Community entomology : insects, science and society

Educative outreach programmes have been found to be effective ways in which to raise awareness around basic scientific concepts. The Biological Control Research Group (BCRG) in the Department of Zoology and Entomology at Rhodes University, South Africa, is involved in community engaged initiatives that aim to be interactive and informative around entomology, and more specifically, the use of biological control against invasive alien plants. As a higher education institution, Rhodes University has a civic responsibility to engage with local communities and work with them around local challenges. Three groups of activities undertaken by the BCRG in partnership with local schools and other community partners are described and assessed in this paper as a way of assessing them and exploring future research areas around the aims and outcomes of these programmes.