The Young Zoological Association is again on a campaign, bringing awareness to schools and the public.
The Public Relations and Education Day which the YZA commenced in 1981 has grown tremendously. In May this year, they had their meeting at the Maharagama Youth Centre with around 600 students from Colombo District participating. This educational program brought to light how we can care for nature and its environment. Understanding our surroundings is very important. For example, do we know of the common predators in our garden and how dangerous they are? Schools don’t cover topics such as this like the YZA does - educating students to support the well-being of the animals that we as humans are petrified of, especially the creepy crawlies. School students and others who are interested in the environment and wildlife education are invited to volunteer in the projects. These projects are mainly conducted for visitors who come to the zoo.
A Public Relations and Education Day was conducted at Pinnawala Zoo on June 14, 2018. Suranjan Fernando’s topic for the students was ‘Introduction to Biodiversity’ and the lecture was streamed live on Facebook for the first time. The Introduction to YZA was given by Jayaruwan Sulakshan, the current Secretary YZA. Then a guided tour was conducted around the zoo with the support from the Zoo staff.
