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IndianWildlifeClub -Environment Education Pyramid
The document outlines a multi-stage approach to ecological conservation and community engagement, starting from initial awareness and education to active participation and leadership in wildlife conservation. It describes various initiatives such as e-zines, video galleries, online forums, and eco-tourism to motivate and involve community members. The ultimate goal is to combine on-the-ground conservation efforts with online exchanges to foster a deep commitment to protecting forests and wildlife.
IndianWildlifeClub -Environment Education Pyramid
- 1. Stage VI Stake in ecological conservation Stage V Participation Exploring Environment Stage IV Insight How does it impact me, my community Stage III Awareness Can do mindset Stage II Education Facts, Experiences, Best Practices Stage I Information Interest Creation
- 2. STAGE I •Little orno awareness of wildlife •Seed content and structure created by the founder and a selected team to cater to this group •Wildscapes Photo gallery introduced Stage I Information Interest Creation
- 3. STAGE II • Someawareness -Could be a segment willing to learn more •Membership registration introduced •Monthly E-zines and Quiz introduced •Wildbytes video store and ‘Film Corner” introduced Stage II Education Facts, Experiences, Best Practices
- 4. STAGE III • Awaresegment: Can be motivated to take more active roles •Content for the e-zine created by volunteers and invited experts from among the registered members •Online chat moderated by experts •Offline photo exhibitions of empanelled photographers Stage III Awareness Can do mindset
- 5. STAGE IV • Committedwildlife lovers •Weblog introduced to encourage members to express themselves •Online publication of scholarly articles encouraged in “Club Chapters”. •Eco-tour Board of empanelled tour operators to facilitate eco-travel Stage IV Insight How does it impact me, my community
- 6. STAGE V •Online photoexhibition curated in 3D format for IWC members •IWC members encouraged to upload videos in Youtube which are showcased on home page •Forum for members being developed to share their learning and resources •IWC members enroll for online environment leadership programs Stage V Participation Exploring Environment
- 7. Stage VI •An onthe ground project combined with an online exchange “Wilderness Conservation Exchange” •The proposed solution is based on the premise that protecting forests can be done by investing in people. •Implementing the WCE project will see the maturation of our CoP Stake in ecological conservation
Editor's Notes
- #2 There are many platforms to talk about the economic growth of an organization. But few to talk about the social growth. Thank you KRDWG for giving us this opportunity. Alok and I will be talking briefly about the perceived and planned social growth of IWC with technology as the major enabler for growth.The common man enters at the bottom of the pyramid and moves up the pyramid. Innovation is in the content developed and structured such that it caters to people at any of these stages. Irrespective of what stage anyone is, there is something in the site for him/her. Content is continually being developed and structured suitably.The second innovation is getting members to contribute content, thereby increasing their ownership of the site.The third innovation is in leveraging social media to link the Club and its members.
- #3 Stage IIndianWildlifeClub.com has evolved into an initiative to involve the common man in the cause of environment conservationThe origins of IWC from a nationwide survey on awareness about Indian Elephants. The elephant is considered a keystone species, the ‘body’ of the forests. Hence we chose “the elephant quiz” as an instrument to measure awareness about conservation. Results from a detailed quiz on elephants collected from 330 respondents were analyzed to examine the possible commitment to conservation in this sample population. The majority of respondents were in the range of 3 to 4 correct answers i.e., - Some awareness -Could be a segment willing to learn more. Out of a total of 330 respondents 136 viz., 41% fell in this category. It was observed that 88% of the people surveyed have scored less than7/10 in the Quiz. As per the ‘EE pyramid’(adapted from Maslows pyramid of human needs Fig attached) 88% need environment education, catering to various levels of awareness.
- #5 Film makers/Book authors have been approaching us to host the chat.Historical data from the website IWC.com is analyzed to determine the efficacy of this medium in creating awareness about environment and natureIWC.com has been conducting a monthly quiz program on subjects of topical importance, which can be attempted by all club members. A look at the responses we received over 28 months supports our belief in the efficacy of online programs like quiz as an educational tool. A total of 600 responses were received during 28 months, the average monthly attempts being between 20 and 25. (The program allows one attempt only per member). During the period of about nine months when we had announced prizes for all correct answers, the responses went up to between 25 and 30. 60 % of the responses were from members aged between 18 and 30. 26% came from members aged between 30 and 50. Out of the total 600 responses, 30% scored above 7 out of 10. In 15 cases the percentage of respondents scoring above 7/10 was less than 30%, while in 12 cases the percentage of high scorers was above 30%. The percentage of high scorers, that is those who scored more than 7/10, averaged at 30%. This percentage is higher than the figure of 12% in our offline exercise using the quiz on elephants. There is a rationale behind this higher percentage. Though the website is open to all with an Internet connection, the quiz can be attempted only by registered members (free membership). Those who become members of IndianWildlifeClub.com are already motivated to learn/ are interested in learning about wildlife. The members who attempt the quiz are normally the highly interested/motivated individuals. This explains the fact that the scores obtained by online respondents are higher than those from the offline random sample who attempted the elephant quiz. Among the individuals who attempt the online quiz programs of IWC.com, the motivation to improve their knowledge remains high, as we see many members attempting the quiz on a regular basis. Members who kept coming back to attempt the quiz month on month for at least five months (not necessarily consecutive) were 31.
- #6 Results of the above “field experiment” suggest the potential for environment education through online communities. Online contests and incentives for correct answers will bring online participation in quiz programs to much higher levels. Strategic marketing efforts can bring in more of the least aware segment into the learning network.Using online educational tools can be a great success in Environment Education, we concluded. The community of nature lovers can become a community of practice who can be motivated to get involved in ground level projects.
- #7 A research project titled” Evolution of knowledge trail in an online forum – Structuring the learning process in a community of Practice” is now under consideration by ICSSR.In this project we plan to examine if a shared passion and an opportunity to learn from peers and experts will result in a meaningful and useful discussion in an online community of practice. The overall thrust of the project is to populate the environment education pyramid based on the online interactions over a period.
- #8 Wilderness Conservation Exchange (WCE) This project is an offshoot of continuous feedback received from our members of the lack of information/availability of volunteering opportunities in the Indian wilderness scene. This will be a “for profit” initiative on ground by IWC. WCE intervention will be at the levels of Knowledge Inclusion: Act as Knowledge connector across experts, society & local change agents through opinion sharing, communication & advocacy using a common platform. Increased Pie of Social Investment:. To Overcome the free rider problem of society (“sole responsibility forf conservation lies with Govt”), change in mind set from “National property” to “Social property” is required. For this besides capital investment, social investment has to be there by investing in people.Recognition of Neglected/Unidentified/Unprotected Biodiversity: An international study says biological diverse countries tend to spend less on protected areas than the less diverse countries & it’s true of India. The situation can be improved only through effective community engagement and awareness through bottom-up & top- down strategies. Our solution is based on the premise that protecting forests can be done by investing in people. The problems facing conservation stand to gain tremendously from the active involvement of volunteers. India has always had good environment laws and wildlife laws but the implementation on the ground has been lacking. Government departments and most NGOs are widely known to be acutely short of trained ground level staff. Paid volunteerism in India is not well documented or followed up. Our solution preselects implementing agencies working on conservation issues. WCE connects volunteers with institutions working in the wilderness conservation area and provide them with a steady stream of trained volunteers. We plan to operate the exchange which will monitor and document the work done by the volunteers. WCE will also take care of deployment of funds by funding agencies who come forward to support the cause. IWC members will be encouraged to visit project sites to motivate and report on the work done. Besides keeping the volunteers enthused this will add valuable content to our portal in the form of current reporting from remote areas.