Developing successful conservation education programs as a means to engage local communities in protecting cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) in Colombia

Engaging children in developing countries to care for wildlife, and to make appropriate choices to protect wildlife, are challenging tasks. Proyecto Tití works to conserve the cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus), a critically endangered endemic monkey from Colombia, using a multi-disciplinary approach that focuses on scientific research, community empowerment, habitat protection, and conservation education to protect this species. Proyecto Tití has developed a multi-tiered methodology for education in rural communities that increases knowledge and understanding of the cotton-top tamarin and the threats to its survival, generates attitudes and behavior that support conservation, and provides opportunities to develop the future generation of conservation leaders in Colombia. We evaluated TITÍ KIDS and CARTITILLA, two of Proyecto Tití's educational programs, measuring the knowledge gained by students before and immediately after the program. For CARTITILLA, we also measured the retention of knowledge after five years, and if the program developed pro-conservation attitudes and behaviors. We analyzed the evaluations of over 6000 students who participated in programs from 2011 to 2016, using a paired t-test. Students significantly increased their knowledge of cotton-top tamarins (p ≪ 0.01) and their ability to identify and classify domesticated and wild animals in their regions (p ≪ 0.01). Five years after participating in the CARTITILLA program, students had retained their knowledge about cotton-top tamarins and demonstrated attitudes and behavior that support cotton-top tamarin conservation. The educational programs of Proyecto Tití provide evidence that engaging youth in meaningful conservation activities can assist in the protection of cotton-top tamarins.