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

Zoo Atlanta is committed to helping conserve the giant panda. Through our Panda Conservation Fund, Zoo Atlanta supports biological monitoring, field patrols, and infrastructure in three critical panda reserves in China’s Sichuan Province. In 1999, through our successful partnership with the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (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 loan from the Chengdu Research Base. Together, our organizations are now recognized leaders in giant panda research on breeding, social and maternal behavior, and Zoo Atlanta actively advances husbandry and veterinary practices with our partners in China.

Zoo Atlanta is also an innovative leader in bringing conservation education to zoos in China. In the United States, zoos are required to include Education departments to receive accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). However, Education departments have traditionally not been included in Chinese zoos. With the support and guidance of our partners in Chengdu, Zoo Atlanta helped establish the first Conservation Education departments at the Chengdu Zoo and Chengdu Research Base, which led to the hiring and training of some of the first professional Chinese zoo educators ever appointed in China and the collaborative creation of several conservation education programs at both facilities.

In response to these impressive outcomes, the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens (CAZG) expressly asked Zoo Atlanta to replicate its success in Chengdu through the creation of the premier professional development training program designed specifically to bring conservation education to all accredited zoos in China. In response, 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

Never before has a program been so uniquely positioned to forward the field of conservation education in zoos around the world. Funded by The UPS Foundation, the award-winning ACT program is the preeminent conservation education training designed specifically for zoos in China. Each component of ACT was developed based on four-years of field-testing and education system investigations to determine what Chinese children and families need to learn and be exposed to in order to make meaningful connections towards animals and the environment.

	Participants Discover Natural Wonders

These investigations informed the creation of the Academy’s three-tiered intensive ten-day training approach that enables zoo professionals to design, implement and evaluate education programs at their own facilities. To do this, the training begins with a five-day workshop on the theories, tools and best practices needed to design, develop, implement and evaluate programs and exhibit interpretation. Instructors demonstrate how to connect visitors to wildlife and how zoos can inspire conservation action by modeling effective informal teaching methods and getting the participants out of the classroom.

Once participants are trained on foundational knowledge and have the tools needed to become successful conservation educators, they are given the opportunity to put these ideas into practice by gaining experience running one of ACT’s field-tested programs (Conservation Camp or Nature Rangers field trips). By providing hands-on experience and inspiring confidence in running an effective education program on zoo grounds, training participants receive the essential components required to replicate or adapt these programs at their host institutions.

First Training Session

Headed by the Zoo Atlanta Conservation Education Division and advised by an Advisory Board of expert zoo educators from the U.S., the Academy for Conservation Training piloted its first session in July 2006 in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. Participants came from 21 of the 34 regions throughout the People’s Republic of China to attend the Academy. Most of them came from zoos with virtually no education departments or staff. For those that had education departments, the participants were the sole educators at their facility. Others ranged from veterinarian and animal care staff to communications specialists, and even included two zoo directors. Collectively, their facilities reach a total of 36 million annual visitors and represent 23 zoos and wildlife parks, the Wolong Giant Panda Conservation Center, Roots and Shoots, as well the Northeast Forestry University.

ACT Training Team in  Chengdu

In keeping with the tenor of self-sustainability, and to ensure smooth delivery, all sections in the first portion of training were either taught by a Chinese national from the Zoo Atlanta team, or team-taught by an expert U.S. instructor paired with a Chengdu Zoo or Chengdu Research Base conservation educator who lead activities and group work to supplement the lecture. This collaborative approach worked well from a training standpoint, while also fostering increased self-confidence and leadership skills in the newly developing network of Chinese zoo educators.

Throughout the first week, participants transformed from complete strangers to professional colleagues. Their effectiveness at working together culminated in the group project presentations, which incorporated all of the key components of the education training. Our ACT trainers who are current and past instructors at AZA’s Conservation Education School noted that the presentations were equivalent in quality and depth of knowledge application to similar projects created by conservation educators in the U.S. In addition to the strong evaluation results, these presentations reflected that the participants absorbed, understood and implemented the information at a professional level.

	Observing Animals during Conservation Camp

During the second portion of the training, Chengdu Zoo and Chengdu Research Base educators provided hands-on instruction and shared their experiences in running the ACT Conservation Camp. Participants practiced giving lessons and running activities while these instructors offered feedback and gave suggestions for improvement. Following Camp training, the newly trained participants taught lessons, played games and managed 59 campers during a five-day overnight camp. For many, this was their first experience in teaching.

Inspired and empowered, these participants concluded their ACT experience by brainstorming next steps needed to build their newly emerging professional network of zoo educators. As the new leaders in conservation education, this network of passionate and enthusiastic ACT graduates now possess the tools needed to bring positive change to their communities. The success of the first ACT session signifies the initial step Chinese zoos have taken in reorienting their focus towards acknowledging that conservation education should serve as an essential part of the mission of their zoos.

ACT Graduate Implements Camp at Kunming Zoo

Program Impact

Since the launch of its first training session in 2006, ACT has produced 45 graduates from diverse backgrounds at 27 Chinese zoological institutions. These facilities collectively receive over 36 million annual visitors. At last count, over 65% of ACT participating institutions have either adapted one of Academy’s model programs or are using the learned methodologies to create new education programs almost immediately following training.

The ultimate goal of ACT is to bring conservation education to all 218 accredited zoos in China. If this goal is realized, zoos in China will have a collective capacity to reach up to 400 million Chinese zoo visitors a year with effective conservation education programs and messages.

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