Over 280 students from Kubung, Xhabara and Khwai primary schools have benefited from the bush experience project, a partnership between Natural Selection Botswana and Wild Entrust Organization through the Coaching Conservation program.
The aim of the program held from the 3rd-12th February 2025 at Thamo Telele Lodge, Maun as well as in Khwai village was to give the students personal wildlife experiences. The daily activities performed through the project included game walks, herd lessons in the bush and games.
In an interview, Wild Entrust’s Coaching Conservation Program Facilitator, Patience Isaacs said the bush experience project is aligned with their objective of teaching the children about conservation and wildlife through play and interactive lessons. Isaacs stated that the project targeted students doing standard six from the said three schools. She revealed that the plan is to expand the project to Okavango Panhandle schools.
Natural Selection’s Thamo Telele General Manager, Tanya King underscored that it was imperative to partner with Wild Entrust in their Coaching for Conservation program in order to teach children across Ngamiland about wildlife conservation. The decision to partner was also based on the efficiency of the organisation, in that it had also partnered with the ministry of basic education and child welfare.
She said the proximity of Kubung and Xhabara primary schools to Thamo Telelele informed their decision to choose their students for a bush experience.
King underscored the importance of the project in exposing the students to wildlife, giving them the opportunity to learn about wild animals, which they may not have the opportunity to see in their habitat.
Sponsoring community and conservation projects is at the core of Natural Selection operations, with each camp motivated to do one of those projects.
Sarah Motokara, a standard six teacher at Kubung Primary School said that giving the students a personal wildlife experience goes in line with their school syllabus and that would boost the students’ performance in their academics as they get to see experience what they are taught in school.
