January 10,
2007
On this day we were
invited to work in the greenhouse at the Cerro Seco
Reserve. We planted many different types of trees (Pechiche, Hobo,
Suche). It was a very special day for the young bioregionalists since
what they've wanted most is to be able to be a direct part of
reforesting.
We were well received at
the site and divided into two groups to get our
work done. Afterwards we relaxed by taking a break and eating the fruit
of full-grown Hobo trees. This day was so much fun, the time went by
so quickly.
January 12th, 2007
Since we are approaching
the 8th anniversary of Bahia declaring itself an
Eco-city, we met today with all of the volunteers from Planet Drum to do
some reforestation work in the park of Leonidas Plaza. This park is
important because it is at the entrance of the city and it must have
a lot of trees and look nice. We cleaned and
painted the park and watered the trees there. It
was a fun afternoon for the children. The mayor of the city
and two council members came to help. One of them planted a tree for
the first time and they all participated
enthusiastically.
Translated by Clay.
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January 17,
2007
We went to the Planet Drum greenhouse at the Catholic
University to transplant trees. Some of the Planet Drum volunteers were
waiting for us on our arrival. They carefully explained to the kids how to
transplant and make compost. Then we split into groups to tackle the two
tasks. The girls decided to transplant while the boys worked on the compost.
Afterwards everyone helped with watering in the greenhouse.
January 19th, 2007
I met early with the students because we had to catch
the ferry (gabarra) across the Rio Chone to collect Mangrove seeds on
the beach at the other side. We met up with another group from a local
community called 'Manglar Beisbol' (Mangrove Baseball), a baseball
team for youths who gather seeds. We talked about the importance of
protecting mangroves and the roles of estuaries in our bioregion. Then we
all collected a number of bags full of the seeds that we will plant during
the Eco-week.
Translated by Clay.
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January 24th, 2007
We met in the Manuel Nevares park and sat under a tree.
We began to have dialogue about everything we've learned in this class and
the importance of being able to create a bioregion education class. I told
the students they need to take advantage of all the information I have
taught them. I also explained that they are now a unique group of
individuals who can improve the environments in their communities. As young
people they have their own, new ideas of how this can be done. At the end of
the day we all planned the closing meeting of this bioregional education
project.
January 26th, 2007
Before our ending festivities, I gave all the students a questionnaire
with five questions about the class to answer.
- What have you learned in
these ten weeks?
After answering these questions, we hiked up to Cerro
Seco which we had chosen as the site to end the first term of Bioregion
Education. We had a big barbeque and the students had a great time. We all
stayed until 7 o'clock at night.
In the end, our class had 18 active students, though
only 10 could attend the final three classes because of vacations. For the
next term, it would be helpful to have more information in Spanish about
what we are teaching the children, such as pamphlets for each of the
subjects we are teaching (Bioregions, Birds, Trees, Food, Indigenous
history, etc). This would make it easier for them to learn. It would also be
nice to have more interactive work for them to do, such as planting, which
unfortunately we weren't able to do this time because of the lack of rain.
They always want to participate in activities and it helps keep them
motivated and feel like they are a part of something bigger. But I was able
to achieve my goal of having a large group of students (composed of a
majority of girls) and next time I think I can recruit even more students.
Translated by Clay
(The vast majority of students have gone on break for
a couple months. The classes will resume towards the end of April or the
beginning of May. There are some students who aren't going away for
vacations and are interested in continuing to have informal meetings on
occasion. We will try to include them in greenhouse transplanting, tree
planting and other activities when feasible. Clay)
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
May 30
This Wednesday we began a new cycle of Bioregional
Education classes. Students received Bioregionalismo booklets made by
Planet Drum volunteers. Clay passed out the booklets and welcomed the
fifteen students who are from different parts of Bahia and San Vicente. With
the help of some of the students who have been in this class before, we went
over the characteristics which make up the bioregion of Bahia. After a
discussion we began to read the booklet together. At home, students started
answering some of the questions in the booklet.
June 1st
On Friday we gathered at the school to take a field
trip to the Mirador (lookout) at the statue of a cross above the city. From
on top of the hill overlooking Bahia we were able to point out the main
distinct natural characteristics which define Bahia's bioregion such as the
mountains to the south of the city, the Leonida's Plaza suburb, the green
spaces within Bahia, the watersheds flowing into the Chone river; and the
students were able to see first hand the examples from their booklets.
Additionally, we are planning to form a high school
eco-club which will be called "Bioregionalistas Eco-Club".
Translated by Clay
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
June 6th & 8th
This week we split into three work groups of
bioregionalista students to analyze an article by Peter Berg about
bioregionalism from their booklets. During their discussion they made many
conclusions, but also had a lot of questions about what a bioregion is and
the Eco-city. Some of the students asked why Bahia is called an eco-city if
it doesn't look like it. I answered that this is a process and that the
changes don't happen immediately. The objective is to have the majority of
people who live here develop a conservation consciousness and not to
contaminate their environment. Also that it is now part of the students
mission to help disseminate the information that they are learning in this
class to their friends and families.
On Friday we took a trip to Leonidas Plaza for a
walking tour through the neighborhood as we made our way back towards Bahia.
The students noticed a lot of garbage along the road that goes to the beach.
They also observed many birds, of which the species that caught their
attention the most were the "lincheros," because of their color and song. We
saw many varieties of trees. We even found a shark’s tooth lodged in a rock.
One of the objectives of our trip was to prepare ourselves for the next
class when students will have to make drawings of their own bioregions,
remembering everything they saw while on the walking tour.
Translated by Clay
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
June 13th & 15th
On Wednesday the 13th class began with a new
helper, a volunteer from the Planet Drum Foundation. We split into two
work groups where the theme of the day was to remember the different sites
seen on our various outings. Both groups had to draw the bioregion of
Bahia, identifying various characteristics that make up a bioregion while
drawing. They accomplished this with confidence. Afterwards, one person
from each group gave a presentation of the drawings. This activity helped
to reinforce the students understanding of what a bioregion is.
On Friday we went on a walk to Cerro Seco Reserva
and followed one of the nature trails there. Unfortunately it wasn’t
possible to finish the hike because one of the girls hurt her foot. But
later while sitting in a group together we saw a woodpecker, which none of
the students had seen before. They liked its different colors: red, black
and green. The students are talking about organizing a small cleanup one
day since we've seen a lot of trash on our field trips. The class is also
discussing the possibility of creating a small garden to grow our own
food.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
June 20th & 22nd
This week we almost completed assignments in the Bioregional booklets. All that's left is to do the
activities. On Wednesday we focused on detailing the themes of bioregionalism,
such as climate, water and watersheds, culture, etc. We made three groups
as usual and with the help of a
couple of Planet Drum volunteers, reviewed the topics among groups. Unfortunately this day was short because all of the students have
lots of homework from their regular school and were unable to analyze
and synthesize all the themes.
On Friday the students and two of the Planet Drum
volunteers hiked through the trails of the Cerro Seco nature preserve. It was a fast
trip. On the ridge of the hill there is a resting spot and we sat there and
finished the work that was left over from Wednesday's class. Group One began with a presentation by Anita and
Mateo who talked about the need to protect the environment, have a
culture of recycling, and make good use of waste, and about how the garbage
separation program of the city does not work but should be working. Group Two also had an excellent presentation, in which they
highlighted everything that we must be done to be able to live in a region.
Then Group Three talked about the use of contaminating vehicles,
especially the buses that take people to the Leonidas Plaza suburb of
Bahia. They also talked about
the different types of alternative energy. In conclusion they said we need to live in harmony with nature.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
June 27th & 29th
On Wednesday we all sat down in a circle and began to
explain the work of the day, which was to synthesize the entire
Bioregionalismo booklet. We have covered everything in it except to
elaborate some of the answers to questions. Emily and Laura arrived a
little late to class, but when they showed up we formed our three work
groups. In the groups we discussed the importance of knowing the
characteristics of the bioregion and how to live within it. Class was a
little short because the students had a lot of homework, but were able
realize the objective of the day, which was to reach a general conclusion.
On Friday each of the groups gave conclusions from
Wednesday's class. Once again everyone said that we need to live in
harmony with nature, which means respecting the environment, not
polluting, and not cutting trees, etc. We also began the next topic in the
class which is soil. We talked about the types of soil that are present in
this region. To show the class what layers of soil there are, we went for
a walk down the beach south of Bahia. Where the water meets the land, the
earth is cut and you can see the different layers of soil below the
ground. We were going to walk back on a trail through the mountains, but
the students saw a snake, and left running, throwing down everything they
were carrying. It was actually a very fun day.
There are new kids from a different high school that
would like to be part of our class. I told them that this was fine. Next
week we will talk about the birds in the estuary.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
July 4th & 6th
On Wednesday I talked to the class for twenty minutes
about birds and their importance in this bioregion, especially the birds
that can be found in the Rio Chone Estuary. I explained the principal
characteristics of the birds, the different species, their songs, and
reproduction, etc.
Then we split into work groups. One group went with
Angela (Planet Drum volunteer) and the other with me. After working in
groups, students gave short presentations on the topics they analyzed.
On
Friday we left the dock in Bahia in a rented boat to take a field trip to
Isla de Los Pajaros (Island of the Birds) in order to observe the
different types of birds that live there. We went with all the volunteers
from Planet Drum and our friend Cheo who gave a tour of the island and
explained more about the birds. The kids got to walk through Mangrove
trees and saw lots of birds.
It was a really fun and great day.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
July 11th & 13th
This week on Wednesday I was surprised when all of
the students showed up to class early to begin work. The theme for the day
was flora. We talked about the flora in this area and the different
species of trees that are here. We were able to relate this class to the
previous one, about the different birds in this region. We also talked
about the problem of deforestation, and how the majority of the land
surrounding us has been deforested. I explained how trees maintain soil
stability and integrity with their roots and the decomposition of fallen
leaves, in addition to providing habitats for birds and animals. It's
because of these important reasons that there are groups such as Planet
Drum and the Consejo Provicial that have reforestation projects. After
class we took a walk around Bahia and ended on the ocean wall overlooking
the water and watched the sunset.
On Friday we met up with Melissa and Angela, Planet
Drum volunteers, to go on a hike up to the La Cruz overlooking Bahia. From
there it was possible to visit one of the reforestation sites that Planet
Drum has on a nearby hillside. The students could see the trees that
Planet Drum planted in order to help prevent further erosion and so that
more biodiversity can return to the area. On the way home we stopped by
the store for tee-shirts where the students picked out the shirts that
this group of students will wear for their bioregionalismo group.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
July 18th & 20th
Wednesday we met as usual at the city park to begin
another class. This week's
theme was Compost. Planet
Drum volunteer Melissa led the first part of the class and taught about
the decomposition of organic materials.
There were nine different steps in process of how organic material
decomposes that she covered. She
passed out materials detailing the process and read over them with the
students. They discussed
garbage separation, how to make a compost heap, and how the bacteria and
decomposers work to break down the materials to form nutrient rich soil.
They also talked about how the materials at large garbage dumps are
often covered with dirt and don't receive enough oxygen for the bacteria
to break down the organic matter, which can lead to methane gas
production. Finally, they
discussed the uses of compost and how it can be a benefit in agriculture
as a fertilizer for nutrient poor soil.
On Friday we met with Planet Drum volunteers and took
a trip to their greenhouse at the Catholic University. While there
they explained how they turn organic waste into compost for the
trees.
The
students helped mix some of the compost they have there and prepared a new
compost heap. We saw the worms and maggots that live in the compost
and help with decomposition. The students got to water the plants
and also helped plant Caoba seeds with the direction of the Planet Drum
volunteers.
And finally they transplanted Cascol seedlings that had sprouted in
some of the seed beds. It was a long afternoon with lots of work at
the greenhouse, but all the students had a great time, and as the sun was
beginning to drop in the sky, we caught the bus back to Bahia.
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