted on a conducted tour of the project. CERCOPAN's goals of forest and primate conservation are explained, and questions and discussion invited. All primate care staff are trained to escort visitors, and we take a participatory approach to learning as much as possible.

CERCOPAN takes pride in our education programme, and every year in Calabar alone we welcome over 30,000 visitors annually, including primary, secondary and university students and the general public. We also celebrate World Environment Day (June) in style, where the secondary school children participating in our outreach programme come together parading through Calabar streets.