Elmer the Environmental Elephant
An Art education project with international children in China. Elephants used to live in large numbers across China, over the past 65-75 years the population has declined by 50% making Asian Elephants endangered by the IUCN (international Union for Conservation of Nature). Now there are just 200/300 Elephants living in the southern part of Yunnan province. Elephants are endangered because of poaching for their Ivory tusks, loss of habitat and food due to degradation and fragmentation of habitat. Children love Elephants and Elmer! Elmer embraces diversity and our individual strengths, perfect for international students. So I designed an Art Education Conservation project inspired by Elmer, Elephants and the annual Dragon boat festival in China. The festival is based on the concept of saving those you love.
We learnt about:
- Elephants of Asia and where they live
- What Elephants needs to survive and how we can protect and conserve their population
- How human culture and development can effect wildlife populations and habitats
- How we can use wildlife to inspire our art and conservation
- Working together to make a positive impact
- Making art from recycled materials
