Secondary school students in Cyprus can now investigate crimes against wildlife through a new education programme focused on the endangered Griffon Vulture.
According to BirdLife Cyprus, the programme is offered by the Education Unit for Environment and Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Education, specifically through the Akrotiri Community Environmental Education Centre.
Students take on the role of environmental crime investigators and are transported to a site where a Griffon Vulture was found dead.
With the Griffon Vulture on the brink of extinction and every individual precious for the species’ survival, students investigate the causes and circumstances that led to the bird’s death.
The programme, titled “On the brink of extinction – vultures in Cyprus”, was developed within the Darwin Local Plus project “Saving the Griffon Vulture from extinction in SBAs and Cyprus” by the Environmental Education Unit in cooperation with BirdLife Cyprus.
The programme promotes cooperation, observation and critical thinking whilst students learn about the threatened Griffon Vulture and the importance of its protection through interactive methods.
The central activity involves a field simulation of a wildlife crime investigation.
Schools must register through the Pedagogical Institute’s electronic platform at https://www.pi-eggrafes.ac.cy. For more information, contact the Akrotiri Environmental Education Centre at 25826562.