Education, Water, Soil, and Biodiversity. (Educación, Agua, Suelo y Biodiversidad.)

Detalles del Proyecto

Objetivo del Proyecto:

Develop and design an environmental education program on soil, water, and biodiversity that contributes to community development by promoting, in a practical way, knowledge of local biodiversity and the implementation of water and soil conservation activities through ongoing environmental education in schools; the creation of seed banks in schools and at the household level; the propagation of native plants in school and family nurseries; the creation of herbariums and their display in public spaces; and the restoration of soil and biodiversity (through reforestation and the construction of small-scale water and soil conservation projects) with community participation fostered in schools, on private, ejido, and communal lands, since ejido and communal authorities and landowners have agreed in meetings to make this project a priority. Within a framework of collaboration with universities, foundations, service clubs, civil authorities, etc.
The results include an intervention manual with a weekly curriculum to replicate the experience in other communities, a native plant guide, the latter developed with the residents taking the lead through a QR code, featuring their own recordings, describing their assessments (problems, conclusions, and solutions), their plants, and their activities in practical environmental education. A manual created by them for them, designed to serve as a tool for disseminating traditional and scientific knowledge about their plants, for reflecting on problems and solutions, for raising awareness through the practical activities they demonstrate, and for promoting community development (The manual’s content will become a topic of conversation at home, at school, at church, and at celebrations—discussions will focus on the importance of establishing seed banks and family nurseries, herbariums, and areas for soil restoration and water conservation).
Additionally, create a manual of school experiments in collaboration with UNAM’s Department of Geology and Soils, aimed at understanding soils, their origins and dynamics, the prevention of water erosion, and soil and water conservation activities in the community of San Pedro Atzumba, where the Intervention Manual will serve to replicate the experience in other communities; initially, it will be replicated in Atecoxco and Caltepec.

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Evaluación de Necesidades:

1. The need to restore, protect, and increase soil, water, and vegetation.
2. The need to bring schools together with the ejido commission and civil authorities to enhance their capacity for the management and conservation of their natural resources.
3. There is a need to develop sustainable agroecological projects for the production of agave, medicinal plants, ornamental plants, and fruit trees.
4. There is a need to halt water erosion and improve soil quality.
5. There is a need to improve the local microclimate by restoring lost vegetation cover.
6. Training is required in the conservation of water, soil, and native vegetation to strengthen the resilience of the local ecosystem.
7. There is a need to create an educational intervention model to help solve local environmental problems.
8. There is a need for new generations to learn about their native plants, seed collection, and propagation in community nurseries, as well as the processes of soil formation and the water cycle in their locality.
9. There is a need to strengthen education on integrated solid waste management.
10. There is a need to educate on concepts of social justice within the framework of managing common-pool resources for equitable intergenerational use.

What process was followed to determine these needs?
Spending at least one day a week at the school in each community providing training in practical environmental education, including the creation of seed banks and native plant nurseries, as well as soil restoration activities.
Meetings with students, teachers, parents, farmers, the water committee, and the auxiliary presidency; recordings of conversations between young people and adults about their environmental issues, their conclusions, and possible solutions.

How did members of the beneficiary community participate in finding solutions?
Through assignments and conversations among adults, as well as between adults and young people, leading to their conclusions and proposed solutions. After addressing topics in class such as local biodiversity, soil erosion, unsustainable livestock management, the history of the decline in vegetation cover in the area, and the gradual decrease over time in their water sources (springs and streams), and the reduction in plant resources for the production of local handicrafts (pottery and palm crafts),

What role did members of the local community play in project planning?
The local project coordinator in San Pedro Atzumba is a resident of the town; he knows the people and their needs and has successfully involved the elementary, middle, and high schools in the project planning, in coordination with the ejido committee, the auxiliary presidency, the water committee, and people who have migrated from the community. The schools and the ejido and auxiliary authorities have been able to contribute to this planning because we have been in the community continuously for a year and a half, spending at least one day each week conducting hikes in the hills with students and parents, organizing cleanup days for the spring and stream with a large part of the community, collecting seeds, propagating native plants, and organizing community soil restoration events. All of this has fostered dialogue, discussion, and proposals for further action.

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Diseño del Proyecto:

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Beneficiarios:

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Sostenibilidad:

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Colaboradores:

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Monitoreo y Evaluación:

Host Partner (Club Local)

International Partner (Opcional)

Feria de Proyectos (Opcional)

Resumen del Estado del Proyecto