More than 40 students participated in clean-up days, bird watching and theoretical activities about flora and fauna of Baja California Sur, with the goal of reaching 500 young people this school year.
In order to strengthen environmental awareness among young people, Pronatura Noroeste and the State Directorate of CONALEP, established an agreement to implement, starting in the 2024-2025 school year, a practical environmental education program that links theory and practice concerning the marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Baja California Sur.
Practical environmental education
Fernando Garza Larracilla, our field technician in the environmental education department, explained that the program has involved students from different fields of study.
“These are activities from an environmental education program that we carried out in collaboration with the State Directorate of CONALEP, which include both theoretical and practical components on various marine and terrestrial topics in the classrooms”, He said.
Among the activities we carried out, a beach cleanup in La Paz stands out, with the participation of 40 mechatronics students, where they learned about the importance of mangroves, microplastics, waste separation and the fauna associated with these ecosystems.
In addition, we carried out a bird watching activity in the lagoons of the Youth Eco Park, which the students from the tourism degree program participated in.
Youth Eco Park, a living classroom to learn from the environment
It is emphasized that the Youth Eco Park is a central axis of educational activities. This space covers approximately 80 hectares with 20 hectares of lagoons that function as an artificial wetland, where vegetation islands have been installed to promote the conservation and observation of migratory, endemic and resident shorebirds.
The installation of these islands of vegetation in the lagoons of the Eco Park was part of the collaborative effort between the bird laboratory at the University of Baja California Sur with Pronatura Noroeste.
“This program just started this school year, and included the visit to the Youth Eco Park mentioned earlier, a cleanup day and three visits to the school. The first topic was an introduction to environmental education, the second focused on the flora and fauna of Baja California Sur and the third addressed the mammals and reptiles of the region” he details
As of now, eight classes have been held with CONALEP students and two more are still pending.
Other actions carried out by Pronatura Noroeste include, together with the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Sur (UABCS) Bird Laboratory, submitting a management proposal for the Youth Eco Park, which resulted in the signing of an agreement with the Organismo Operador Municipal del SIstema de Agua Potable Alcantarillado y Saneamiento de los Cabos (OOMSAPAS) to make sure water supply to lagoons and maintain a water surface for the birds.
With the Forest Restoration agency CIPACTLI (a leading development agency in the forestry sector), we monitor flora and fauna to identify species present in Ecopark
It’s had been installed a bird observatory, signage has been put up, bats monitoring is being carried out and we are working with the city council to install a cultural pavilion, explained Garza Larracilla.
A generation committed to conservation
Our field technician from the environmental education area highlighted that the specific case of the program carried out with Conalep is part of the the efforts we undertake at Pronatura Noroeste to promote the ecosystem identity of La Paz, fostering the connection between young people and their natural environment
One of the upcoming activities will be a sea turtle release event in Todos Santos as part of the Scheduled field trips.
“The objective is to raise awareness through theoretical and practical activities related to marine and terrestrial ecosystems, along with their flora and fauna, so that they can help both this generation to make changes in favor of conservation and education for peace”, He said.
The goal of this school year, he emphasized, is to reach 500 students and for the next year to expand this environmental education program to the Conalep campuses in La Ribera, Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo.
With this initiative, Pronatura Noroeste and CONALEP seek to raise a generation that is conscious of environmental protection, integrating environmental education into the daily lives of young people in Baja California Sur.
Translated, reviewed and edited by: Perla Mendoza.
