Environmental education is a cornerstone of many wildlife conservation programs, and measuring the impact of such education initiatives is imperative for evaluating their effectiveness in achieving conservation goals. For over 15 years, the Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program (GPOCP) has been working to protect wild Bornean orangutans Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii living in and around Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. In 2015, we carried out a series of six Environmental Education Expeditions to communities in the remote districts surrounding the Park, engaging 1519 elementary (n = 770) and junior/senior high school (n = 749) students across 24 schools. Before and after engaging with our environmental education activities students were given surveys to assess their knowledge about and attitudes toward orangutans. We found that our educational activities led to 13.6–40.4% increases in student knowledge about orangutans and substantial shifts toward more positive attitudes about conservation, but that many students do not believe that they personally can make a difference. Empowerment may be a key need to link wildlife education to environmental action.

中文翻译：

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一次保护猩猩一间教室：评估针对印度尼西亚学龄儿童的野生动物教育计划的有效性

环境教育是许多野生动植物保护计划的基石，评估此类教育计划的效果对于评估其实现保护目标的有效性至关重要。15年来，Gunung Palung猩猩保护计划（GPOCP）一直致力于保护生活在印度尼西亚西加里曼丹的Gunung Palung国家公园及其周围的野生婆罗洲猩猩Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii。2015年，我们对公园周边偏远地区的社区进行了六次环境教育考察，包括1519名小学（n  = 770）和初中/高中（n = 749）来自24所学校的学生。在进行我们的环境教育活动之前和之后，都对学生进行了调查，以评估他们对猩猩的了解和态度。我们发现，我们的教育活动使学生对猩猩的了解增加了13.6–40.4％，并且朝着对养护的更积极态度发生了实质性转变，但是许多学生并不认为自己个人可以有所作为。授权可能是将野生动植物教育与环境行动联系起来的关键需求。