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The Khomas Environmental Education Program (KEEP), developed and implemented by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, is an interactive environmental education program for young Namibians. The program idea was sparked by a school visit of Julian and Steph Fennessy at their children’s school, where they asked at assembly how many children had seen a giraffe. The couple was shocked to see only a few hands raised, as giraffe literally live on the doorstep of Windhoek, Namibia’s capital.
KEEP aims to reconnect students with nature through field-based environmental education, fostering a sense of environmental stewardship and encouraging sustainable behaviors. The program provides a platform for experiential learning outside the classroom, targeting under-resourced schools in Namibia’s Khomas Region.
KEEP strives to inspire future decision-makers to address critical environmental issues and enhance their understanding of the natural environment. It closely aligns with the Namibian national school curriculum, allowing students and teachers to apply concepts from the classroom in a fun and interactive outdoor setting.
The program’s mission is to promote environmental learning and encourage positive behavioral changes, ultimately leading to improved living conditions for Namibian youth. Since its beginnings in 2016, over 21,500 students and 1,150 teachers have participated and as KEEP becomes ever more known and popular by students and their teachers in the Khomas Region, every year 3,000 students join the team in the field. KEEP continues to make a significant impact in Namibia and has become the largest EE program in the country with regard to participation numbers.
While the program is limited to the capital and its surroundings, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation is committed to reaching a wider audience. The KEEP Field Workbook has been extended to a more comprehensive GCF Nature Workbook, which has been distributed to hundreds of schools in Namibia as a valuable teaching resource. In collaboration with a Namibian TV station, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation also produced a series of fun EE videos that have been shown on TV and continue to be used as an educational resource by educators in Namibia and beyond.
