Outreach in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve leads to increasing interest, creativity and work plans for immediate action on a local level by being involved in the ongoing impact through environmental education, training, guidance, and community-building for bioregional resilience. This fellowship among the youth, adults, teachers and authorities stimulates activism and promotes wider civic participation and environmental stewardship in rural communities.
The Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve suffers from deforestation, biodiversity loss, trash mismanagement, and unsustainable agriculture. These activities threaten the Reserve and contribute to climate change. The region also lacks economic opportunities and its public education system fails to provide students with skills for making a living. Local youth are unable to make a profit from their families' traditional agricultural activities, and so are forced to migrate out of the Sierra Gorda.
Environmental education has been a fundamental tool at all levels, raising awareness, providing action plans, following through with the community support and civic participation that has built up over the last 37 years. This is a proven strategy to foment pride and self confidence, to cultivate local leadership and prioritize environmental agendas at home, in the schools, in the communities and in state agencies. This project involves both students and teachers of distinct sectors.
Youth with valuable intergenerational relationships and who are deeply invested in their environment are less likely to migrate and more likely to steward their home over the long term. This project strengthens participants' connection to the local environment and to fellow young citizens. As youth become leaders in their communities, they will take the baton and guide the SGBR towards sustainable development, holistic land management, and biodiversity conservation.
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