A Guide to Starting a Roots & Shoots Club in South Africa
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Roots & Shoots is a project of the South African branch of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI). The JGI has been running in South Africa for about 6 years, and one of its major goals is to develop a network of people to carry the message of care for the environment and the people and animals that inhabit it. In this way, Roots & Shoots aims to foster understanding and tolerance between the different cultural groups within South Africa.
In addition, JGI South Africa has built a sanctuary for chimpanzees, on the lines of the one in the Congo (Tchimpounga). It provides a safe haven for chimpanzees in need and there is also an education centre on the premises. A Roots & Shoots office will be based at the centre, and it is there to facilitate the involvement of the community at the site of the sanctuary.
One vision for our country is that the different Roots & Shoots groups around South Africa will join forces to work on projects that are of national relevance and importance, such as AIDS. Where appropriate, Roots & Shoots will work with other African countries on international projects such as bush meat trade and re-forestation and in this way foster and develop bonds of friendship and
understanding throughout Africa.
BECOME A MEMBER OF ROOTS & SHOOTS!
Join Roots & Shoots by sending in the accompanying membership form plus the annual membership fee of R200-00 (cheques payable to: The Jane Goodall Institute South Africa) to the office at the address above. Alternatively, send an e-mail, fax or a letter with your details to the South African head office (address on membership form or see page 2 for e-mail addresses). Should you wish to pay by Internet banking, contact Pauline Stuart on 083 253 9108, or e-mail her at sp27@mweb.co.za and request banking details.
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
- You will become part of a national South African network of teachers and students striving to make a difference in their schools and communities, for the environment and for animals.
- You can become part of a global youth network, Partnerships in Understanding. This is a project that emphasises cultural awareness and understanding through positive youth interactions. It provides an opportunity to share ideas with young people in other countries around the world and to learn about environmental and humanitarian issues on a global scale. The programme links schools and youth groups around the world by pairing clubs in other regions, countries or continents. By linking with these clubs, young people can communicate with youth from other cultures, backgrounds and environments. Partner clubs are linked through the mail, or, if available at both schools, through e-mail systems. We encourage the groups to be creative with their exchanges!
- For more information on the Partnerships in Understanding network, please contact your regional co-ordinator or the national office.
- You will receive the semi-annual Roots& Shoots Network that features the Bulletin Board, where members can have their activities published and sent internationally to other clubs to help make a difference in the world.
- You can participate in the Dr Jane Goodall / Roots & Shoots Achievement Awards Program.
- You will have access to educational programs and resources through your local Roots & Shoots office.
- You will receive the annual Jane Goodall Institute World Report Newsletter.
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Each membership form must be accompanied by the annual R200-00 membership fee. Post or fax it to the Roots & Shoots office at the address above. Membership cards will be provided on receipt of your payment.
Name:
Address:
Postal Code:
Cell:
Tel:
Fax:
E-mail:
Please complete this form and send to:
Pauline Stuart,
P.O. Box 52763, Saxonwold, 2132
or Fax: +27 11 793 3879
10 STEPS TO STARTING YOUR OWN ROOTS & SHOOTS CLUB
- Get together!
Advertise! Put up posters to find out who else is interested in becoming a Roots & Shoots member. Hold a meeting. At your first meeting, discuss what Roots &Shoots is all about, and what experiences your members would like to have through Roots & Shoots. Plan where and when you will meet: how often etc. You may want to decide on this once you know what your projects are, which will give you an idea of how often you will need to meet.
- Decide who will lead you
Each Roots &Shoots club should have a teacher/lecturer/community leader who will be available as a supervisor or co-ordinator. Student members then take ownership of the group by deciding together what leaders will be elected from among themselves, and what the responsibilities of those leaders will be. (See the Leadership Model further on.) In addition, each Roots & Shoots group will have access to one of the regional co-ordinators for help and support.
- Set goals
Set goals for your club and create a mission statement.
- Identify interests and concerns
Discuss and record what interests your members have, and what projects they may want to do. Conduct a survey of your community (see the survey suggestions further on), check newspapers, walk or take a trip around your community, interview people in your community and take note of what concerns they have. Generate a list of interests, concerns, problems, possible learning experiences or trips and potential projects.
Idea: Dr Jane spoke of how we have created a brick wall of problems that we have inflicted on our planet... See the brick wall diagram further on - use it to list all your issues and concerns in graphic way. And see how you are able to break down that brick wall with each project that you tackle.
THE BRICK WALL
Use this brick wall template to list all the problems, issues and concerns that your group believes are the bricks in the wall that Roots & Shoots need to break down.
For each project that you undertake, you will be tackling one or more of these issues, and knocking out another brick.
- Choose one problem at a time
Narrow the options! From the big list, choose one project or activity to start with. Choose one brick to knockout of that wall!
- How do you decide on a project?
- Is it interesting to all members of your group?
- Is it something that you can actually achieve with the time and the resources that you have?
- Does your choice fit with your goals?
- Are there other people in your community who can get involved or help?
- Make a plan
Here are some basic steps to follow when planning your project:
- What does your project focus on?
- Describe the goal or objectives of your project. How do you plan to accomplish it?
- List the steps you will take to implement your project. How long will it take?
- List the tasks that need to be done, who will be responsible for each task, what supplies and equipment are needed, what funding will be needed, and ideas of where other materials will come from.
- Make a list of people and organisations in the community that can help.
- How can you advertise or demonstrate what you have done?
- Take action
Get going!! Taking action is the process of DOING SOMETHING! Experience, learn, make a positive change in your community, for the environment, or for animals! Through your actions, you will gain the skills, knowledge and motivation to make you competent, informed and committed citizens.
- Evaluate and celebrate
Have a follow-up meeting to evaluate your project. Take time to really understand what you have accomplished. Reflecting, discussing and evaluating a project's success and failures will help your members to learn and grow, and gain valuable experience that will help make your next projects even more successful.
Here are some suggestions on how to do the evaluation:
- Ask members to describe how well they think the project accomplished the objectives you established when you planned the project.
- Did they gain the skills and knowledge they hoped to acquire? If not, why not?
o Were there any unexpected outcomes?
- How did the project or program affect other people in the community or group? Ask community members or other outside people to evaluate or give feedback on the project's outcome.
o Did the members enjoy the project? What did they like about the project?
- Ask each member to keep a journal to record their feelings about the project (its progress, successes, and setbacks), and to keep notes about working with others.
- After the project, have members share parts of their journals with the group and discuss their feelings about the project.
- The group can collect articles, photographs, newspaper articles, drawings, planning schedules, meeting minutes and other items that were created during the project and begin a scrapbook or report file. Allow members to write in the scrapbook. This can serve as a way to see the success and to get ideas about the process that the club went through.
- Ask members to write about what they would have done differently if they could start the project again. o Was there a better way to achieve the results they had hoped for?
- Would they do it again?
And don't forget to celebrate!
Organise a party to celebrate the project's success. See if you can involve others: if, for example, the project was pictures, posters or videotapes, the group can invite the members of the community to view the pictures or posters, or watch the video or of the event. See if food and drinks can be donated.
This would be a great opportunity to also publicise Roots & Shoots to others!
- Choose the next project
Go back to your original list of interests and concerns. Add to it if you need to. Choose a new project, and start planning again!
- Let us know how you're doing!
Report to your regional co-ordinator or to the Roots & Shoots head office. Let others in your community know by sending a report to local newspapers, making a poster display for your local library, schools, or community centres, or develop songs, poetry, art displays or videos and present them to your school, university or community.
Idea: A lot of the materials developed during the project can be used to report back to your co-ordinator, and it may make interesting reading in the national Roots & Shoots newsletter.
MODEL FOR LEADERSHIP
The following are only guidelines for officers and responsibilities. It is up to your group to decide on the level of structure you wish to adopt and how your Roots & Shoots club will be run.
Patron: A teacher, lecturer or community leader who will act in a supervisory capacity. S/he acts in a facilitative and supportive capacity.
Chairperson: Runs, meetings, organises projects, helps create a plan of action for the club, acts as a club representative to other clubs, networks and acts as a go-between with other organisations.
Secretary: Takes the minutes of all meetings. Keep a file of minutes and other notes in a folder or notebook. Is responsible for submitting regular activity reports to the nearest Jane Goodall Institute 0ffice. Maintains correspondence with the main office and distributes information to club members. Posts all meeting schedules.
Treasurer: Controls all the input and output of the club's funds, organises fundraising events, keeps account reports on usage of money, and communicates with the patron about budget.
Historian/Journalist: Documents events by taking photographs, collecting
articles, keeping a scrapbook. Works with the secretary to complete and
file activity reports.
The above are the main offices. Other possible portfolios could be:
Membership Chair: Records membership, takes roll at the beginning of meetings and recruits new members. Completes information on membership cards and distributes them. Updates the group about new members and follows up on active members.
Fundraising chair: Assists the treasurer in planning fundraising and organising a fundraising committee. Makes flyers and other publicity material about fundraising events.
Field trip chair: Plans and organises field trips. Organises the itinerary, transport, food, accommodation and plans the budget for all field trips.
ADD ANY OTHER OFFICER OR COMMITTEE THAT YOU FEEL IS NEEDED
Let’s Break Down BRICK WALLS...
"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation;
Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light they can break open brick walls.
Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet...
Hundreds and thousands of roots and shoots, hundreds and thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls.
You CAN change the world"
Dr Jane Goodall
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