Environmental education in primary school and local clubs in rural Ghana

We are seeking volunteers to support The Hub in their mission to inspire the local community's youth and cultivate an interest in environmental conservation. As part of our initiative, in partnership with the primary and JSS school, we have established the Environmental Club. We are looking for individuals who can assist in developing and piloting locally relevant educational materials for the Environmental Club. These materials will aim to teach general environmental knowledge, and sustainable livelihood skills and promote the importance of protecting the local environment. By volunteering with us, you will play a vital role in empowering the youth and fostering a sense of responsibility towards sustainability, creating a positive impact and shaping a environmental future for the local community.

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Project description

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The Environmental Club is a collaborative initiative between the Hub, a community center that promotes environmental awareness and plastic waste management, and the local primary and lower-secondary school. Its primary goal is to instill in children an appreciation for their environment and its rich biodiversity and an understanding of the threats it faces. Through a combination of classroom learning, creative arts, and hands-on skills training, the Environmental Club aims to equip children with practical knowledge on how to protect natural resources and inspire them to become advocates for sustainable land-use practices. The Environmental Club coordinator, supported by volunteers and technical experts, conducts the lessons, which currently take place weekly on Friday afternoons, with occasional special sessions during school vacations and weekends. The vision is to expand the club's activities to include summer camps for local and non-local children and involve the area's high schools.

To ensure that the knowledge gained by Environmental Club participants is relevant and relatable to their local environment and lifestyles, it is crucial to adapt the teaching and learning materials. While many resources are available online, they are often developed in Western countries and focus on species and ecosystems not found in Ghana. Therefore, the aim is to develop a Environmental Club curriculum, along with related toolkits and lesson plans, that specifically cover topics pertinent to Ghanaian children, particularly those living in rural communities.

Goal: To develop, pilot and scale a Environmental Club curriculum and implementation model to generate an interest and curiosity among Ghanaian children to protect the country’s natural resources and inspire them to promote sustainable land use.

Vacancy requirements

Fully self-funded, however, we do encourage fundraising or crowdfunding
Passionate and capable in your field
Good command of the English language
Ability to adapt, culturally sensitive since its a small community
Relevant Skills and Experience Working with children
Emotional Resilient and independent and self-confidence; comfortable being on your own
Enjoy outdoor life, adventure is a pre to enjoy your stay
Patience, since the pace is slower and it takes longer to get things done or organised

Stories

109 reviews with an average rating of 4.7 / 5.

Loes van Hest

Swaziland/Eswatini

2024

I went to Swaziland for 9 weeks, where I was able to see and experience a lot of the culture and population. At the various schools you get right into the living areas of the population. There you get a realistic picture. Now I know that what we have in the Netherlands and Europe is not at all self-evident. Beforehand, a lot had to be arranged and I had a busy period with school. So it felt to me as if I had a lot to do. The LGA checklist helped me a lot with that. The main goal of my project was to measure BMIs. I wanted to do this at various schools to compare them with each other. I wrote an advice on this, which I was also able to partly work out. One advice was a game for the children to make good and healthy choices, for which I made a game. I learned to be patient and to be flexible. This has made me very resilient. I realize more that you should never judge someone else's behavior and way of acting. I really liked the guidance of LGA, I was a bit stressed the period before I left because I had a lot of exams and I wanted to arrange everything. Not only my internship but also the vacation afterwards. Roel helped me really well with that and had a contact person for everything I wanted to do so that was really nice. I also liked the contact during my internship, it gave me the feeling that I had not been forgotten.

Inez Walta

The Netherlands

2024

I was able to help LGA from the Netherlands for a while, I thought it was a very nice experience and a great collaboration. I was able to see up close how LGA has a personal approach and wants to help everyone as best as possible. If I ever go to Africa, I would definitely go with LGA!

Marlies van Miert

Tanzania

2024

Tanzania felt like coming home to me, I experienced the country and its people as wonderful. I found it very educational to do an internship in a developing country. Often you did not have all the products that you may be used to working with and through this experience you learn to practice your profession in a creative way with the materials and knowledge that you have. This has considerably strengthened my skills in solution-oriented work and my communication skills. The host was perfect! Friendly people and are open to teaching you new things. The accommodation was fine and provided with everything. Furthermore, the guidance of LGA was excellent, the communication was especially very nice, I received active, quick responses, so that I knew what to expect and everything went smoothly. I definitely recommend LGA, I have immediately forwarded you to a family friend who is looking for an internship.