This project is an international partnership amongst Cheetah Outreach, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), the Smithsonian National Zoological Park�s Conservation & Research Center (NZP-CRC) in Washington, and Haily Summerford in Texas.

Cheetah Outreach is committed to developing environmental education resources for the schools of the Western Cape, specifically targeting previously underprivileged learners, the real stakeholders of our African biodiversity, and to motivating and building the capacity of those who educate them. The Cheetah Outreach Education Trust holds annual environmental education teacher workshops for teachers from underpriviliged schools, and for the since 2001 has provided fellowships for eight of these teachers hosted at NZP-CRC and Fort Worth, Texas.

It is the aim of these fellowships to build capacity through:

1. Promoting teacher development;
2. Assisting education organisations in Southern Africa to develop Environmental Education and wildlife-training opportunities;
3. Increasing understanding of key environmental issues, such as biodiversity and conservation;
4. Supporting the long-term training and education of the next generation of scientists in this region;
5. Heightening awareness of eco-tourism and its economic importance to South Africa.

Whilst at NZP-CRC and Fort Worth, the fellows receive intensive training in environmental and wildlife conservation science while sharing their own education tools and lesson plans with American teachers and students. Thus these fellowships offer a unique opportunity to blend cultures and share information that eventually can lead to new initiatives in educational tools and preserving biodiversity.

On their return to South Africa, fellows have the opportunity to build environmental education resource material and assist in the delivery of follow-up workshops in partnership with Cheetah Outreach, WCED, Smithsonian NZP-CRC and Haily Summerford, to share their experience and knowledge with fellow teachers. These workshops have included EE visioning workshops, animal phobias and EE in literacy.

The fellowships previously enjoyed by educators from the Western Cape have forever changed the way the fellows perceive environmental education and their motivation to actively introduce this into the classroom. Desire Adams (Fellow 2001) has assisted the Cheetah Outreach Education Officer, Dawn Glover, in partnership with the Education Department, to write environmental education resources for use in Western Cape schools, using the cheetah as a learning tool. Sabelo Mali (Fellow 2001) extended his education by pursuing an M.Phil. in Environmental Management at Stellenbosch University. Teboho Khabele (Fellow 2002) is involved in resource development and has since been awareded his Masters in Education, focussing on the integration of environment into technology. Reuben Wales, Carol Birch and Bongani Dlwathi have all played roles in the development, organisation and presentation of EE workshops within their communities. These fellowships have proved to have an ongoing effect in both the individual fellows� lives and the learners they teach.

Cheetah Outreach Fellows: