Environmental Education Program

One of the most glaring problems which the world faces today is the environmental pollution. Man has exploited nature excessively at the cost of the environment. There is an immediate need to make people aware about environmental degradation. Education and public participation may change and improve the quality of environment. Education is the most powerful and dominant influence which one can use to change the world, perhaps proven by many other scholars around the world which is why we need to educate ourselves about the importance of environmental education in order to make the world a better place to live in. Before going deep into environmental education, we will understand the concept behind it all together. When we talk about education, it is very important to understand why environmental education is important? Let us remind ourselves that we are responsible for how we shape our environment because only by creating awareness about the harmful effects of environmental damage can help us build a safe and secure future for our children. When we are educated about the environment, we must identify our responsibility as global citizens and make a positive change for our planet earth which will help us utilize our resources more efficiently and without harming our environment as well. By providing environmental education to students they will engage problem-solving techniques of the outer world to their subjects to understand a particular problem by implying outdoor environmental solutions. Health Benefits – Environmental Education gives students a new meaning to exploring mother nature to see and resolve the issues which are harmful to the environment and this will also help them in maintaining their own health by doing physical work so that their bodies will be immune from some serious health issues such as short-sightedness, obesity and in some cases even lack concentration. The aim of environmental education is clearly to show the economic, social, political and ecological interdependence of the modern world, in which decisions and actions by different countries can have international repercussions. Environmental education should, in this regard, help to develop a sense of responsibility and solidarity among countries and regions as the foundation for a new international order which will guarantee the conservation and improvement of the environment.

Focus Country: Costa Rica

PROJECT BACKGROUND

The Osa Peninsula is considered one of the most important areas for conservation efforts due to it’s amazing nature and biodiversity. Osa’s depletion of natural resources goes hand in hand with poverty and its limited access to job opportunities and education.

In order to achieve long term solutions: we believe that a sustained environmental education program will help the new generations think differently about their natural resources.

The Corcovado Foundation environmental education program has created awareness and has empowered hundreds of children during the last ten years, working in 14 schools in Drake Bay and Costa Ballena. However the program has never been funded properly and has always had limited resources.

After ten years of implementing this program, the foundation has initiated a new stage called “Forest in the hands of the children”. Thinking that the best way to learn is by acting, the foundation will start a process in which it promotes the planting of trees on farms, public areas and river basins. The most accomplished and involved children will then participate in a leadership program. We are convinced that there is a need to enrich society with teenagers who are agents of community development, empowered to make a change.

Corcovado National Park, located in the Osa Peninsula, is the most important National Park in Costa Rica’s, Park System. This national park was again put under pressure by the growing price of gold in the international markets. The problems and the pressure to Corcovado National Park are always coming back, “like tsunamis” said Alvaro Ugalde.

In our opinion, there have been two missing elements in the conservation efforts in Osa in order to achieve long term solutions: economic development and environmental education. Without proper economical options communities will keep going back to poaching and gold mining no matter the consequences. With a sustained environmental education program new generations will think differently about their natural resources and Corcovado National Park. Unfortunately both components have been absent from most conservation efforts in Osa. This project aims to improve both situations from the bottom up. Meaning, we will start working with children in order to 1) create awareness about the importance of natural resources for local communities 2) build leadership among young people, that will push the changes needed to obtain economic development. In order words we will build a new generation of environmental change makers.

The Corcovado Foundation environmental education program, as small as it is, has created awareness and has empowered hundreds of children during the last 10 years. However, the program has never been funded properly and has always had limited resources.

After 10 years of implementing this program, the foundation has initiated a new stage called “Creating the Environmental Education Leaders of the New Millennium”. Thinking that the best way to learn is by acting, the foundation will start a process in which it promotes the planting of trees on farms, public areas and river basins.

As part of this program, the Corcovado Foundation is working in 14 schools in Drake and Costa Ballena Bay in order to promote the conservation of natural resources in Osa.

PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE

The “Creating the Environmental Education Leaders of the New Millennium” project will try to get the children to get involved directly in conservation efforts. Hands on activities, specially reforestation, will be performed as normal activities of our environmental education in the 14 schools. Also recycling, beach clean ups and other activities will be implemented in order to provide children with a more experiential understanding.

The foundation will start negotiations with other no-profit organizations or government institutions to acquire 1000 trees to be planted by 500 students during the course of a year. Later these students will be responsible for nurturing and protecting these trees until they are big enough to survive. We want the children to be part of their community change, being responsible of their own little conservation project like decreasing deforestation in their community, being also an example for the rest of their family and the whole community.

The most accomplished and involved children will then participate in a leadership program. We are convinced that there is a need to enrich society with children and teenagers who are agents of community development, empowered to make a change.

That is why we intend to focus on capacity development in older children and adolescents in order to complement formal education with alternative strategies. This will allow capacity building, which will empower them to make decisions, take responsibility independently and exercise their rights and duties as members of a better society in Osa.

That is why we intend to focus in older children and adolescents in order to complement formal education with alternative strategies. This will allow capacity building, which will empower them to make decisions, take responsibilities independently and exercise their rights and duties as a member of a better and more sustainable society in Osa. Then it could develop a generation of new entrepreneurs aware and respectful of the environment.

SPECIFIC TARGETS

- Eight schools in the Drake Bay area and surroundings and six schools in Dominical and Costa Ballena, (for a total of 14) receive monthly environmental education and engage in hands on environmental education activities, such as tree planting, recycling and others.
- Five children’s environmental groups in Drake Bay area are empowered and work weekly on environmental education projects as an extra- curricular activity.
- At least 20 of the most accomplished children will participate in a leadership
- program in which they will visit other communities, will learn about teamwork,
- Community development and being a changemarker.

METHODOLOGY

The major goals for environmental education are “to provide every person with opportunities to acquire the knowledge, attitudes, commitment and skills needed to protect and improve the environment” (UNESCO, 1978, p.26). To accomplish that we will:

14 schools will receive monthly environmental education lessons. These lessons will be focus on providing theoretical knowledge about the importance of the natural resources and its conservation. We will examine major environmental issues from a local, national and international point of view as The Tbilisi Declaration Recommendation (http://www.gdrc.org/uem/ee/tbilisi.html).

The pedagogical methods use for that purpose will be; Simulating and Gaming/ Basic Case Study/ Film viewing and discussion/ Field Study. (Hungerford, Marcinkowski, Volk, 1990).

Field Study Method: We will use reforestation of their communities as their own investigation project. Autonomous investigations allow students to make an investment of their talent, interest and time in a preferred issue. Not only do students become experts regarding that issue, but they also derive a sense of ownership toward that issue. This sense of ownership or feeling of responsibility provides an impetus for action taking in a positive manner. . (Hungerford, Marcinkowski, Volk, 1990, p.120)

For the reforestation of the communities we will use the Anderson Plantation Method. In this practice, seedlings are planting in groupings. This ensures that at least one of these will develop to maturity. (Ruiz, 2002)

Five environmental groups will meet weekly to address the theoretical environmental education lectures in the schools to create a group of children that voluntarily will work in respect, self-organization, team building, conservation, recycling and other activities in a practical way.

In order to promote leadership, the five environmental groups will also receive talks about leadership: leadership definition (honesty, the desire to succeed, intelligence creativity, kindness and a being a role model) and actions of leaders that children can relate to for example: not following the crowd, standing up to bullies, doing the right thing and helping others. We will read children books about famous world leaders and their lives. Specially women such as Hellen Keller, Harriet Tubam, Eleanor Roosevelt, Catherine the Great, Rosa Park and Susan B. Anthony. Also female leaders in Costa Rica, who overcame the gender segregation and led new spaces for women in the country: such as María Carvajal aka Carmen Lyra, Emma Gamboa, Teresa Obregón and Angela Acuña. We will also play leaderships games and play scenarios.

Children that excel at these processes will participate in exchanges and trips in order to talk to kids in other communities and learn from organized groups such as Boys and Girls Scouts, and others.

EXPECTED RESULT

- 1000 trees planted by children in public and private lands in order to encourage personal responsibility, promote conservation and restoration of the rainforest.
- 14 schools will receive monthly environmental education lessons.
- 5 environmental education groups will meet weekly to talk about conservation and practice hands on activities such as recycling, beach clean ups and others.
- 20 young kids, between ages 8 and 12 will participate in a one year program destined to promote leadership.
- The 20 kids mentioned above will participate in at least 2 group exchanges with other leadership groups.

Schedule and Budget

Please elaborate and detail the schedule and budget according to the sections and milestones mentioned in the methodology section. Please add a short justification for each budget item.

Budget items:

- Environmental Education Coordinator (EEC): This item will pay for 50% of the salary of a biologist trained in children environmental education. He will coordinate and lead the activities performed during the 2 years of this project. He will plan and execute environmental education lessons and
- Environmental Education Specialist (EES): This item will pay for a second biologist part time, who will support the environmental education activities. The amount of schools and activities that this project intakes requires the work of at least 3 people.
- Local liaison: This item will pay for 60% of the salary of a local community member who will act as a connection with the local community, will inform local groups about the efforts of the foundation and the Environmental Education Program
- Environmental Education Supplies: This includes water colors, temperas, paper, scissors, books, cardboard and other art supplies that will be used for presentations, making crafts and other activities.
- Transportation: Environmental Educators will need to visit schools in communities located up to 70 kilometers away from their base town. Therefore, we will need to cover the gasoline cost, motorcycle reparation and other cost related to transportation for the 3 members of the personnel.
- Exchanges: includes food, lodging and transportation for children and staff in order to visit and learn from other groups.
- Trees: The foundation will either need to purchase trees or will need to transport and care for the trees once planted. This funding will pay for buying those trees and will provide an small stipend to land owners for maintaining the trees.

Current available funds for this work:

The Corcovado Foundation is holding a wine event in order to financing the Environmental Education Program. We are hoping we will raise at least $20,000 USD for this program. We will also raise money by promoting a program called Make a Difference. This program consists in several hotels and travel agencies asking for $1 or $2 USD per room/per night. This program started working in hotels in the Osa Peninsula and in Ballena Coast.