Conservation Curricula: Moving beyond the Classroom and into the Community
Each year, the Rainforest Alliance’s education team travels to schools throughout the United States and Guatemala, hosting teacher-training workshops and sharing online resources. But what happens after the workshops end? Words turn into actions.
Case in point: Following a series of workshops in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, teachers not only shared their newly acquired knowledge with colleagues, they launched projects designed to address existing environmental challenges within the community while motivating kids to take action to protect their precious piece of the planet. [Special thanks to Ramón Zetina, our education consultant in Guatemala, who plays an integral part in making this post-workshop work a reality.]
Clean, Clear Water
Students at Barrio Santa Cruz, Cidabenque and Santa Rosa la Zarca -- three schools in Melchor de Mencos, an area of Guatemala situated along the Mopán River -- have organized a series of river clean-up campaigns to improve water quality. They’re also working to spread the word about the effects of garbage on the river’s aquatic life; in doing so, they hope to minimize the need for future river clean-ups and protect local wildlife.
A Thousand Trees
Nearby, six local schools -- Barrio El Campito, Aldea La Pólovora, Aldea El Arenal, Aldea Santa Cruz, Barrio Nueva Judá and Uaxactún -- have already planted over 1,000 trees as part of a reforestation project emphasizing the value of forests. Some of these trees, like the nutrient-rich ramón nut tree, can help combat malnutrition and hunger -- both ongoing problems in local communities. A few of the schools have also built nurseries to grow important local tree species such as ramón, chizopote and allspice.
Fighting Forest Fires
In the community of Uaxactún, students have teamed up to combat forest fires -- one of the major causes of deforestation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve -- through an awareness-raising campaign that includes colorful educational posters and a fire prevention walk.
These are just three examples of nearly 20 environmental action projects currently underway in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve. Projects like these are also active in the US. Each one is proof that lessons learned in the classroom can have very real, positive impacts on communities around the globe.