5. Community conservation, education, and outreach

Quarterly Report

Second quarter 2022

5. Community conservation, education, and outreach

Funders

Activities

Conservation education

→ Congratulations class of 2021-2022!

On Friday 13th of May, we held our annual graduation ceremony for all the children that took part in the school outreach programme. The event took place in the Limbe Botanical Gardens’ (LBG) Jungle Village. This year we saw more than 2,000 children attend to celebrate their achievements. The goal of this programme is to educate future generations and inspire passion for the habitats and wildlife in Cameroon. As well as learning, it is important to have fun, so the day was also celebrated with music, dancing, and games (Image 17). Every child was presented with a certificate, with additional prizes of t-shirts and conservation books for those that came top of their class.

We heard words from the LWC Project Manager, the conservator of the LBG, the LWC Head of Education, our LWC educators, and also Bantu Freeman of Da Nzimbistic Cultural Centre who presented the event (Image 18). Thank you to all those that took part and for your hard work over the past year. Funding was provided by PSMNR and the African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO) (Image 19). A special thank you to Annelies Begas for helping to provide the certificates for the event (Image 20).

Image 17. There was lots of music and dancing from the children during the event Image 18. A crowd of over 2,000 children heard a speech from the LWC Project Manager, Jerry Aylmer

Quarterly Report

Second quarter 2022

Image 19. The graduation was a success thanks to the collaboration of many individuals and organisations Image 20. Thanks to a generous donation from Annelies Begas, all the children received personalised certificates

Images 21-24. There were over 2,000 children in the Jungle Village in the Limbe Botanical Gardens, enjoying music, dancing, and free lunches

Thank you to all who got involved in the organisation and execution of the fantastic 2021/22 graduation event! We are looking forward to doing it again next year.

Quarterly Report

Second quarter 2022

→ School outreach programme o Completed the 2021-2022 programme: 9 schools, 30 classes, and 1,800 school children o Held a graduation ceremony for children that took part in the outreach programme o Received Pan African Conservation Education (PACE) Project educational materials from TUSK and Siren Conservation Education (Image 25) → Saturday Nature Club o Postponed until the beginning of the 2022/23 school year → Art4Nature o Billboards continue to be displayed around Limbe promoting wildlife conservation o Preparations began for the new mural by Cameroonian artist Toh Bright in the entrance of the LWC o Preparations and designs started for the display of new educational signage around the LWC visitor trail

Green Project

LWC continued to receive harvested cultivated and wild plants from the Batoke community to provide nutritious browse for our primates. The community members benefited from this project during the second quarter of 2022; 15 ex-hunter members sustainably harvesting wild herbaceous plants: 7,999 kg of Aframomum stems and 1,409 kg of Costus stems; 70 women involved with harvesting crop by-products: 3,356 kg of cassava leaves, 13,198 kg of papaya leaves, 10,055 kg of potato leaves, 428 kg of invasive Trumpet wood shoots, corresponding to 96 trees hand-cut; 3,148,330 FCFA (€4,807) paid directly to the local community association this quarter and contributing to alleviate local poverty and increase gender equity in 2022. LWC Manager, Jerry Aylmer, also went to visit the community in April to personally thank them and observe their hard work (Image 26).

Image 25. PACE materials donated by TUSK and Siren Conservation Education for our education department Image 26. Project Manager, Jerry Aylmer, with members of the community Green Project in Batoke

Quarterly Report

Second quarter 2022

Objectives for next quarter

→ Continue to develop the new curriculum in preparation for the 2022/23 school year → Continue with the community-based Green Project to benefit both people and animals → Host a workshop in the Batoke community to strengthen relationships and listen to feedback from participants → Finalise designs and plans and find funding for LWC signage around the public trail → The mural featuring wildlife of the Mount Cameroon area is planned to be painted by artist Toh Bright