How Lapalala Wilderness School teaches kids about climate and the environment

Founded more than 30 years ago by Clive Walker and Dale Parker, Lapalala Wilderness School works to bring young people into the environment fold by helping them discover the value of the natural environment. 

Mashudu Makhokha, the school’s director, says they run an array of basic programmes for young people in the Mogalakwena, Modimolle and the Waterberg region in Limpopo. 

Their curriculum is in conjunction with the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement. 

“Lapalapa comes in to teach on biodiversity in a much broader form,” Makhokha says. 

“We give teachers the confidence to teach on subject matter with the right content and also put it in context. When you open a textbook, some of the examples are not necessarily African examples.” 

Makhokha says that their way of teaching is much more practical, because it gives children the opportunity to explore local rivers and the surrounding savanna to practically learn about the environment they live in and, most importantly, how to take care of it.