On Wednesday, 4 July 2012, the Iimbovane project team hosted a group of visitors from the Global Environmental Teachings (GET) Programme.
The visiting group consisted of eighteen educators from schools in the United States of America and South Africa. The programme started with the Iimbovane project team giving an overview of the project’s research and outreach goals and was followed by a practical ant identification session whereby the visitors tried their hand at identifying a variety of ant species.
The visitors commended the project team for the manner in which they raise the awareness about biodiversity and science among the youth, especially among the youth from previously disadvantaged communities, who often have a poor understanding of biodiversity.
The GET Programme is a non-profit organization located at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point which aims to increase the awareness and knowledge about environmental education by exposing participating educators to environmental education projects around the globe.
The GET Programme is visiting South Africa from 22 June – 11 July 2012.
The group was so inspired by the project that they wrote a small poem for the Iimbovane project team:
Ode to an Ant
Oh, mighty ant
However, some have called you small,
Your numbers, how they shock us all.
You work so hard to feed your folk,
We depend on you,
It is no joke.
Ant, “mier”, “imbovane” is what you’re called,
It is just a name,
Without all of you, biodiversity is gone…a shame.
By Cindy Byers (USA) and Regan Ford (SA)
Global Environment Teachings (GET) Programme
South Africa Tour 2012