Environmental Education & Community Leadership

Environmental Education and Community Leadership

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

Development of audiovisual material for use in virtual primary school ecology classes

Expansion of biocultural field-based educational outings connecting youth with traditional knowledge and first-hand experience of local ecosystems

Facilitation of a virtual “experience exchange” forum for environmental educators from northwest Mexico

Verónica Maldonado and Nebaí Soria working with youth in Punta Chueca

The realities and needs of the youth and communities we work with changed during the pandemic. The Environmental Education Program (EEP) adapted by developing interactive audio visual materials shared online, by teaching virtual classes with 4th and 6th grade classes, by facilitating outdoor activities with small groups of youth, and by working with community groups to develop environmental education projects. In addition, the Center expanded the “Biocultural Fieldschool” which works with Comcaac mentors to facilitate outings connecting youth with traditional knowledge rooted in place-based experience. The EEP also designed and implemented a virtual forum connecting environmental educators from 7 organizations working in Northwest Mexico to discuss challenges, goals, and future collaborations. Moving forward, we plan to expand community-based environmental education programming.

Ecology Classes and Field Trips

• 12 ecology classes delivered virtually to 254 4th and 6th graders from Kino Bay • 14 “Biocultural Fieldschool” outings with 24 Comcaac youth and their mentors

Mural for project “School for Planet Earth 2021” Biocultural field school students and mentor

Ecology Clubs

• 45 hours of experiential outdoor projects and activities in collaboration 2 ecology clubs

• Support for the 4th grade ecology club in developing a project to raise awareness about the use of disposables

• Mentorship for the middle school ecology club students participating in a national environmental forum

Cleam up campaign in Punta Chueca

Ecology club students participating in the Forum for Environmental Health of Ramsar Site

Community Events and Information Sharing

• Participation in the organization and implementation of 3 clean-up events

• Presentation in the Forum for Environmental Health of Ramsar Site Laguna la Cruz

• Facilitation of an “experience exchange” forum involving 12 environmental educators from 7 environmental NGOs

Impact: Community-based, experiential, and student-centered education contributes to the development of young people with the capacity and motivation to articulate their biocultural and ecological knowledge.