For over a decade, our Little Green Guards® program has contributed to the protection of primates and other wildlife by helping schoolchildren from critical habitat areas in Africa and Asia develop conservation literacy. Dr. Rose Marie Randrianarison (Madagascar Country Coordinator), recipient of a Lawrence Jacobsen Education Development Grant, has been invited to give a special presentation at this year’s International Primatological Society Congress that highlights the program, designed for students attending Anevoka Primary School near Maromizaha Protected Area, eastern Madagascar. Due to Anevoka’s rural setting, the academic abilities of the students lag behind their urban counterparts. To boost these children’s proficiency in reading, writing and arithmetic, we developed teaching materials and classroom activities that provide supplemental learning experiences in those core subjects while increasing their knowledge and appreciation about the Maromizaha forest. As one example, our Little Green Guards® Animal Biology and Conservation (ABC) Coloring Book expanded the students’ understanding of local wildlife species and their ecological roles, while improving core subject performance in 98% of the students. To ensure natural resources in Maromizaha and surrounding forests are protected for current and future generations, we also created a children’s storybook in Malagasy, Ny Alan’ny Hazo Hasinabe (The Forest of the Dragon Trees), to deepen their relationship with nature. This book will be adopted by 11 primary schools, potentially benefitting over 2,000 students each year.
