Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
June 25th & 27th
The theme for Wednesday’s class was Mangroves.
First I asked them how much they knew about Mangrove trees and how many
types they could name. Everyone had a basic understanding of Mangrove
trees at the beginning of class. During the class, I explained to them the
importance of these trees in the estuary and watershed of Bahia. I talked
about how Mangroves filter water and the large variety of birds, bats,
snakes and aquatic animals that live in them. I also explained the
differences between the different types of Mangroves: Red, White, Black,
and Concha.
On
Friday we took a fieldtrip to Isla Corazon, where we saw lots of Frigata
birds, which were showing off their red pouches since it is mating season.
We hiked through the Mangroves to try to identify all of the different
types that we talked about in Wednesday's class.
We
didn't get to find all of the types because it was so muddy that in parts
we had to crawl through the mud just to move around.
All
the students had a great time and returned home really tired after such a
long day. In the morning they had helped Planet Drum water some sites in
Bahia and then they spent all afternoon in the mud of the Mangroves.
Translated by Clay.
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Bioregionalism Education
Summer Session 2007
August 15th & 17th
Bioregionalism resumed classes after vacations from
regular school were ended. The theme for the week was aquatic ecosystems.
We began by differentiating between continental and marine ecosystems. The
students divided into two groups to go over the materials I passed out.
They discussed these materials and then made presentations to each other
on what they had learned. The first group presented on marine waters. They
explained how a third of the Earth is covered in water and the large
diversity of species that live in the oceans. One of the students, Raisa,
also talked about how one of the current problems in Ecuador is a new
Presidential decree that allows for the hunting of sharks. The other group
presented on the continental waters: rivers streams, lakes and lagoons.
They distinguished between moving waters like rivers and bodies of water
such as lakes, and how water in motion has a higher quantity of oxygen.
After both groups presented on what they had studied, they selected photos
from all of the classes to use for a display in an upcoming open house.
Friday afternoon we were only able to meet for a
shortened class because the students were preparing for a school
performance that evening. But we talked briefly about the relation between
humans and the ecosystems studied in Wednesday’s class. We are
completely dependent on the world’s aquatic ecosystems and they might be
destroyed if there aren’t stronger environment protection laws.
Translated by Clay Plager-Unger
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Clay Plager-Unger
Field Projects Manager
Planet Drum Foundation
Report: September 17-21, 2007
Thursday
morning Peter and I gave a presentation to the Bioregionalism Education
class in the Municipality Theater on the concept of bioregionalism, with a
focus on the bioregion of Bahia de Caraquez.
At the end of the presentation, all of the students, who had recently
completed the 12 week course, were given certificates to congratulate them
for all of the work that they did.
