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Community outreach is an important component of the SFS model and this semester the Cambodia program is launching an exciting new collaboration for our community outreach work! We are collaborating with Fauna in Focus – a new wildlife environmental education and public awareness project and Paññāsāstra University of Cambodia (PUC) to support the development and design of educational resources for school students. SFS students are working in small groups with PUC students to brainstorm ideas for engaging activities on a number of environmental topics such as waste management, animal diversity and primates in Cambodia. These will supplement materials already developed by Fauna in Focus.

During the first workshop held last week Fauna in Focus project director Dan Roper-Jones and head educator Samban Chea provided an overview of their work and showcased some of the inspiring games and classes that they have designed for Cambodian school students. Part of their work so far has been the production of the ground breaking Cambodian Nature Film. This hands-on introduction was very useful for the students to provide direction for the development process of the new materials. It was also a fun way to support cross cultural engagement between the Cambodian and American university students.

Students are excited to keep working on their projects over the upcoming sessions with PUC and Fauna in Focus. Overall this collaboration is an enjoyable and productive way for students to engage in cross cultural exchange while making a meaningful contribution to an important and worthwhile environmental cause – local environmental education.

All photos courtesy of Peter Wedell.

→ Conservation & Development Studies in Cambodia