Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Oct 21 2009 | By: Julie

2009’s conservation classes are wrapping up. January 2010, we’ll begin with a new group of children and their classroom teachers. But until then, the AoC team and I are determinedly revving up for one last effort to bring home what we have taught and involved our students, their teachers, their fellow classmates, and their families in - at our forthcoming Parents as Partners Open Houses.

In retrospect, I wish we had started with a parents open house in addition to finishing our year with another. I see all too clearly a lack of communication between parent and child, an absence of responsibility and compassion, a complacency and waiting for the next hand out. It was suggested more than once to us that parents would be more likely to attend the open house which begins at 9:00 am if we were to serve beer… I responded with something like there is NOT a chance in …., but we will offer fruit juice!

Change does begin with an individual and it does take time, but in a place like Rwanda with its relatively recent draconian history and the human population so high and such little land space, I feel we must do all we can to get our messages about health and conservation to our students and their families.

Each student writes his or her name on the invitation seen above - with the invitation in both English and Kinyarwanda - and takes it home.

Below, our invitation to park officials, district leaders, teachers, and more.

Eric and Innocent are working on their five minute speeches they will present to parents and invited guests which will stress the need to work together, as a team, if we want to make real change.

Wish us luck!

Tags: , children, communication, conservation, education, health, mountain gorillas

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Oct 18 2009 | By: Julie

To love, protect, and feel compassion for a mountain gorilla is to really see a mountain gorilla - in all its shapes and forms. Our students have always been told that they should protect mountain gorillas - their immediate neighbors in Volcanoes National Park. Being told is one thing, but to understand and develop feelings of compassion is another. Art of Conservation’s approach toward inspiring young people to really care for each other, animals, and the entire natural world is through dialogue, exploration, and art.

Please view our video from two class sessions of creating papier mache mountain gorillas.

AoC student Job proudly displays mountain gorillas he and his classmates made. Photo by Molly Feltner.

Tags: art, children, education, endangered species, mountain gorillas, rwanda

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Sep 29 2009 | By: Julie

If you’ve been watching our lesson on evolution, Day 1 & 2 of our safari took us to the formation of Planet Earth 4.5 billion years ago, followed by the first signs of life around 4 billion years ago, continents shifting, mass extinctions, dinosaurs. Our last leg of the trip, Day 3, we come upon the 5 great apes - orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and hominids. As for what’s in store for the next million years, I don’t know!

Tags: education, evolution, mountain gorillas, rwanda

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Sep 24 2009 | By: Julie

To teach Art of Conservation’s students about evolution, we travel through time from the formation of Earth to today.

Join us on our journey.

Tags: education, evolution, mountain gorillas, rwanda

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Sep 22 2009 | By: Julie

During our first 2 years of conservation education classes, the AoC team would frequently hear students ask, “Where do gorillas come from?” The first time I heard the question was when a park service employee was visiting the class and sharing information about the forest, mountain gorillas, and his job duties. He was hesitant to give an answer or explanation. I thought, wow, what a shame people who work so closely with the endangered mountain gorillas do not feel comfortable discussing the evolution theories behind one of our closest relatives. This got the AoC team really thinking about how we could use this as a topic for a lesson. Thus began our own research on how, why, and when our great ape ancestor started evolving. Where did we start—with the formation of Planet Earth 4.5 billion years ago!

Julie asks the students questions. “When was Earth formed?” “Was the planet as we see it today?” “Are you the same as you were one year ago today or have you changed?” Photo by Molly Feltner.

We step outside to the schoolyard to begin our walk through time. First stop, the formation of Earth. Students hold props, such as papier mache dinosaurs and great ape masks, until the time is right to introduce them onto the scene of life. Photo by Molly Feltner.

Our safari has brought us up to 144 million years ago when the Earth is blooming with flowers and plant-eating dinosaurs like the stegosaurus are dominating the landscape. Photo by Molly Feltner.

Well into our story and getting closer to the appearance of the great apes, we learn that the present day location of the continents has not always been as it is.

I can safely say that universally all kids love dinosaurs! Our students had not heard of them before a few weeks ago when we were discussing the meaning of threatened, endangered, and extinct species. AoC volunteer Molly Feltner made this beauty of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Kids are crazy about it. Photo by Molly Feltner.

We have to travel a long evolutionary journey before we finally come upon the 5 great apes. It is easy to describe the obvious differences between monkeys and apes with the kids. They see golden monkeys nearby with their long, beautiful tails walking on all fours as well as occasionally seeing the mountain gorillas when they come out of the park to eat eucalyptus bark, without a tail and occasionally running on their two feet. Photo by Molly Feltner.

Using gorilla masks to help with our lesson, we stop a moment to talk about gorilla classification. Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringer beringer) are a sub-species of Eastern Gorillas (Gorilla beringer). Photo by Molly Feltner.

After gorillas we meet chimpanzees, bonobos, and finally the youngest of the hominids species, you and me, Homo sapiens. Photo by Molly Feltner.

More soon on evolution and “Where Do Gorillas Come From?”

Tags: children, education, endangered species, evolution, mountain gorillas

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Sep 02 2009 | By: Julie

Kicking off our section called Animals Living in Volcanoes National Park, we begin with MOUNTAIN GORILLAS.

To begin the lesson, visuals are passed around the classroom.

What forests do mountain gorillas inhabit?

AoC teachers, Fahad and Innocent, share mountain gorilla information.

AoC art teacher Eric is busy at the chalkboard with the drawing lesson of an anatomically correct mountain gorilla in relation to the average height of a human being.

Bristol paper, watercolor paper, pencil and watercolors used in today’s lesson.

Students turn in their mountain gorilla pictures and put away their materials.

Tags: children, conservation, education, mountain gorillas

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Sep 01 2009 | By: Julie

Hi Paula and Sophie. Thank you for your recent comments and encouragement. We appreciate it. The end of the 2009 school year is quickly approaching as the kids get out in October. We still have many things to cover such as helping WLD with its Stop Wildlife Poisoning campaign!

And now… the painterly-side of mountain gorillas from kids in Rwanda. Enjoy!

The pictures above are from AoC’s Animals Living in Volcanoes National Park lessons. In addition to studying facts about the animals and their habitat, students are then asked to draw an anatomically correct mountain gorilla followed by a draw your own mountain gorilla exercise. These are the draw your own variety.

Tags: barazza, children, education, endangered species, mountain gorillas, Year Of The Gorilla

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Aug 31 2009 | By: Julie

Hello friends! I just returned from a much needed 20-day break and oh how nice the respite was. Since January until the day I left, I think I took perhaps two days off to simply do nothing - so catching up with family and friends in the US for a few weeks was rejuvenating.

Now, back in Rwanda, I am pleased to be at work, with the team, with the kids at school, and with my dogs!

Eric, Innocent, and Fahad carried on brilliantly with AoC classes while I was away. Let’s get going by showing you some of the delightful drawings from exercises with the theme of Animals Living in Volcanoes National Park. We start out with none other than the MOUNTAIN GORILLA.

Draw a mountain gorilla anatomically correct!

Once you’ve finished the study, use any of the materials available, such as watercolors and oil crayons.

Students ranging from 10 to 14 years of age are fully engaged in the exercises.

Since working with the Rwandan kids for the past few years, I am completely assured that they thrive on hands-on, interactive, and creative learning exercises.

More soon.

Tags: art, children, conservation, education, mountain gorillas, rwanda, The Year of the Gorilla

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Jul 28 2009 | By: Julie

Hi, this is Danielle. School is back in session…

Students return this week after a three week break. Now I get the opportunity to teach with AoC.

Fahad, Innocent, Eric, and I plan the class agenda. Photo Michael Young 2009.

Everyday is a new day and the team of Art of Conservation tries to plan for everything. This not only includes the lesson plans but also how a lesson will be translated, the visual aids we can use, and most importantly an art project. This helps the children express what they have learned through a different method besides writing and speaking. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with all the team members because without them our lessons would not go as smooth as they do. It has been a challenging and great learning experience for me to coordinate with a translator. This experience has taught me to listen carefully and most importantly to be patient.

This photo is of the students working with a map of Africa.

For today’s lesson we emphasized the difference between countries and continents. We also went over relative location and how to use a compass. The goal of the lesson was for the children to walk out of the classroom having a greater understanding of where in the world they live and why Africa and Rwanda are unique places in the world.

Art projects are always fun for children.

Being able to express yourself through art not only gives the child a sense of comfort but also gives them a freedom they can not have through other types of expression. We gave a broad theme for them to decorate their envelopes with: What do you think is unique about Africa and/or Rwanda. The theme tied into the lesson so we could inspire the children to think of geography as not only maps and text but as a piece of art work.

Tags: conservation education, mountain gorillas, rwanda

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Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Jun 27 2009 | By: Julie

If Rwandans are teaching their fellow Rwandans that they should love and protect mountain gorillas and their habitat, it makes sense that those teachers should have actually seen a mountain gorilla, right? Well, through my years living and working in the northern province of Rwanda, I’ve come to the realization that most Rwandans, including all of the Rwandan AoC staff members, have never seen a gorilla in its natural habitat. Most say it the price of a permit—$40 for Rwandan citizens—is out of their budget.

I think it’s vitally important for Rwandans to feel connected to the animals the world wants them to protect, and I think there’s no better way to develop this connection than to experiencing the gorillas in the wild. So, a few weeks ago, the AoC Rwandan staff got to see gorillas for the first time on a trek we organized with the park authority (ORTPN) and Amahoro Tours. Here’s an account of the day written by staff translator and teacher Innocent UWIZEYE:

No one missed our 6am meeting time with Amahoro Tours at the Muhabura Hotel. Our team was composed of 6 AoC staff members including Eric, Mugabe, Aimable, Phocas, Donat, and myself. We were driven to the ORTPN office where we met François and Puppy, our guides. They first briefed us about the background of Sabyinyo, the group we were about to visit, and then we were driven to Volcanoes National Park (PNV).

Before reaching the park fence, we walked for about 20 minutes through an area that was named after one of Sabyinyo’s group members, Gihishamwotsi. Here we had another briefing relating to how we should behave vis-à-vis with the gorillas. We needed to observe a 7 meter distance, avoid littering, switch off our phones, avoid flash while taking pictures, and make little noise.

We entered PNV at almost 9 am. After covering a short distance, we saw the first gorilla up a tree looking for leaves to eat. It was really amazing to look at it above our heads! It did not care about our presence and just kept on eating leaves. After some minutes it got down from the tree and passed us to join its family members which we were walking to see.

Most of the gorillas had just finished eating and were resting nearby. It was really marvelous to look almost all the Sabyinyo Group members gathered in the same place, under the leadership of the silverback Guhonda, the chief! He was sitting down surrounded by his wives and babies just relaxing. Phocas, as most with of the team, could not believe his eyes that he was seeing live gorillas, for he had only seen pictures of them before. He was so amazed by them and he said he thought humans and gorillas really can be good neighbors.

A few gorillas were busy in the forest. While others were resting peacefully, one of them climbed up a tree looking for some leaves and unknowingly disturbed a hive of bees. The bees reacted by stinging the gorilla and the rest of the group, who were forced to move to a safer place. We followed them and as we moved, a large gorilla who was not the lead silverback but a sort deputy chief suddenly ran towards us, frightening some of us. After looking at all of us very proudly, he sat down and exploded with strong-smelling gas! On our way to the new place where the group had moved to, the deputy chief tried to hinder us and but our guides helped us find our way to the rest of the group. We went through a narrow way crossed by bamboo and countless other species of plants.

After one hour of watching the gorillas, we were told it was time to leave. As soon as we began to walk out, we started talking about our experience. The guides took the opportunity to inform us about how the park uses the revenue obtained from tourism. They told us that it mainly helps in improving the livelihood of the population living near the park and is used to fund the building of schools, water tanks, health clinics, and other facilities. It is also used in supporting associations of former poachers, handicrafts producers, and other groups. The guides also requested that we become advocates for the park wherever we go.

At the end of our trip, we were offered certificates testifying that we visited Sabyinyo Group. Afterwards, all of us headed for AoC Office where we joined our Director Julie and some other staff members who were curious about our trip. Each person in the group took a turn to talk about his favorite memories. It was an experience none of us will ever forget.

Tags: mountain gorillas, park guides, protected area, tourism

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