Population Education is now in its 50th year of providing support and resources for K-12 teachers on human population growth and its impacts on our planet. The program was created by Population Connection as a way to deepen its mission of education and advocacy for a more sustainable future.
Since 2013, Population Connection has been providing grants to Global Partners – organizations in Africa, Asia, and Latin America working in their local communities on wildlife conservation, reproductive health, and K-12 education.
One of the 19 sponsored organizations is Lemur Love, a small, U.S. based 501(c)(3) non-profit working in Madagascar. Lemur Love aims to “ensure wild lemurs thrive in their forest homes through the power of women, science, and our extended global ‘troop’.”
Lemur Love’s Global Mission
More than 30 million Malagasy people rely on resources from the country’s natural ecosystems to survive, and 81 percent of the population lives in poverty. Deforestation is a major issue, and nearly half a million acres of Madagascar’s forests are lost each year due to human activities such as logging and agriculture. Wild lemurs are only found in this part of the world, and 98 percent of species are considered threatened while 31 percent are critically endangered. Lemur Love supports these unique primates and the people in Madagascar by empowering individuals and communities with access to training and scientific resources, humanitarian aid, and other initiatives that address Sustainable Development Goals, helping to break the cycle of poverty.
Interview with Dr. LaFleur of Lemur Love
I recently had a chance to correspond with Dr. Marni LaFleur, the Founder and Director of Lemur Love, to learn more about their educational initiatives.
Supporting Education through Fellowship
Lemur Love offers a fellowship which supports the career development of Malagasy students, graduates, or early career conversationists. Fellows are paired with a mentoring team and gain experience with scientific research and communication by conducting and presenting their own projects at the International Primatological Society.
Dr. LaFleur: “Young people who are studying at the graduate level, or are early career researchers, often lack confidence in themselves. Additionally, although they may have solid understanding of theory, they can lack the ability to think critically and generate their own hypotheses. This is a shame because these are the very people we need working to save wild places around the planet! They have energy, enthusiasm, and a desire to have a positive impact on their environment.
Our fellowships help bridge the gap between thinking like a student and thinking like an innovator. Fellows need to dig deep to generate new questions, new hypotheses, and new responses to the same problems. They also learn the nuts and bolts of presenting their own research to professional audiences.
Part of our program also emphasizes our fellows as whole people. Many of our fellows are mothers, navigating caring for children and pursuing careers in science. Malagasy society places immense pressure on young women. This is changing, but generally women are told their whole lives that they cannot achieve what men can and that they shouldn’t bother trying. We are fighting this deep cultural narrative every time one of our fellows gets funding for their project, forms a new collaboration, or publishes their own research. And if this takes a little longer than expected because life throws in some chaos, we are ready to support them and keep moving forward.”
Barriers to Education in Social Contexts
Lemur Love also conducts research projects to better understand the barriers to education, especially as it relates to gender equality. Empowering women is a key part of their mission, as many women face violence and social pressures that impact their education and career trajectories.
Dr. LaFleur: “Time and time again we hear stories about gender-based violence from our colleagues in Madagascar. These are anecdotal but of serious concern for Lemur Love since we aim to support young women pursuing field work in remote areas and encourage them to break through traditional “glass ceilings” of the workplace. To address this, we first need to understand the scope and span of gender-based violence in our target audience. We’ve designed a survey to quantify the perceptions and experiences of young Malagasy (mostly) women who are researchers and professionals. We’ve partnered with a Malagasy organization that specializes in emotional abuse and mental wellbeing in Madagascar (Omena) and are now waiting for International Review Board approval to launch our online study. We will use the results to build safeguards into our programs and make best practices widely available to other NGOs with a presence in Madagascar.”
Complex Truths about Education
When asked about what surprises or challenges her related to educating the public about conservation, Dr. LaFleur notes that there is often a misconception that communities need to be educated on this topic. In reality, the bigger issue that often needs to be addressed is poverty and a lack of basic resources or support.
Dr. LaFleur: “People often think that the need to conserve biodiverse places is because uneducated local people exploit precious resources that they don’t understand the value of. While traditional schooling may be low in rural areas of Madagascar, people are generally aware of environmental laws, protected areas, and species-specific conservation. The core problem is poverty. Frequently in areas of southern Madagascar where we work, 100% of local people do not have enough food, daily. Necessity is why forest resources are exploited, not lack of knowledge or ignorance. As such, it is not education per se that is needed to address the problem. And presenting conservation as “educating” can actually be quite insulting. Addressing poverty, though a much more challenging problem than habitat protection or species preservation, is critical to local success.”
Lemur Love Strengthens Wildlife and Communities
The work that Lemur Love is doing to build research skills, confidence and wellbeing in young Malagasy people is critical to strengthening the health of communities, wildlife, and the environment. Collaborating with global organizations to broaden education and awareness on the conservation of lemurs is no easy task, but it has made a significant difference in many lives! You can learn more about Lemur Love by following along with them on Facebook and supporting their initiatives.
Image credits: Two lemurs (Photo by Anthony 🙂); Lemur Love mascot (Photo from Lemur Love, used with permission); Lemur Love team (Photo from Lemur Love, used with permission); La Marmaille students who receive support from Lemur Love (Photo by Lemur Love, used with permission)
