Future of Zoo Education in China | First Training Session | Program Impact

Zoo Atlanta is committed to saving the giant panda. The Zoo’s Panda Conservation Fund supports biological monitoring, field patrols and infrastructure in thee critical giant panda reserves in China’s Sichuan Province. In 1999, through partnership with the Chengdu Research Base and Chengdu Zoo, Zoo Atlanta received a pair of giant pandas, Yang Yang (male) and Lun Lun (female) on a 10-year research and breeding loan from the Chengdu Research Base. Together, our organizations are now recognized leaders in giant panda research on breeding, social and maternal behavior, and the Zoo actively works with partners in China to advance husbandry and veterinary practices.

Zoo Atlanta is also leading the effort to bring conservation education to zoos in China. With the support and guidance of our partners in Chengdu, the Zoo helped establish the first education departments at the Chengdu Zoo and Chengdu Research Base, leading to the hiring and training of some of the first professional zoo educators ever appointed in China and the collaborative creation of several conservation education programs at both facilities.

In response, the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG) expressly asked Zoo Atlanta to replicate these successes through a professional training program designed to bring conservation education to all 218 accredited zoos in China. Thus, Zoo Atlanta created an ambitious six-year master plan to develop and implement the Academy for Conservation Training (ACT).

Academy for Conservation Training: The Future of Zoo Education in China

Funded by UPS

Funded by The UPS Foundation, the award-winning ACT program is the preeminent conservation education training for Chinese zoo professionals. Curriculum was based on four years of field testing and education system investigations with Chinese children and families, with the goal of addressing the knowledge and experiences these audiences needed to make meaningful connections with animals and the environment.

ACT developers also worked with administrators and instructors from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) professional conservation education course, which has shaped the U.S. zoological industry since 1997. Before the development of ACT in 2006, no such training existed for Chinese zoo educators.

The goal of ACT is to work with CAZG to create and support a professional network of educators with the skills, knowledge and tools needed to design and maintain effective conservation education programs at their facilities.

ACT’s main objectives are to:

• Create and implement a culturally-relevant, cost-effective and self-sustaining conservation education training academy and model programs utilizing best practices developed by U.S. zoos;

• Establish a network of professionally trained conservation educators who will eventually take ownership of content and training;

• Gain the support and collaboration of zoo directors to work toward this initiative;

• Fully transfer ACT management to CAZG.

ACT Participants Interview Guests about Signage

The core component of ACT is a five-day education primer covering best practices in zoo education, including program design and implementation, evaluation methods, conservation messages and interpretive techniques. ACT also includes a practical component consisting of training on a particular educational strategy (model program) and implementing that strategy with an audience. Opportunities for hands-on practice and confidence in running programs on zoo grounds are critical to the participants’ abilities to replicate or adapt these programs at their respective institutions.

First Training Session

ACT piloted its first training session in Chengdu in June 2006. Participants came from 21 of the 34 regions in China. Most of these individuals came from zoos that had virtually no education departments or staff, while others came from facilities where they were the sole educators. Others ranged from veterinarians and animal care staff to communications specialists, and two were zoo directors.

In keeping with the goals of self-sustainability and ultimate program transfer, all primer sections were taught by a Chinese national from Zoo Atlanta or team-taught by a U.S. instructor paired with a Chengdu conservation educator. This collaborative approach worked well from a training standpoint, while fostering increased self-confidence and leadership skills.

	Chengdu Teaching Team

The second portion of the training provided hands-on instruction in running the ACT Conservation Camp. Participants practiced giving lessons and running activities under the mentorship of instructors. The participants then taught lessons, played games and managed 59 campers during a five-day overnight camp. For many, this was their first experience teaching.

Participants concluded their ACT experience by brainstorming next steps in building a professional network of zoo educators. As the future leaders in conservation education in China, these passionate, enthusiastic ACT graduates now possess the tools for affecting positive change in their communities. The first ACT session signified the initial step Chinese zoos have taken in acknowledging conservation education as an essential part of their mission.  Learn more about the first ACT session and to access the evaluation report (PDF documents).

Program Impact

Since the launch of ACT in 2006, the program has graduated 161 professionals from 26 of the 34 regions in China. Graduates represent 42 zoos and wildlife parks, which collectively reach over 40 million annual visitors. In 2006, only 26% of participating institutions had education departments. Now, after four ACT sessions, that number has increased to 42%.

Based on results from a longitudinal study conducted with program graduates in 2008, ACT provides the skills, knowledge and tools needed for designing, implementing and evaluating effective conservation education programs. ACT also has the potential to make an impact on the establishment of the conservation education profession in CAZG-accredited zoos in China, and program graduates are beginning to establish a professional network supporting this emerging profession.

Listen to what a few Academy graduates have to say:

“ACT is a turning point in my life. It is also the turning point for conservation education in China”. – ACT graduate and co-teacher Lu Yan, Changchun Zoo

“Hand in hand, together we create a more beautiful tomorrow for conservation education in China”. – ACT graduate Zhang Xiaofeng, Shenzhen Safari Park

“ACT lets us see the hope of Chinese zoos. This is also the hope for all animals in zoos”. – ACT graduate Sheng Cheng, Roots and Shoots