
Evidencing the conservation education value of zoos
Conservation education has been a core area of zoo work for decades, but only recently have we seen research into understanding the impact of those endeavours.
Approaches to conservation education in zoos are varied. Conservation educators must grapple with the challenge of engaging a broad audience which includes people of diverse ages, backgrounds and scientific literacy, both in and beyond the zoo.
Zoos frequently emphasise the educational aspects of their work, both to engage audiences and to justify the continued existence of zoos and aquaria. We are working to collect more clear and replicable evidence of the impact of zoos as education spaces, not only to prove the case for continued work in this area, but to evaluate and implement the best methods of conservation teaching.