Expanding environmental education in Pacasmayo

Harvesting the vegetables at the Tecapa Secondary School (Image: December 2021)

La Libertad Dry Forest Project works with children and adolescents at schools and churches to develop environmental awareness amongst students.   Applying what they learn, the students can become agents of change for their communities.  Last year, the  Mi Mundo y Yo (My World and I) Eco-School was established within the Tecapa Secondary School in Pacasmayo where 25 workshops were carried out.  The eco-school workshops have explored several topics such as medicinal plants, composting, land preparation and irrigation for planting vegetables, restoration of the dry forest ecosystem, pest control, and many more. It also installed a garden where students planted vegetables like radish, beet, spinach, and carrots.  The harvest was distributed among the members of the eco-school.

Planting seeds in the new garden, San Demetrio (Image: January 2022)

Additionally, the project expanded its environmental education collaboration with the Christain Church, Casa de Oración (House of Prayer) in Pacasmayo led by Pastor José Guzmán.  In December, we identified the location of the new garden in Micaela Bastidas Soup Kitchen, San Demetrio. In January 2022, eleven environmental education talks were carried out with the members of the San Demetrio Church.  Work activities have continued including the conditioning of the garden in the soup kitchen, planting vegetables such as turnip, celery, and corn, the installation of an irrigation tank (1100 liters), and the construction of sheds for breeding small animals such as guinea pigs and chickens.  As you can see, it has been a busy few months and we look forward to sharing more accomplishments with you soon!