Building community conservation success: A collaboration between the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation and the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert, California, USA, recently facilitated a social science training workshop hosted by the Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town. The workshop guided participants in creating rigorous and scientifically valid community perception and evaluation studies.

The workshop brought together representatives from organisations around South Africa, including the Two Oceans Aquarium and Foundation, Cape Nature, Johannesburg Zoo, Save our Seas Foundation Shark Education Centre, Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, HG Consulting, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), uShaka Marine World, and Buffalo City Metro East London Aquarium. Participants included educators, researchers, executives, guest relations staff, and consultants gathered in a cold and wet Cape Town for a week of stimulating discussions and lots of learning.

On day one, Dr Danoff-Burg reminded participants that conservation is a social science. The workshop leaned into this concept, highlighting the key role that social studies play in conservation. It demonstrated how having a better understanding of communities can support conservation success through appropriate behaviour change initiatives.

Workshop participants were guided through the entire process, starting with creating a testable question and ending with a completed evaluation or survey. This included developing a plan for data collection and analysis.

Said Danoff-Burg, the lead facilitator, "We are passionate about working with communities at The Living Desert, and our Building Community Conservation Success social science workshops are a useful tool in helping conservationists learn from communities skilfully and with the best level of objectivity. The group of leading-edge conservationists that Two Oceans Aquarium brought together were inspirational and highly skilled. I am eager to see the great work that these 10 different organisations will accomplish, both individually and collaboratively. We relished working with the team of 25 participants and cannot wait to continue to support and work with them!"

“The workshop did a great job of balancing content delivery with hands-on practice. We got the chance to develop research questions, create hypotheses, and explore different ways to collect and analyse data. Therefore, we could instantly apply all that knowledge learnt. It was an informative and valuable experience,” says Wandiswa Jonga, Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation educator.

Louise Gordon, Executive Manager at Johannesburg Zoo, echoed the sentiments of many participants, “Our team were exposed to so many facets of research that expanded our views. None of us realised the intricacies involved in an interview guide, the different question styles, and how just one word can change the intention of that question, not to mention the code book and data sheet. It was a stimulating workshop, and it was also great to catch up with old colleagues as well as make new acquaintances and friends. The Two Oceans Aquarium is a lovely venue with super-friendly and efficient staff. The course presenters were professional yet a lot of fun. Thanks to James, Katie, and Judy,”

Overall, the workshop provided a valuable opportunity for reflection upon the work done by the participating organisations, highlighting gaps and areas that could be improved. It also enabled great teamwork and collaboration between organisations. We all left with a better understanding of our role in conservation and how using social science can improve our conservation efforts.

Our sincere thanks to The Living Desert for funding James and Katie’s time with us, to the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation for hosting the workshop, and to the participants for their enthusiasm and energetic participation, regardless of the weather!