Our Director of Conservation Education spoke at a recent TEDx event to share her vision of an education system where conservation comes first.
Our mission here at the zoo is preventing extinction. As well as our vital work protecting wildlife both locally and around the world, we also believe that educating and empowering the next generation of conservationists is key to this mission. Leading the way on making that goal a reality is Charlotte Smith, our Director of Conservation Education.
Charlotte leads a team of dedicated educators, who engage with schools and communities both in person and digitally to inspire young people to take action for the natural world. Last month, Charlotte was invited to speak at the TEDx Warrington event. TEDx gives a platform for inspiring speakers to talk about ideas worth sharing, and the importance of conservation education is definitely that.
We all need to be conservationists, and the numbers don’t lie. We are losing species up to 10,000 times faster than the natural rate – mostly because of the things we humans are doing. Charlotte’s talk explained how schools can create the conservation action we need today and empower the conservationists of tomorrow.
I was delighted to have the opportunity at TEDx Warrington to share why I think conservation education matters, and showcase the work we’ve done to make a conservation based curriculum a reality.
Charlotte Smith, Director of Conservation and Education.
Charlotte continued:
“Working at the zoo I experience every day that we all have a role to play in preventing extinction and ensuring a future for our planet. As an educationalist, I believe it’s so important that we teach conservation like this. Not just as a science subject, but embedded across the curriculum and linked to real conservation action.”
Charlotte’s TEDx talk can be viewed in full below:
CONSERVATION CURRICULUM
Find out how we’re putting conservation at the heart of the school curriculum. We believe that conservation action should be accessible to all young people so that future generations are equipped to deal with current and future environmental challenges.
CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION
Young people are still exposed to the huge topic of climate change daily, and they need the knowledge and aspirations to be able to tackle it. Through our resources and toolkits, we’re providing schools with everything they need to make a real difference today.