Engaging and Educating People
Earthwatch's education reach is wide - from training thousands of teachers, scientists and students; changing attitudes and behaviours in the corporate world; and getting over 85,000 people from the general public directly involved in conservation.
Click on the links below to find out more about the vital work we are doing to engage and educate people.
Since 1995, Earthwatch's Capacity Development Programme has trained over 1000 scientists from over 40 different countries from Kenya to Kyrgyzstan and from Sri Lanka to Sudan. The participants have had the chance to partake on over 35 different Earthwatch projects over the twelve years and have studied numerous aspects of conservation from species identification to interacting with local communities and from presentation and proposal writing skills to data analysis.
Capacity Development participants have together contributed over 14,000 days to conservation science, representing 112,000 hours of scientific research - that is the equivalent of 1 scientist working for eight hours a day, everyday, for over 38 years!
Abdul Jueh Jalloh from the Conservation Society of Sierra Leone:
"The Capacity Development Programme has increased my capacity in such a way that I can build others' capacity - it's like training of the trainers."
We have worked with over 80 companies to influence and improve their environmental performance.
For example, our work with the British American Tobacco Biodiversity Partnership has lead to the production of a Biodiversity Risk and Opportunities Assessment process which is now mandatory for all its companies. This tool has been tested in Indonesia and Uganda and is now being rolled out to other operating companies. Our partnership with HSBC over the last five years saw 2,000 HSBC employees contributing to vital research on Earthwatch projects all over the world, as well as contributing to nearly 60,000 hours and $1 million to over 1300 community conservation initiatives in their local area. Find out more about the success of the Investing in Nature programme.
Nigel Pate, Senior Manager from HSBC's Group Corporate Sustainability function:
"Partnering with Earthwatch is undoubtedly helping us to embed sustainability across our global business."
Since 1971, we have sent more than 85,000 volunteers into the field to work with more than a thousand scientists on projects all over the world. This adds up to about 10 million people-hours of research, and that kind of energy yields results!
Volunteers come back from Earthwatch expeditions inspired, changed and ready to make a difference back in their communities. Every year we are inundated with stories from volunteers who have had a life changing or life affirming experience with 20% saying that it made them consider a career change.
To date over 1500 local action projects to improve communities have been set up by returning volunteers.
Dr Bruce Patterson, Lead Scientist, Lions of Tsavo:
"...transformations of attitude and perspective are as important a product as the scientific understanding we are gaining."
Since 1991, Earthwatch has helped approximately 620 educators join a variety of its conservation research projects around the world.
Educators have come from many different countries to support our conservation research; including the UK, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the Seychelles. The average class size in the EU is 19.8 students, so if each educator influences one class, the Earthwatch Educator Programme could already have raised awareness of conservation issues in over 12,000 students around the world.
Earthwatch has developed over the years a library of curriculum-linked, learning resources - most of which have been written by the educators who have taken part in our programme. These resources enable us reach a far wider audience of students and educators - beyond those who join our programme.
Earthwatch also runs Student Awards whenever funding allows, enabling those with a passion for learning about conservation science to experience it first hand in the field. Over the last three years, Earthwatch has been able to field two disadvantaged youth groups on two of our UK projects and provided almost 50 students with experience of science in the field.
Amy Parry, Teacher:
"By providing these opportunities for teachers, they can go on to influence the young people of today into being passionate about the world and the importance of being able to manage and preserve it."