Learning for Life programme

Project Overview
From 1998 to 1999, Living Earth implemented a 'Learning for Life' programme in Cameroon, funded by the National Lottery Charities Board.

The project aimed to improve the awareness, understanding, and motivation of people involved in the project about environmental issues which concern them and ultimately to help them contribute more sustainably towards the management of the country’s natural resources.

The main project activities carried out and the project achievements are detailed below:

• Six workshops were held with teachers in the Centre, South West and North West provinces of Cameroon during September and October 1998. The aim of the workshop was to solicit detailed and constructive feedback from teachers who had been exposed to and used environmental education teaching materials produced under the first phase of the Cameroon Environmental Education Support Programme, financed by the EU.
• A writing workshop was held over two days in February 1999. Prior to the workshop a number of school visits and meetings with teachers and relevant stakeholders were held to increase participation and widen the diversity of views being considered. Additional information meetings across the Littoral Province which further solicited inputs and increased awareness of the project.
• 12 primary and secondary teachers participated in the writing workshop as well as 3 Provincial Education Inspectors, and delegates from the Littoral Delegation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the National Agricultural Extension Programme and Douala University.
• Drafts of the materials were circulated to a number of schools in the province and feedback incorporated into revisions made prior to printing.
• In addition a piloting workshop was held in Douala in April1999 with 20 participants in attendance. Participants, recommended by the provincial education inspectorate, included 4 school inspectors, a representative from a local NGO called PARTNERSHIP, and 15 primary and secondary school teachers. Mr Tarkang Eyong, an environmental expert from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MINEF) was a part-time participant.
• Drawing on its experience in implementing the CEESP project, Living Earth Cameroon worked with teachers and professional designers and artists to produce a booklet and map which was suitable, in that its content was geared specifically to local flora, fauna and environmental conditions; exciting, because the material is non-didactic and promotes new ways of teaching the subjects, and; easy to use, because teachers participated fully at all stages and have received appropriate training.
• Two training and distribution workshops were held in Douala. More distribution and training took place at 9 workshops held in 5 locations across the Littoral Province. A total of 415 teachers have received training to date and the materials are being used in 192 primary and 109 secondary schools in Littoral province.

CEESP II, implemented between 2003 and 2005 built on lessons learned from this project.

Find out more about CEESP II here...