News

Dr Eric Jensen co-organised a groundbreaking public engagement event at Durrell Wildlife Park in Jersey (Channel Islands) on the 25^th October 2010. Commissioned by the world-leading conservation society Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (www.durrell.org) and the European Commission-funded EU-Zoos-XXI project (www.euzoos-xxi.org), Dr Jensen presented on a meta-analysis of previous research on learning in zoos and facilitated the successful event. Twenty visitors spent just over five hours giving their views on how zoos could better communicate a conservation message to other zoo visitors. Their views will be analysed by Dr Jensen and form the basis of a ‘demonstration project’ in which their ideas will be put into action at Durrell through a complete re-design of educational materials in the Reptile and Amphibian House. This unique project aims to shift the direction of zoo education towards a more two-way, dialogical approach that takes account of public input and ideas to better engage visitors with wildlife conservation.