Environmental Education Programme

Eco-Warrior Clubs

The Outlines of an Eco-warrior club

An Eco-warrior club is a voluntary group that promotes the participation of children in learning about and improving their environment. Eco-warrior clubs are a means by which children and young adults, guided by Eco-guardians, can get together to learn more about wildlife conservation and their natural environment. They are enabled to take action to improve their immediate environment.

For teachers and Eco-guardians, it is an opportunity to create awareness, to build ideas and to enable children to take up activities in a way in which the constraints of a classroom and their normal school curriculum do not allow.

Eco-warrior clubs assist in extending the boundaries and scope of the formal Botswana educational system, encouraging creativity, and empowering children for fruitful action.

Eco-warrior club activities assist the teacher to meet the objectives of environmental education, which are to:

Foster an understanding and appreciation of the natural world with experiential and interactive learning.
Give children a hands-on appreciation of what is around them in real life rather than just watching it on TV, or a phone or learning about it in theory from books.
Dispel common bad myths about wildlife with scientific facts.
Discuss ways to reduce consumption & implement recycling.
Stimulate creativity in children by showing them how to use natural and recycled materials to create new things.
Eco-warrior clubs teach practical skills such as plant and animal identification, tracking, gardening, and various crafts.

All these topics and ways of teaching, help promote a positive self-esteem in children and caters to their various personalities and abilities. This accommodates children with different learning styles. Creative children are often overlooked in a traditional academic environment.

Annual Eco- camps

The children who are chosen to attend the Bana ba Bobirwa Eco-camps are given an opportunity to experience wildlife intimately, much like a paying safari guest. In addition to this the camps build and strengthen their ability to cope with life’s challenges. The camps expose them to life outside of their villages. They are taught some life skills necessary to actualise their potential.

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A safe and secure environment

Provide a well-organized curriculum within a wilderness setting, where nature serves as both the teacher and healer, supported by experienced and trained guardians in a safe and secure environment.

Sports for personal & leadership development, fostering gender equity

Encourage children to engage in team-building sports for personal and leadership development, fostering gender equity. All field activities are guided by local experts and camp staff who serve as important role models, inspiring children to envision futures contributing to Botswana’s sustainable development, such as becoming guides, field rangers, conservationists, lodge managers, or ecologists.

Age-appropriate and enjoyable educational activities

Deliver a diverse range of age-appropriate and enjoyable educational activities, covering topics such as tourism, history, archaeology, geology, wildlife conservation, arts and crafts, theatre, nutrition, sports, photography and health. Daily morning and afternoon game drives or bush walks are integral to the program.

Positively influencing the lives of participating children

Develop impactful programs aimed at positively influencing the lives of participating children. The goal is for each child to depart the camp with either a new or improved skill, a deeper understanding of life’s possibilities, heightened self-awareness, and a renewed respect for the environment.

Bana ba Bobirwa aims for their children to be wholly inspired to strive to achieve their utmost potential, so that their enthusiasm and new ideas are shared with their families and communities. This in turn fosters acceptance and interest from more local people to be involved in conservation of their natural environment and tourism in the area.