Education

Every year we see over 100 schools and more that 6000 learners. Many of these come from previously disadvantaged areas where knowledge of snakes is dominated by myths and legends passed down over many generations from grandparents to grandchildren. On every telling these myths and legends are exaggerated and embellished resulting in people who are absolutely terrified of snakes, believe that all snakes exist to attack people and livestock and that all snakes should be killed on site. These firmly held beliefs are very difficult to change and incompatible with snake conservation. We try to educate visiting learners by teaching them fascinating information about snakes which they have never heard before. We try to highlight how important snakes are to the environment by controlling rodent numbers and show how snakes are far more scared of people than people are of snakes. We can’t change everybody but hopefully we can influence one at a time and slowly these myths will come to be seen as the unfounded, superstitious stories that they are