What’s included in our free talks & workshops

We have included the course content of our ‘wild’ range of talks and workshops below, so you can pick the perfect session for your group.

Image credit Jo Mieszkowski

We offer digital and in-person talks to any group sized 10 and above. We can also create a bespoke wildlife workshop, so please don’t hesitate to contact us at education@davidshepherd.org if you can’t find what you’re looking for below.

Explore the wild!

Find the perfect session to inspire the next generation of conservationists

Workshops

Workshops offer a more hands-on experience compared to our talks, making them the perfect choice for active students that love getting their hands stuck into crafts. From creating tiger face masks to making 3D wildlife habitats, students will gain new wildlife knowledge and get to create their own wildlife themed artwork.

Our education team can visit most UK schools to provide in-person workshops, however this is decided on a case-by-case basis. Please get in touch today to see if we can come to your area.

Talks

Our wildlife talks educate young people about various species and their habitats, highlighting the dangers they face. Through engaging presentations featuring real-life footage and images of wildlife and the communities, we’re able to connect students with the issues affecting wildlife. Every talk includes fun age-appropriate activities, to ignite your student’s passion for wildlife!

We offer virtual and in-person talks, please click here to register your interest in a free school talk.

 

Workshops
David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

Terrific Tigers

Age 5-7

Terrific Tigers is first in our series of wildlife workshops. Learn more these amazing big cats and then get crafty with a tiger face mask or tiger puppet activity.

Rowdy Rhinos

Age 5-11

The Rhino cup is a community football tournament in Namibia. Find out more about rhinos and why conservationists support football matches and then design and make a model rhino from clay. There is a £25 charge per class to cover the costs of the clay (or you can supply it yourself).

Create a Creature

Age 5-11

Learn about four different habitats where endangered animals live. Then get creative, design and make your own creature in cardboard and craft materials. Children will think about why their creatures’ features will help it survive in its habitat. Younger children will have support.

Silhouettes and sunsets

Age 6-11

Children make a wonderful African sunset using tissue paper. They then produce their own animal silhouettes using our prepared templates to stick on their sunset. Protection for the tables is suggested.

Are Elephants afraid of mice?

Age 7-11

The elephants have been trampling the farmer’s crops again! Learn more about these wonderful animals and then solve a real conservation problem. Design and make your own model gadgets and schemes to keep the elephants away from the crops. Remember-the elephants can be very sneaky! Younger children will need more support.

Make a 3D Habitat

Age 7-11

Children choose an animal form the eight we support and really think Children choose onem animal from the eight we support and think about where it lives. They then get crafty and create their habitat in 3D using card, scissors, and glue. Cutting out the animals can be difficult for younger children but is possible with help.

Guardians of the Planet

Age 7-11

After thinking hard about biodiversity, climate change, human wildlife conflict and habitat loss, children come up with their own compelling conservation message and use it to create a shopping bag or T-shirt using fabric pens. There is a £25 charge per class to cover the costs of the materials.

Image credit Leon Molenarr

Saving lions with light

Age 8-11

When lions eat farmer’s cattle in Zambia, they get into big trouble. How can we stop this happening without hurting the lions? This activity involves the children making a kraal to hold the cattle, wiring the kraal with three LED lights and a battery and scaring the lions away. This is best done after the children have covered circuits and electricity. There is a £25 charge per class to cover the costs of the materials.

Perfectly painted dogs

Age 8-11

We use a masterclass developed by the wildlife artist Zoe Fitchet film to take the children through the step-by-step process of drawing a painted dog using pencil. Also learn more about painted dogs: not well known but are one of the most endangered carnivores.

Talks

Key Stage One

Age 5-7

All about tigers!

Age 5-7

We use film footage, stories, and images to introduce the children to the tigers of Thailand and India.

  • To know the location of a hot country and some basic characteristics
  • Identify and name animals that are carnivores and herbivores
  • Identify and name the main body parts of a tiger and suggest a function for each part
  • Contrast tigers with their prey
  • Observe animals through video and photographs

Into the light and silence: the world of the snow leopard

Age 5-7

We will explore the world of the secretive snow leopard, including the high mountains and plateaus of Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan.

  • To develop some basic geographical vocabulary – mountain, river, forest, and valley
  • Identify and name common animals that are carnivores and herbivores
  • Identify and name the main body parts of a snow leopard and suggest a function for each part
  • Compare the high mountains to where the children live and their own lives
  • Observe animals through video and photographs

All about Elephants

Age 5-7

We will answer all your children’s questions about elephants: from their good memory, the many uses for a trunk, how well they can jump, and just how many hours they can eat for!

  • Learn about the main characteristics of the African savannah in Zambia
  • Locate Zambia in the continent of Africa
  • Identify and name the main body parts of an elephant and a function for each part
  • Identify and name a herbivore
  • Observe animals through video and photographs

Habitats of the world

Age 5-7

Join us on a global safari across six habitats in Africa and Asia. From the deserts of Namibia to the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Children will find out how animals and plants get what they need from a habitat, how they change, and why they are in danger.

  • To know the definition of a habitat
  • Identify one common plant and animal in each habitat
  • To describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of an animal
  • Identify animals that are carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore
  • Ask relevant questions

African Animals

Age 5-7

This talk is for the children (and adults) that love elephants, lions and other animals of the savannah. It covers what savannah is, the animals and people that live there and some stories about how to live in the savannah over one year.

  • To know the definition of a habitat
  • Identify one common plant and animal in each habitat
  • To describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of an animal
  • Construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey
  • Identify animals that are carnivore, herbivore, and omnivore
  • How animals and humans can coexist with each other

Key Stage Two

Age 7-11

Nature’s first responders

Age 7-11

Pack your rucksack and join wildlife rangers patrolling the savannah habitat in Zambia. Meet some of the animals, birds and plants in the park and learn more about the vital work that rangers do.

  • Learn about the main characteristics of the African savannah/ Vietnamese Jungle
  • Locate Zambia/Vietnam in the world
  • Learn about the work of wildlife rangers on patrol
  • Use maps, atlases, globes, and digital/ computer mapping to locate countries
  • Construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey

Habitats of the world

Age 7-11

Join us on a global safari across six habitats in Africa and Asia. From the deserts of Namibia to the high mountains of Kyrgyzstan. Children will find out how animals and plants get what they need from a habitat, how they change, and why they are in danger.

  • To know the definition of a habitat
  • Understand why habitats are different to each other
  • Understand how habitats can change and why
  • To describe how different habitats provide for the basic needs of an animal that lives in a specific habitat
  • Compare animals in familiar habitats to those found in less familiar habitats
  • Describe simple food chains
  • Ask relevant questions

Endangered Animals

Age 7-11

Our most popular talk. Using examples from the animals we support in Africa and Asia; we help the children think about what extinction means, why animals are becoming endangered and why should they be saved from extinction? We explain how our local projects are helping to save rhinos, elephants, tigers, and painted dogs from extinction.

  • Using straightforward scientific evidence to answer questions or to support their findings
  • Recognise that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things
  • Consider social and moral dilemmas that they come across in everyday life (for example, aggressive behaviour, questions of fairness, right and wrong, simple political issues, use of money, simple environmental issues)

Educating elephants

Age 7-11

Follow the story of orphan elephants, like Nkala in Zambia, from their rescue to their return to the wild. Learn about the dedicated teams that are involved in the orphan’s care to adulthood and what it is like for local communities to live with elephants, day to day. The story is about the real work that conservationists do and the impact it has. There is some content within this talk about loss.

  • Describe the ways in which nutrients and water are transported within animals, including humans
  • To research, discuss and debate topical issues, problems and events
  • Explore the types of settlement, land use and economic activity in Zambia
  • To reflect on issues facing those that live in a different country alongside animals
  • Meet and talk with people (for example, people who contribute to society through environmental pressure groups or international aid organisations)

Spots, Stripes and Scales

Age 7-11

Animals can survive in diverse habitats because of their adaptations to the environment they live in. Looking at desert adapted Rhinos, Pangolins, Snow Leopards, and Tigers, we explore several features of each animal and how they help them to survive and thrive.

  • To know the definition of a habitat
  • Understand how habitats can change and why
  • Identify how animals and plants are adapted to suit their environment in different ways
  • Appreciate that variation in offspring over time can impact an animal’s ability to survive in different environments

Sight, Sound and Stealth: the predator survival strategy

Age 7-11

Come with us to Africa and Asia to see lions, tigers, snow leopards, and painted dogs in their natural habitat. How do these predators survive in the harsh environments they live in? What are the similarities and differences between their hunting approaches? What do local people think about living near these animals? This talk does touch on the death of prey animals.

  • Understand the basic needs of a predator
  • Analyse the advantages and disadvantages of specific adaptations and strategies for hunting
  • Identify the different types of teeth in predators and their simple functions
  • Construct and interpret a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators, and prey
  • Compare and contrast the diets of carnivores and herbivores

Fill in the form to book one of our free talks or workshops. A member of our Education team will be in touch to finalise your booking.

Free School Talk

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