In October 1995 the Philadelphia Zoo's Curator of Large Mammals, Kim Whitman, embarked on an expedition to the island of Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean. Her species of focus was the Rodrigues fruit bat (Pteropus rodricensis) and her goals were twofold. Her first objective was to catch wild bats in mist nets and obtain small samples of their wing membranes so that their DNA could be analyzed in her study of the genetic variability of the wild population. Her second objective was to initiate an educational program about bats on the island.

At the same time Kim was planning her expedition, the education subcommittee of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association's (AZA) Chiropteran Advisory Group began to develop a kit of teaching tools in response to the need for educational programming about the many endangered or threatened bat species worldwide. Kim's project on Rodrigues represented the ideal opportunity to test the kit. I went with Kim to Rodrigues as her field assistant and to lend to the project the benefit of my experience with a number of "in situ" conservation education projects.

On Rodrigues, Kim and I used the kit of teaching tools in two ways. First, we held a teacher-training workshop. At least one teacher from each of the 12 primary schools on the island attended. At the workshop, each element of the kit was explained in terms of its use and conceptual background. The second use of the kit was in a 45-minute lesson that Kim and I taught to each of the twenty-five fifth grade classes on the island, reaching more than 600 students. We used elements of the kit to help explain the ecological importance of bats, the value of the Rodrigues fruit bat in particular, and ways in which the students could help bats.

We evaluated the effectiveness of the lesson through the use of pre- and post-tests. Quantitative analysis of the evaluation results demonstrated that the lesson had been, at minimum, a short-term success. (Jamieson, 1996) While the educational facet of the 1995 Rodrigues fruit bat project was a success, during our stay Kim and I were both overwhelmed by the many threats to the health of the island's ecosystems. Deforestation, erosion-exacerbated by many times the number of terrace destroying cattle than the island could possibly sustain, and pollution in the form of ubiquitous litter loomed as dark clouds over Rodrigues' future. Before departing from our two-month stay on the island, Kim and I each reached the same conclusion.

It was clear to us both that Rodrigues needed a full time environmental educator, someone with a constant presence and holistic approach to education and behavior modification who could facilitate the changes in behavior that were needed to have a positive impact on the island's wildlife. We approached the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) about their willingness to administer an educator position. MWF was receptive to the idea and I began the search for funding to make the position a reality. In 1997, the Chiropteran Advisory Group made the Rodriguan Environmental Educator Project an action plan priority. I then applied for and received a joint grant from the AZA's Conservation Endowment Fund and the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund to cover start-up costs and training of the new educator. The Philadelphia Zoo's ONE WITH NATURE conservation and science program agreed to cover overhead costs and a portion of the educator's salary, with the Oregon Zoo Foundation Conservation Fund sponsoring the majority of the salary line. British Airways Assisting Conservation Program covered the cost of two round trip flights from Philadelphia to Mauritius.

The first flight enabled me to travel to Mauritius to advise MWF during the hiring process, the second to conduct a four week training/planning program. The timing of the hiring stage was carefully planned so that it coincided with the end of the academic year (November 1997), a time when teachers could decide to change jobs without breaking their contracts. To maximize the candidate pool, the advertisement for the position was kept in general terms with no specific academic requirements listed. The only absolute was that the candidate must be Rodriguan. MWF received ten resumes and their staff and I interviewed eight candidates in the first round, selecting three people for final interviews. Our decision was unanimous: Mary Jane Raboude was selected to become the first full time MWF environmental educator for Rodrigues.

Mary Jane has a B.A. from Catholic University in Sydney, Australia, where she went on full scholarship. She majored in English and took the equivalent of a minor in education. Commencement of employment and training were delayed due to the holiday season, when little could be effectively accomplished. Mary Jane began her job in mid-January, 1998, with an intensive week's tour of MWF's field projects on Mauritius, including work on the pink pigeon (Columba mayeri), echo parakeet (Psittacula eques echo), the Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus), as well as several reforestation projects. My role during this stage of the training was to fill in the conceptual gaps, as Mary Jane's framework of biological knowledge needed strengthening.

The next three weeks of training and planning were held on Rodrigues where I taught her a variety of environmental education techniques and methodologies. I also provided her with guidance in making public presentations and working with the media. During the three weeks on Rodrigues it had been our intention to not only craft a work plan for the coming year, but also a five-year plan. In so doing, we wanted to incorporate as many of the desires of the local stakeholders as possible. Meeting with the local citizenry, however, needed to take place in the proper political order, beginning with the Minister of Rodrigues. Unfortunately, the Minister was not on Rodrigues for the first half of my stay, and the second half was affected by a cyclone that thankfully only skirted the island, but slowed all facets of life down dramatically. Consequently, the first of the stakeholder meetings was not held until right after I left. When Mary Jane set about developing her network of stakeholders, she started at the top with the Minister of Rodrigues, Benoit Jolicoeur. Mr. Jolicoeur had already given his endorsement to the creation of the environmental educator position through the MWF, and heartily approved of Mary Jane's goals. With the MinisterÕs support, Mary Jane attended a meeting with all of the village presidents at the invitation of the Rodrigues Council of Social Services. After explaining her role, a number of village presidents expressed interest in working with her. Since that initial meeting with the village presidents, the demand for Mary Jane's assistance has steadily increased as villages see the results of Mary Jane's collaboration. Mary Jane begins working with each village by attending a village meeting at which she explains her role and solicits from the community as whole ideas about how they would like to improve their village environment. The village of Deux Goyaves, for example, wanted to make a green space at their village center. Mary Jane facilitated the acquisition of native and endemic tree species that are grown at MW'Õs nursery and helped to organize a tree planting activity that involved all members of the community. In addition to working with entire villages, Mary Jane works with smaller groups as well. She conducted an environmental education activity with the children of Deux Goyaves in a wooded area near their village. When she asked them to observe and describe all that was around them, the children began to focus their attention on the creek that ran through the woods, which they noticed was polluted with all types of garbage. On their own, the children suggested that they clean up the creek. After they had executed this activity, Mary Jane suggested that they take some time to enjoy the creek and the woods, during which the children made suggestions on ways to prevent the creek from becoming polluted again. Mary Jane often works with groups of people initially organized for other purposes such as bible study groups and women's organizations. One type of group she works with frequently is scouts. Again, with each group she begins by finding out what their ideas are for improving the environment on Rodrigues. One scout group wanted to work on cleaning up the beaches, and by so doing, its members earned their world conservation badge. Although Mary Jane delights in working directly with as many people as she can, she also knows that it is impossible for her to work with each of the island's 35,000 residents personally. Therefore, she has enhanced the reach of her efforts by creating with the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation a radio show about the environment on Rodrigues. On the show, which airs every two weeks, Mary Jane discusses a variety of environmental issues. Topics have included solid waste management, the importance of trees, and endemic species. By responding to questions asked about previous shows, Mary Jane is able to reach out to a wider audience. Mary Jane traveled to the United States in September 1998 to receive additional training, visit environmental education venues, and to serve as a member of a panel discussing "in situ" environmental education at the annual AZA conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Mary Jane visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. where she gathered ideas on education at museums. A personal tour with staff of the New Jersey State Aquarium at Camden gave her a sense of how to interpret marine life. A trip to The Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, New Jersey provided her with an opportunity to see how the fascinating ecosystem wherein land merges with sea can be shared with people. Experiences at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, the Riverbend Environmental Education Center and the Briar Bush Nature Center showed her that environmental education can be done in a variety of urban/suburban habitats on a wide range of budgets. Working with staff from the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum gave Mary Jane the opportunity to see environmental education organized by the federal government. Finally, the wide variety of educational programming which she experienced while based at the Philadelphia Zoo as well that of the national AZA conference host, the Tulsa Zoo and Living Museum, demonstrated to Mary Jane the vital link between wildlife and the public served by zoological institutions. Mary Jane has also had the opportunity to lend the benefit of her experience on a more global scale by participating in a conference on Education for Sustainable Development organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization held in Mauritius in January, 1999. In addition to sharing her experiences on Rodrigues by presenting a paper, Mary Jane also gained from the knowledge of the others attending the conference, and came away with additional ideas on methods to approach environmental conservation on her native island.

Mary Jane's position as environmental educator for Rodrigues is permanent, not temporary. In the coming months, in addition to working with villages, developing radio programs and facilitating environmental activities with a variety of groups, Mary Jane will be creating an environmental resource center. The center, which will be located in the island's library, will consist of books, publications, and artifacts that will interpret Rodriguan natural history as well as the environmental issues the island faces. The creation of this resource center should greatly enhance the reach of Mary Jane's environmental message and promote continuing growth of positive action on behalf of the island's natural resources by all of its residents.

Reference Jamieson, H. 1996. How We Taught about the Bats We Caught: In Situ Conservation Education on the Island of Rodrigues. American Zoo and Aquarium Association Annual Conference Proceedings, 164-169.

Author Heidi Jamieson is the Director of International Projects at the Philadelphia Zoo.

Executive Director's Note: The Organization for Bat Conservation is working on this project with the Philadelphia Zoo and could really use all the support and help we can get on this project. If you would like to donate money specifically for an educator on the island of Rodrigues, or would like to adopt-a-Rodrigues fruit bat please contact Kim Williams. Thank you.