Mobile Classroom to Provide Environmental Education in Namibia

Children across Namibia will soon experience a hands-on environmental education learning unit, thanks to a new mobile classroom initiative.

The launch of the mobile classroom program, said to be the first of its kind in South Africa, is slated for September at an event for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital.

The curriculum is designed by the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust, and is intended to supplement existing school subjects and provide hands-on learning for environmental topics.

The program, entitled Ombombo (meaning “Butterfly”), will target rural areas especially, and focus on environmental issues relevant to Namibia, like water preservation, erosion, recycling, and renewable energy. Students will participate in fieldwork like testing soil samples and collecting insects. Teachers will also touch upon environmental career options for students after they graduate.

The classroom will be equipped with child-friendly tablets with internet access, and part of the learning unit will instruct children in rural areas to use the internet.

At each stop, the mobile classroom will conduct a five-day program and help to establish an environmental club at each school.

“Namibia has a variable climate and is dependent on its natural resources, therefore we need to take care of our environment,” said Maria Johannes, one of the teachers of the mobile classroom.

“This program will be beneficial to not only the youth but also the community, teachers as well as environmental officers at large.”

Creative Commons Love: jriggert on Flickr.com

Written by Carla Drumhiller Smith