"Stalk like a leopard, change direction as quickly as a rhino, run like a cheetah," is how pupils are learning to respect and protect South African wildlife while having fun playing soccer.
"Stalk like a leopard, change direction as quickly as a rhino, run like a cheetah," is how pupils are learning to respect and protect South African wildlife while having fun playing soccer.
Coaching for Conservation in partnership with Investec Rhino Lifeline organised the eight-week soccer-based education programme for Grade 5 pupils from 13 schools in and around Grahamstown.
The programme aims to teach children about wildlife, establishing a connection through sports activities. The teaching is done using techniques that animals use to survive in the bush.
"Respect yourself, respect each other, and respect your environment," children chanted before a football match at an event held for members of the media and key stakeholders at St Andrew's College on Thursday 7 November.
"The Eastern Cape is the perfect place to introduce the programme because it is one of the few places in the country where school children are almost daily in contact with wild animals," said Lesley McNutt, a founder of Coaching for Conservation.
Coaching for Conservation is hosted by St Andrew's College and DSG in Grahamstown for the schools in the area, and at the new Sidbury sports club between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth for rural schools. It originates from the Botswana Predator Conservation Trust.
With its 23 years of field experience, the Trust is one of the world's conservation leaders.
