Environmental Education in rural communities - Greater Kruger

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Our Green Kidz Environmental Education programme, is an after school club that runs each day and welcomes around 70 up to 90 kids (2024) from the local village and aims to grow wildly passionate young people. The program uses many strategies for teaching from physical activities, computer based learning and creative development. You will be immersed into the project as one of the team members.

We believe that conservation and communities cannot exist in isolation of each other - hence our goals through all our projects to interlink, grow, conserve and uplift. The holism of Nourish is important as it works with the community as a whole to see the problems in a bigger picture.

Our Environmental Education program work daily with children from primary schools teaching environmental education and taking these learners on conservation-based field trips, to give them an understanding of nature and their role in protecting it. Poaching/illegal killing of wildlife has become a daily threat to conservation, with rhino poaching (as well as lion, elephant, pangolin, and vulture) threatening on a daily basis. Animals are being killed for their horns, tusk, bones or skins.
We believe that conservation and communities cannot exist in isolation of each other - hence our goals through all our projects to interlink, grow, conserve and uplift. The holism of our programs is important as it works with the community as a whole to see the problems in a bigger picture.

You will be immersed into the project as one of the team members to engage in the planning and running of the programs, from 8am to 4pm, with
- Helping our staff to be ready for the day
- Going to one of our outreach school to provide our environmental lessons
- Creating content for the Green Kidz programs (Environmental Lessons, workshop, presentation etc..)
- Supervising the activities with the kids
- Helping the kids with projects
- Supervising kids on field trips, camps when they happen and external activities.

This opportunity is like no other, as you are based at the Eco Village itself and will experience Africa like you never have before. Volunteers will stay at Shik Shack Backpackers situated on the same property as the Nourish Eco Village.

You will spend your day working with the team, learning from them and having an amazing experience! The work is very hand-on, so expect to be busy but remember to have fun!

We have a programming structure as follows:

- Green Kidz (our environmental education programme - We support 11 elementary-schools around the area)
- Social Enterprise, where we support and grow small businesses through an incubator
- Agro-Ecology training, very similar to permaculture, but more suited to African conditions
- Rise creches (Our Early Childhood Development programme. We support 6 pre-schools around the area)
- Eco Village (this includes our recycling programme and our general day to day outreach into the village around us).

You will be immersed into the project as one of the team members to engage in the planning and running of the programs. You can combine our projects during your time with us or focusing on one (your choice). You will have the opportunity to explore our amazing area during the weekend (extra cost - We can organize it!)

Included in your stay with us:

• Accommodation
• Three meals per day (7 days per week)
• Pick up and drop off from Hoedspruit or Airport
• Oversight and inclusion in your work and activities
• Nourish T-Shirt
• SIM card (if needed)
• WIFI
• Field trips with our Green Kidz to local spots like the Kruger National Park, or animal rehabilitation center

100% of your payment will go through our Nourish Foundation to help us to run all of our programs.

At Nourish Eco Village our goal is to create sustainable change - and have long-term impact in the spheres of sustainability, conservation and community resilience. We believe that by working to grow resilient wildlife communities that are healthy, educated, and have access to employment opportunities, we can break the poverty cycle and thus impact the poaching coming out of rural areas.

The community of Sigagule and the surrounding rural villages in the Acornhoek area of Mpumalanga struggle daily with even the most basic elements of life. Access to running water, and electricity is a difficulty most face daily. There is a high unemployment rate, many children have access to schooling, but education levels are extremely low at schools, and the biggest economic contributor to the area - tourism - is out of reach for many. It is in this context that Nourish works.

Our projects are all interlinked and holistic, in order to help a community grow in all aspects. Our programming focuses are Education, Enterprise and Tourism.

• Make a real, lasting difference in young people's lives through your participation in our conservation education projects.
• Build new knowledge around conservation issues faced in Africa from a local perspective
• Gain real world experience in hands on projects aimed at environmental responsibility
• Visit Kruger National Park and get the chance to see an elusive leopard or experience the gentleness of an elephant.
• Enjoy an authentic South African experience in food, culture and wildlife together with staff, locals and other volunteers from around the globe!