A new article describes how conservation education is being used to enhance knowledge of the environment and encourage responsible environmental actions in individuals and communities in Sri Lanka. The island nation is one of eight biodiversity hotspots in the world classified as high priority for intervention because it has species found nowhere else and significant habitat degradation.

The article is coauthored by Jody Miller, distinguished professor at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, and Pasindu Dilshan Abegunawardhana, a biodiversity researcher and field biologist with the Foundation for Ecology and Research on Nature, Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, Youth Wing.

Published in the International Journal on Responsibility, the article describes three programs that create the emotional attachment the authors deem necessary for protecting the environment:

• A children’s picture book on Sri Lanka’s endangered species, published in local languages and distributed island-wide in conjunction with educational programs conducted by local civil society organizations;
• A student-led citizen-science survey on biodiversity used with conservation education, training, and reflection; and
• An effort to build a public educational mobile app, grounded in research and soliciting citizen participation, to promote protection of Sri Lanka’s endangered species.

“We hope our cases inspire others to consider further how education and community action can help safeguard the planet’s critical ecosystems, recognizing the importance of contextual and community-level engagement to enhance environmental responsibility,” said Miller.