Connecting People and Wildlife for a Better Future.
Education for Conservation
At Wild Connection, education is more than a lesson—it's a bridge between knowledge and action. Our programs foster environmental awareness, creativity, and global collaboration through hands-on, interdisciplinary experiences. From classrooms in Uganda to community centers in the United States, we empower students to become environmental stewards and changemakers in their communities.
Whether through science, engineering, music, or sports, our education initiatives focus on inclusion, creativity, and local relevance—connecting young people to wildlife and sustainability through projects with real-world impact.
Plastic Pollution and Youth Innovation
From Awareness to Action: Reducing Plastic Waste in Uganda
In collaboration with students from three Ugandan high schools, this ongoing project engages youth in tackling one of the most visible environmental threats in their region: plastic pollution. Students investigated plastic use and waste in their community, created products from plastic waste, and developed public awareness campaigns.
Outcomes So Far:
-
Students in Uganda connected with US NC State undergraduate students to share their concerns about plastic pollution.
-
Student-designed products were created and sold at an end-of-year celebration.
-
A youth-led community campaign is inspiring local support for waste reduction.
-
One school produced a song that we are hoping to have broadcast on a local radio station.
​​
Through this project, students will continue to gain valuable skills and knowledge, while developing a deeper understanding and appreciation for different cultures.
Next Steps: Engineering a Plastic Shredder
As the students’ understanding of the problem deepens, we’re supporting them in building a small-scale plastic shredder—combining environmental education with hands-on STEM learning. This student-led engineering project would provide a tool for transforming plastic waste into reusable materials for the community.
Goal: Equip youth with technical skills and help create circular waste solutions in their village.
How You Can Help: Donate materials, mentor students, or support the next phase.
Funding Target: $25,000
Rhythms for the Planet: Connecting Youth through Music for Environmental Action
Outcomes so far: Two original songs were co-written and produced across continents. One song is Sub, which means hope. Check out the Suubi project and sound here. Students shared recordings and lyrics reflecting local landscapes and shared hopes for conservation.​​
What's Next: We’re planning a collaborative music video filmed in Uganda that brings together both student groups for the first time in person. This extension of the project will allow for cultural immersion, deeper collaboration, and a powerful global message of unity through music and conservation.
How You Can Help: Sponsor travel, production, or song distribution.
Funding Target: $50,000
Voices United: A Cross-Cultural Music Collaboration
Music has the power to connect people across languages and borders. In partnership with Kichwamba High School in Uganda and the Center for Life's Kruunk Movement in Pittsburgh, we launched a music exchange that explores environmental and cultural themes through songwriting.
​
This is a bold initiative that shares the message that because we all live on this planet, that we exist because of nature, we also experience common environmental challenges and the degradation of resources and ecosystems. The goal of this project is to create a global community dedicated to environmental stewardship, one song at a time.
​
The project integrates coaching, leadership development and environmental stewardship, providing them with the tools to succeed and become agents of change as global citizens and in their own communities.
​
​
Kicking for Conservation: Soccer & Environmental Education Bootcamp
In development, this exciting initiative will combine the love of soccer with impactful environmental education. The program will bring together youth from several communities in Uganda for a bootcamp that integrates sport, conservation topics, and leadership development.Soccer is a unifying force in many regions—and this project uses it as a platform to teach about biodiversity, climate action, and community resilience.The bootcamp will include: Wildlife conservation workshops; Team-building through sports; Guest speakers and local environmental role models.
​
​How You Can Help: Donate gear, fund a coach, or help us build the curriculum.
Funding Target: $20,000
Why it Matters
These projects give students tangible ways to engage with the natural world, learn from one another, and become part of a global community committed to sustainability. By integrating science, engineering, art, and sports with conservation, we can support inspiring ways to protect wildlife and habitats.
