The Conservation Science Camp for Girls in Rural Areas returned recently to Eretsha, Botswana, where 30 girls from Seronga’s Ngambao Junior Secondary School underwent training. They participated in interactive talks and activities focused on nature, biodiversity, and conservation.

The camp, which is supported by the US Embassy and implemented by Children in the Wilderness Botswana, is intended to encourage school-going girls in rural areas to develop an interest in environmental conservation and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects, and to motivate them to continue into environmental science and STEM-based tertiary degrees and career trajectories.

The five-day camp exposed the children to the fields of environmental science and STEM, facilitated by an experienced all-women team of ecologists, scientists, conservationists, sociologists and educators.

The girls also used scientific methods to conduct mini-research projects. Other activities included career, life skills and leadership talks, as well as team projects and nature walks.

Among the facilitators were Nancy Kgengwenyane, Environmental and Natural Resources lawyer; Onkemetse Montsheki, FNBB Foundation Manager; Belda Mosepele, Senior Lecturer – Aquatic Ecology at BUAN; Dr Kelebogile Mfundisi, Physical Geographer & GIS Specialist at the University of Botswana’s Okavango Research Institute; and Mubuso Kakambi from WildCRU.

They were joined by a team from Ecoexist, which works in Botswana to find practical, affordable and effective ways for wildlife conservation to be taught in a sustainable way.

Also present at the camp was Karabo Mpai, an advocate for women’s empowerment who, through talks, yoga and dance, boosted the participants’ confidence and morale to open up and share their experiences and life ambitions.