Author: Kathy

Building Conservation Compatible Careers

Rafiki Conservation Youth, Buhoma Thanks to incredible support from our PICC friends, we were able to purchase resources designed to expand opportunities for youth that are working towards developing skills in guiding – bird watching, gorilla trekking, and nature walks — as a sustainable and conservation-compatible career in their communities. Image by Isaiah Natukunda The Sahaya Rafiki Guesthouse, on the…

BACHO-K School and Youth Photography Workshop

The PICC team traveled north to the village of Rwenshama, where the team renewed their friendship with the Banyabutumbi Cultural heritage Organization (BACHO-K). BACHO-K is led by Akiikih Apollo, a talented dancer, singer and musician, as well as a brilliant leader in feeding, housing, educating, nurturing and loving over 300 orphan children.  With the support of our wonderful donors, we…

Who we are

PICC is currently working in Madagascar, Panama, Uganda and Rwanda. Check out our new trailer!

Our goals are to inspire primate-habitat students, teachers, and community elders to become conservation leaders within their community by providing them with skills and knowledge regarding primate ecology and conservation issues and solutions through the arts of photography and illustration. We work to empower each group of participants with sustainable learning and skill development by providing Canon DSLR cameras, a printer, and other resources to continue using their new skills in developing conservation-compatible careers.

PICC has led photography sessions for hundreds of children in communities near Bwindi Impenetrable NP and Queen Elizabeth NP in Uganda; in communities near Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, in Suriname; and on the Azuero Peninsula in Panama, areas with critical habitat and conservation issues for endangered primates such as the mountain gorilla. We use Canon cameras exclusively. We find that with our guidance the students can be immediately successful in wildlife photography using Canon cameras. Please let us know if you have a Canon DSLR camera or zoom lens that you would like to donate to our program!

We have been pleased and proud of the students that have continued to develop their skills. They demonstrate a sustained competence and confidence in taking wildlife photographs, quietly and respectfully keeping a distance by using their zoom capabilities, uploading images on the computer, and using their experiences and images to educate the public.

We have developed the PICC program to have both immediate and sustainable impact on protecting primates and their habitats. We:

    • Collaborate with the local communities to celebrate their relationship with their ecosystem and endangered wildlife;
    • Provide a platform to share traditional ecological knowledge, empowering future generations in conservation issues and solutions;
    • Enact both immediate and long-term appreciation of primates and protected areas;
    • Give children new skills they can use after the program is finished – in communications, photography and illustration, skills that can be used to develop careers in conservation and tourism;
    • Provide equipment to remain onsite and paid local personnel to assist the students and teachers in sustainable learning.
Photography Inspiring Children in Conservation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN 85-0519766). All donations are tax deductible (in the USA) and 100% of your donations will go towards these projects. Support us!

Field photography and sketching. The students are taken in small groups into the animals’ habitat to spend hours observing and photographing populations of local primates (DSLR Canon cameras, 70-300mm zoom lenses). Participating teachers and elders also join the students in the field. Students are taught to look carefully at their surroundings, to notice the animals and small parts of the ecosystems that they might normally walk past, and learn from the elder’s knowledge and viewpoint. The students also experience being part of the primates’ habitat and gain an appreciation for its behavior and needs. They gain experience in creating detailed observational notes and sketches to accompany their photographs, recording their observations in a small, personal notebook. These notes and stories are scanned, printed, and displayed with the photographs, allowing the experience to be shared by classmates, families, and community members. They have the opportunity for their best photographs to be printed onsite and made into a display, and the images are also posted on the PICC webpage.

The participants have permanent access to a printer/scanner/copy machine and camera located in their village, along with technical assistance from local staff. Under development is a webpage that will provide students with ideas for how to continue developing their communication skills and how to use those skills in creating a career in ecotourism, conservation and community leadership.

As funding is available, a primate conservation book and poster of student photos, drawings and writings will be designed using the PICC students’ creative works. The students will be able to sell the book to tourists to earn funds to support their own conservation education and share the knowledge with other students and communities. A small poster will be published on water-resistant paper and students can distribute the free poster to ecolodges and local and neighboring communities. The poster and book will also be provided to the appropriate government officials as well as available for download online as a PDF.

Engaging Children with Primate Conservation in Panama

Endangered Azuero howler monkeys, tadpoles, bats, birds, insects, and beautiful wildlife, all in the school yard April 2022. Headed to the airport after more than 2 years of pandemic restrictions was an exciting change. Finally, an opportunity to work with children again on conservation in primate-habitat communities!  Landing in Panama City, we drove SW down the Azuero Peninsula to arrive…