Ms. Thi Trang Le leads the LVDI International team in Vietnam. Owing to her incredible dedication to biodiversity conservation, and in particular, her steadfast efforts to protect the Critically Endangered red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus), Trang was honored by CEPF as a Biodiversity Hotspot Hero in 2020, as well as being chosen as a finalist of the 2015 Future For Nature Conservation Awards. Recently, Vietnam’s VTV8 invited Trang to share her stories on their Cà phê Tám program. Here, we have an in-depth conversation with Trang about her work.

 

 

Q: How did you come to work for LVDI International?

After graduating from college, I was a field investigator of underground wildlife trade networks in central Vietnam. That experience gave me a completely different outlook on wildlife trafficking. I realized that the only way to stop the supply chains was to end the demand. In 2012 I co-founded a biodiversity conservation organization in my hometown, Da Nang. I wanted to shift my attention to education then but struggled to find a way to start.

A year later, at the International Conference on Conservation of Primates in Indochina I heard a talk by Dr. Chia Tan (Vice President of LVDI International). She delivered a powerful presentation on saving endangered primates in China and Madagascar through the Little Green Guards^® program. It was one of those aha moments; suddenly, I knew exactly what I wanted to do next.

So, after the talk I met with Dr. Tan and she guided me through the process of developing a Little Green Guards^® program for the children of Da Nang. With additional support from Dr. John “Andy” Phillips (President of LVDI International), my colleague, Ms. Thanh Huong Dinh, and I created the Save Son Tra’s Doucs curricula to help protect the dwindling red-shanked douc population on the peninsula as a result of overdevelopment.

We implemented the Little Green Guards^® program during 2014-2016 in collaboration with GreenViet, and taught lessons to more than 20,000 students in over 20 primary and secondary schools. The classroom activities coupled with field trips and community events allowed us to raise awareness about the doucs and instill pride in both children as well as adults. Then local governments and businesses also took part in our conservation efforts. By making the doucs an icon of Da Nang, we succeeded in saving their home, the Son Tra forest, from developers in a very short time.

The transformation in people’s attitudes I witnessed as a result of education was truly remarkable. I was convinced that education was the most cost-effective and sustainable way to change people’s view and influence their actions toward conservation. Dr. Phillips once said, “If people had prioritized nature education 30 years ago, the wildlife situation in Vietnam might be very different today.” Indeed, many rhinos, elephants and tigers might still be roaming our forests.

From that point on, it was only a matter of time before I formally joined LVDI International, and now I can devote all my energy to empowering children as agents of change for a sustainable future.

 

 

 

Q: Can you briefly tell us about the Little Green Guards^® program?

The idea behind the Little Green Guards^® was conceived by Dr. Phillips, and the first program was implemented by Dr. Tan and her colleagues in China in 2011. At its core, the purpose of the Little Green Guards^® program is to cultivate love and appreciation of nature in children. We work with young learners, typically ages 8 to 15, by expanding their knowledge about endangered species, and providing them experiential activities related to nature conservation. Our age-appropriate and locally-relevant lessons promote understanding and decision-making skills in children so that they will choose to live in harmony with nature. All of our lessons are conducted by trained educators, and all activities, including the materials, are offered to participants free of charge.

 

Q: What are you working on at the moment? And what do you like most about your job?

As the Vietnam Country Director, I have the amazing opportunity to create positive impacts every day. I work very closely with our education team, which is largely comprised of volunteers from different regions of the country. Since 2021, we have been developing and implementing the Save the Magnificent Seven (M7) curricula, featuring seven highly endangered species found in central Vietnam. We teach both in-person and online lessons to primary and secondary school students on a regular basis. We are in the process of publishing our inaugural M7 storybook, Bỏng Ngô’s First Home, which will accompany the lesson about the Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi). Already, we are devising a plan to deliver the books to various schools in Da Nang, Quang Nam and Quang Binh, as well as developing associated classroom activities for the students. Other exciting projects in progress are our M7 educator’s handbook, and a pictorial guide to insects and plants of Hoa Vang, Da Nang for use in our outdoor classroom at Hoa Phu Farm. Still, more ideas are coming from the team every day.

What I like most about my job, and also the reason that I chose to be in nature education, is the work itself. It requires creativity and teamwork. We do a lot of brainstorming, and the more attention we devote to our work, the more ideas and enthusiasm we generate. Because there are very few nature education sources available in Vietnam, LVDI International has become the go-to organization. And in return, everything that we do provides an endless source of energy and motivation for us. I believe this is the main reason that we attract many volunteers to join LVDI International in Vietnam.

 

 

Q: When it comes to nature education, what would you say is your biggest challenge?

Often people think that educating children is easy. It is not. We have encountered many obstacles in the process. But in general, the main difficulty has been meeting the needs of children from vastly different socioeconomic backgrounds.

For example, we recently worked with a group of Co Tu ethnic minority children in the remote Lang commune in Tay Giang district. This community is a high priority for us because it is located in the Trường Sơn (Annamite) range. Our M7 curricula are designed to safeguard endangered species in this area, especially. Before going there, our educators worked very hard to prepare each lesson. However, upon arrival we were surprised to find that most of the Co Tu children were far behind in their academic skills relative to children of the same age group in Da Nang City. Some could not even write. So, quickly we had to modify our lesson plan. Instead of writing exercises, we created games and other fun activities to engage the children.

 

 

On the other hand, when working with urban children we face a different set of challenges. Most parents in Da Nang City do not encourage their children to participate in education programs such as the Little Green Guards^®. Because they do not value nature, they do not believe that our lessons are beneficial to their children’s future. Besides teaching children appreciation and respect for the natural world, we also encourage them to be responsible consumers and take action to stop biodiversity loss. In short, we teach them how to live a healthy lifestyle by keeping our environment healthy. Nowadays more and more companies are incorporating sustainability into their cultures and some even have changed their business models to be eco-friendly. Sooner rather than later a sustainable business model will be the only future business model. I believe there will be more green jobs, and people who are well-equipped with the right knowledge and experience will be more competitive on the job market.

 

Q: What inspires you and keeps you going?

For me, my inspiration and motivation to live come from my role both as a mother and as a conservationist.

As a mother, I don’t really try to influence my daughter to become a conservationist like me. I just try to be her friend, and teach her to be a person with passion in whatever she chooses to do, and with responsibility for her country and her world. I believe she will know what to do in the future.

At LVDI International, our goal is to empower people to protect their own natural resources, and that is how we integrate our key messages into the lessons and materials that we create. In our Annamite striped rabbit storybook, the mother rabbit teaches Bỏng Ngô by answering all her daughter’s questions about The Magnificent Forest. And when Bỏng Ngô has acquired sufficient knowledge, she is ready to discover the world on her own.

When we teach our children to care about something, they naturally will want to protect it. By continuing to teach the Little Green Guards^® lessons to our children, I expect that in the next 10 or 20 years we will have some good leaders capable of making smart decisions in natural resources management in Vietnam.