The Iimbovane Outreach Project inspired educators during a recent educator workshop at the 3^rd Annual Cape Winelands Environmental Expo & Youth Conference.

The Expo, hosted by the Cape Winelands District Municipality, took place at Nelson’s Creek Wine Estate on 22 June 2012. This year’s theme was Green Economy and focused on environmental aspects such as biodiversity, wildlife conservation and climate change. Iimbovane, which has a long history in biodiversity monitoring, jumped at the opportunity to provide educators with a useful and easy to implement experimental design that is in line with their curriculum requirements.

The presentation given by the Iimbovane team introduced educators to the diverse world of ants, after which the educators were shown how to use ants in their biodiversity lessons. The presentation also highlighted the need to include environmental variables such as temperature, soil ph, height and type of vegetation, in an experimental design because such variables usually come in handy in explaining the results obtained. Another focus was the need to incorporate a control site such as a nearby nature reserve or an area in the school grounds where learners are not allowed; for evaluating the effects of human impact on the ecosystem.

The workshop was attended by approximately 45 educators from various schools in the Cape Winelands Education District.

The presentation was well received by the audience and educators were eager to share their new knowledge with colleagues that had missed the workshop.