How TDARFAC’s Collaboration Can Expand the Reach of Youth Environmental Education Programs – A Case Study

The Dr. Abigail Ross Foundation for Applied Conservation’s mission is to empower local communities with scientific research and advancements.

What goes into fulfilling this mission? Educating and supporting the next generation of environmental stewards.

However, it’s a big job that can be challenging for one organization to manage all by itself.

That’s why we collaborate with local organizations in Madagascar. TDARFAC first partnered with the Mitsinjo Association in Madagascar on our reforestation corridor initiative connecting Andasibe-Mantadia National Park and Analamazaotra Special Reserve. Since the collaboration began, our programs have grown with more partners, more students, and joint initiatives.

Mitsinjo Youth Club, nicknamed “Ankizin’ny Ala” (which translates to Children of the Forest), wanted to contribute to reforesting the area, which includes the wildlife corridor at the Ecovision Village site.

This presented a perfect opportunity for the Youth Club and additional partners, including Ecovision Village, The Mad Dog Initiative (MDI), and TDARFAC, to collaborate and accomplish multiple objectives. 

To achieve these goals, in early February TDARFAC’s Madagascar In-Country Director Rindra Rakotoarivony, Operations and Logistics Manager Ange Nandrianina Raharinirina, and Mitsinjo Environmental Education Manager Irène Toutoune Ramanantenasoa, returned to the field to host the organization’s first youth environmental education program event.

Thirty local youth ages 7 through 17 years old participated in the inaugural program event, which focused on encouraging youth empowerment in the areas of community engagement in environmental stewardship, the importance of reforestation, and lemur conservation.

As part of the program, the collaborating teams involved youth participants in fun and educational activities to successfully engage them in learning more about these topics, including:

• Planting 216 seedlings at the reforestation site with Ecovision Village and MDI.

• Playing games to teach youth participants about the topics at hand – one of these activities was a card game to teach kids about lemurs, which was gifted to TDARFAC by the Lemur Conservation Network!

• Additional age-appropriate educational activities to teach youth how to be environmental stewards and how they can get involved at the local level.

Collaboration among TDARFAC and local organizations was key to this event’s success. Many individuals and organizations were instrumental in the planning and execution of this successful inaugural event – displaying the power of collaboration to expand the reach of international youth education programs like this one – including:

• Rindra Rakotoarivony, TDARFAC Madagascar In-Country Director

• Ange Nandrianina Raharinirina, TDARFAC/MDI Operations and Logistics Manager

• Irène Toutoune Ramanantenasoa, Mitsinjo Environmental Education Manager

• Radoniaina Rafaliarison, Rabetokotany, MDI Project Manager

• Sitraka Andrianasolo, TDARFAC Madagascar In-Country Director Assistant

• Kazim Bakar, Ecovision Village Director

• Aina Andrianjafisoa, Ecovision Village Administration and Finance Manager

• Ntsoa Ramarondrainibe, Ecovision Village Site Manager

• Prisca Razafy, Ecovision Village Site Manager

• Claude Rajerison, Ecovision Village Reforestation Project Leader

• Head of Education Administration, Andasibe

• Mitsinjo Youth Club “Ankizin’ny Ala”

• The Mitsinjo Association

• The Mad Dog Initiative

Want to learn more about how collaboration among organizations can help expand the reach of international environmental education programs?

Visit TDARFAC’s Facebook and Instagram pages to learn more and track our collaborative efforts toward achieving our mission.