Esteban Gomez Rosselli (participant)
*Group name
EGG-environmental Gaia group
*Project name
Restoration of the Andean native forest
*Country/Region
Colombia, Calera
*Type of Group
School (Colegio Hacienda Los Alcaparros)
*Number of total members of your group/project
11 persons
*Number of regular participants in activities
4 persons constantly
*Characteristic of members
All the members of the group come from Bogota D.C. We all like a lot greenish areas as you now our school has a lot of green areas. All our group members like to feel nature and to take care of it. It is an environmental group that works with the near communities, these communities had fewer resources, but we are trying to teach them love for nature so they could help us.
*Theme(s) of your group/project
*Biodiversity, *Chemicals, *Forest/Tree Planting, *Land and Soil, *Nature Conservation, *Water Issues
*Missions and activities of your group/project
This pine trees that inhabit our school are a big problem because they take about 20liters of water each pine daily, this could finish the underwater reserves that supply a big part of the near communities, also this pines throw an acid that damage the P.H of earth who make the earth infertile so no native species could grow nearly, this pine trees doesn't let the birds come an settle in their branches because they itches, this don't let the fauna com in our school.
Our school the Colegio Hacienda Los Alcaparros had helps us giving us an environmental thinking by giving us special classes were they teach us how to seed a plant and how to take care of; also parents had donated native species that are now seeded in our school.
Our project had been developed almost into 1 year were I we had been replaced 20 pines with native species .First we buy little native species and we put then into seed plots ,then when the plants are about 20cm tall they had been passed into an special bags were they been watered and control with organic abono . Then their passed into the green house also watered and control with abono, when the plants are about 1meter tall their passed to a greenhouse when they stay until they reach the 1.5meters tall, and finally the pine trees are replaced by native specie.
*Characteristics of the group/project activities
Our group is a very join group we constantly see each other and we sit and tell our advances and our problems in our project during the week. We are supposed to have a meeting with all the integrants. Our group always wants new people to go in actually new people from fourth and fifth grade. This people are being include to all our activities they are developing the project during project class that we have once a week, in these classes we work together with teacher so they can help us with our problems. We try to meet every project class with the group and show how we are working. In this class we make our activities as growing native seeds, transplanting the plants to the ground, make some research and prepare a final presentation for the end of the year. The members are in different grades as 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th, so we have projects at different hours but we meet constantly and work by the members of a determinate grade at different hours. We try our best for meeting and put special activities as making bokashi balls.
*Most importnat way of thinking of your group/project for environment
What we think is the most important way of thinking in the environmental group of our school is the way of teaching what it has and what is doing for conserving nature. Because teaching the others they begin to conserve it and not to destroy it and show them how it the correct way of doing it is. Teach that we do this for all living thing, for nature, for the footer generation and us. The teaching of what is important, and why it is important the nature for life and what we need to stop for conserve it.
*What kind of group/project do you want to exchange for imformation and experience with?
We would like to exchange information and experiences with groups that help nature, teach the people to maintain it and other interest that are related to the conservation of the environment.
*Short message for exchange with other group/project
The High Andean Mountains is one of the greatest places in South America where nature flourish with many species of animals and plants. Here they live many endangered species. Conserve it is important to maintain endangered species. Conserve this ecosystem is in what our project is based.
*Impression of Children's World Summit for the Environment 2005 Aichi
The quantity of children that work for conserving nature, to conserve the ecosystems and recycle, to help the community to clean some spaces, try to get a better world and teach people how to do it. This was from what we got the best impression, knowing that other people work as us to get a better world and a good world to live in the future, that such many persons try to maintain the nature and care about whets really important that's happening in this world as the endangered species, the little amount of fresh water and more.
*Others
We have joined all the activities. They have been activities as making bokashi balls, transplanting native plants to the area ground, planting seeds, etc. but all we had join it, and we consider very cool, the activities had been almost all in school and we had made cool trips.
*Contact person
Constanza Casas
*Contact Address
Colegio Hacienda los Alcaparros, "el Salitre", km 3 "via la Calera", Cundinamarca
casasconstanza@hotmail.com
