THE WHISPERS OF A FEW
ECOTRAINING PARTNERS WITH CHINA TO CELEBRATE NATURE
“WHAT I EXPERIENCED AND LEARNT IN THOSE DAYS IS PRICELESS AND INSPIRING. I WISH MORE PEOPLE FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE WORLD COULD COME TO KNOW ECOTRAINING AND THE CONCEPTS AND BELIEFS IT HOLDS.” – MIRAR JAN, CHINA
The discipline of “conservation management” is fast growing with new methods and ideas being continually employed, but not always on a large enough scale to make a significant impact. To save our wilderness areas and their species, we need proactive measures that engage large volumes of people.
The simplest of these measures is the education of broad groups of people at one time. The whispers of a few can influence many, and the whispers of many can influence the masses. This is EcoTraining’s philosophy, and with the current fragile state of some species, time is of the essence!
With an increasing flow of Asian tourists to Africa, an opportunity has arisen for educational travel of numerous visitors, to play a role in conserving the land they so enjoy while visiting. EcoTraining is pioneering a new venture with partners in China to educate curious travellers in the delights of the natural world. By enlightening about eight to ten groups of travellers per year, some being potentially influential people, hopefully there will be a knock-on effect of creating a generation of more environmentally-- conscious travellers.
The seven-day EcoTraining EcoQuest course is designed to immerse its participants in the wilderness, concentrating specifically on reconnecting to nature, ecology, and conservation initiatives. Activities are tailored around such topics such as symbiotic relationships, the ecosystem, poaching issues, and the inter-relationships between all aspects of the ecosystem, including man’s own role.The highlights are animal tracks and tracking, bird identification, bush skills, learning big game behaviour, astronomy, tree identification and more.
Waking up to the beating heart of Africa as the cerise sun appears above the horizon is a primal experience, and for many it ignites their environmental conscience. By the end of this short exposure to the natural world, the eyes of these visitors will be opened to the extraordinary environment that they often did not know existed.
When the tourists return to their countries, the experiences and knowledge they gained will hopefully percolate through their social and business circles, and will aid the longevity of the natural environment they visited.