Vallarta Botanical Gardens Education & Volunteer Program Report Linda Asencio - Vallarta Botanical Gardens | |
September 13, 2014 |
Linda leading hands-on environmental education activities with children in El Tuito |
Linda Asencio is a Peace Corps Volunteer at the Vallarta Botanical Garden through a collaboration with Mexico’s Park Service (CONANP).
August was an exciting month - not just because of our Avocado and Rainforest Festivals - but because I was able to organize a summer course in my new hometown of El Tuito in a collaboration through the Garden and Mexico’s Park Service. With the help of Coral Lozada, Ana Gonzalez, Mateo Rios Estrada, and Maira Perez from Vallarta’s CONANP office, we were able to facilitate some fun, hands-on activities focused on anti-littering and recycling/reusing common refuse.
Fifteen children attended our summer course that was held at the Casa de Cultura in El Tuito. Kids colored and put together a pop-up book showing how trash travels from the source and moves through the river, eventually making its way into the ocean. The following day we cut up old t-shirts to make fun bracelets using our new reused fabric. To finish up the day, children cut up and taped together 3 plastic PET bottles to make a 3-level planter. We filled them up with soil and talked about different seeds that we can plant from home.
With the new school year rolling up, I’m starting to design and organize my environmental education program where I’ll be visiting schools to do engaging environmentally-themed activities. Although I’m starting off by visiting elementary schools in El Tuito and in Las Juntas y Los Veranos, I would like to spread this message to everywhere in the Vallarta, Cabo Corrientes, and Bahía de Banderas regions. My overall goal is to teach the community how they can easily do their part to help save the planet!
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From activities like hiking, swimming, bike riding and yoga, to restaurants offering healthy menus, Vallarta-Nayarit is the ideal place to continue - or start - your healthy lifestyle routine.