The Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) will hold two five-day environmental education camps at the fund’s field research and education centre during the upcoming school holiday.

Children will learn about the role of predators in the ecosystem, the identification of predators and raising and training of livestock guard dogs. Other topics that will be covered include the cultivation of leadership qualities as well as team building.

Each Jubatus Kids Holiday Camp will accommodate 25 children. The first camp will be held from 26 to 30 April for youths aged between 11 and 14 years, while the second camp will take place from 2 to 6 May for those between the ages of 15 and 18.

The cost for the five-day camp is N$250 per learner, which includes accommodation, meals and educational activities. The camps are partially sponsored by the Otjiwarongo Art Centre.

“We at CCF believe very strongly in the importance of education about predators. Nearly every large predator is either threatened or endangered in Namibia and its surrounding areas. The loss of these great animals would be a tragedy for Namibia as well as the world and would have a severe impact ecologically, economically, and even culturally. The reasons for the decline in predators are numerous, but all relate back to a basic misunderstanding of these animals and the role they serve in the ecosystem. CCF works to counteract the reasons for the decline in predators, but without fighting the misunderstandings through environmental education at a young age, the possibility of

success is minimal,” said Dr Laurie Marker, founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. To qualify for the camp, children must write an essay of more than 250 words and submit it no later than 20 April 2011. The topic of the essay is: Imagine you’re a cheetah and write about your life as a cheetah, the problems you face in the wild, and what humans can do to help you to survive. Essays can be emailed to

The staff at CCF will select their favourite 25 essays, whose authors will be chosen to attend each camp. The CCF is a Namibian non-profit trust dedicated to the long-term survival of the cheetah and its ecosystems. The fund’s activities include working actively with farmers, schools, and communities, as well as conducting international research on cheetah demographics, ecology, biology, and the human impacts affecting cheetah survival.

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