Port Moresby Nature Park’s ‘Beasts with Bite’ themed schools program kicked off on November 5th.
The final themed program for the year, it is anticipated that over 3,000 students from five different National Capital District schools will attend during the course of the next three weeks it is run.
During the half day session of the ‘Beasts with Bite’ schools excursion program, school children aged between 5 to 12 years learn more about the secrets of some of our most misunderstood wildlife such as insects, spiders, snakes and bats through interactive learning, discussions and practical lessons. The learning program is designed with the intent to educate and inspire more young Papua New Guineans to aspire to become the guardians of PNG’s unique natural environment and culture.
Port Moresby Nature Park’s General Manager, Michelle McGeorge, said: “Since the introduction of the school’s excursion program in 2013, over 90,000 students have accessed the program and this year alone, more than 24,000 are expected to attend the park’s various education programs in 2019.
“It is always a delight to see young faces light up when they come to the Park to learn about animals and plants. We have more than 550 unique native animals at the park and run educational programs for each grade level as well as our popular themed programs. In addition, the Nature Park’s Education Department developed the programs particularly to support the PNG education curriculum for early learners and middle schoolers and at the same time, support teachers in their lesson plans and curriculum outcomes.”
In May 2018, Port Moresby Nature Park was awarded the prestigious International Zoo Educators Award by the Zoo and Aquarium Association of Australasia for its conservation programs like the ‘City Kids Don’t Eat Bush meat’, ‘Don’t buy Native animals as Pets’, and ‘Lukautim bilas bilong yu’.
The schools education program is supported in part by ExxonMobil, NCDC, Zoos Victoria, The National, Ela Motors and the United Nations Development Programme.
‘Beasts with Bite’ is exclusive for schools and will continue for the month of November. School bookings are essential. For further information, contact Port Moresby Nature Park’s Reservations Team on 326 0258 or email reservations.pomnp@gmail.com