The Wandering Bus project
The Wandering Bus is a project run by Prague Zoo, focused on the environmental education of Cameroonian children and on raising awareness about the protection of gorillas and the tropical rainforest of Central Africa in general.
Photo: Khalil Baalbaki
In January 2023, it was ten years since the Wandering Bus set off on its very first journey. As part of the project, schoolchildren from communities surrounding the Dja Faunal Reserve attend an awareness raising programme, after which they embark on a trip on board the Wandering Bus—a transformative journey lasting several days. The highlight and final destination is the Mefou Primate Sanctuary, operated by our partner organisation Ape Action Africa, where the children take part in another educational programme and, most importantly, encounter gorillas and other primates face to face. They discover the beauty of these animals and begin to see them not merely as bushmeat or an easy source of income for poachers, but as fascinating creatures that deserve protection.
At one of the Wandering Bus stops – the organic farming base in Kabilon II – children learn about the possibilities of sustainable forest use and crop cultivation. Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Prague Zoo.
However, gorillas are not the only topic of the Wandering Bus. The project also aims to raise awareness about other animal species, such as pangolins, as well as about nature conservation. The Wandering Bus’s route therefore includes stops at a model plantation operating on agroforestry principles, a nature trail through the rainforest, and an experimental palm weevil breeding farm.
Program at the primate rescue station in Méfou. Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Prague Zoo.
For most local children, a journey on board the Wandering Bus is the greatest trip they’ve ever experienced. Many of them leave their home village for the very first time, travelling hundreds of kilometres. Not only do they get to see gorillas with their own eyes, but they also learn how the rainforest ecosystem functions and explore ways to achieve a sustainable livelihood.
By the beginning of 2025, the Wandering Bus project had already completed more than 130 trips, in which over 2,400 children, as well as teachers, some parents and forest guards (ecoguards), participated. Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Prague Zoo
ZOOPRAHA.CZ
Contacts
- The Prague zoological garden
U Trojskeho zamku 120/3
171 00 Praha 7
Phone.: (+420) 296 112 230 (public relations department)
e-mail: [email protected]
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