The Kasiisi Project · Elizabeth Ross, Founder & Director · 64 Linnaean Street · Cambridge MA 01238 · USA · +1.617.493.5775
Conservation education has been a key focus area for the Kasiisi Project from the beginning. The
project was originally started by primate researchers from the
Kibale Chimpanzee Project (KCP) in nearby Kibale Forest,
in large part to raise awareness among nearby communities about the criticality of saving the forest and
its denizens. Widespread deforestation and over-cultivation of farmland near the forest have led to
firewood shortages, diminishing production of crops, and adverse changes in weather patterns. The KCP website
has an informative summary
of Kasiisi Project conservation activities with images from noted nature photographer Ronan Donovan (left).
Many of our partner organizations are dedicated to conservation education. An umbrella organization, the Kibale Forest Coalition for Conservation Education, was formed in 2009 to coordinate work by conservation groups around Kibale Forest. The Kasiisi Project and its partners provide ongoing lectures, dramas, videos, field trips, and many kinds of interactive activities related to conservation.
The Kasiisi Project and partners UNITE, North Carolina Zoo, and Nature for Kids were funded in late 2011 to create multi-language educational videos about great apes. The Kasiisi Project blog has more information about these primate conservation videos.
During the summer of 2011, many volunteers from around the world participated in conservation education at the Kasiisi Project primary schools. Rwabuhinga Francis, a former Kasiisi Scholar, was appointed as trainee Conservation Education Director to coordinate these and other activities. Here is more blog information about summer education volunteers 2011.
In early 2011 the Cleveland Zoo funded a school education project that explored the effects of deforestation on water quality. Working with the Kasiisi Fish Project, students and teachers applied multiple technologies including GPS location management. See the Project blog for more about water quality studies.
