The Experiencia Ambientalia (Environmental Experience) program, directed by the Fundación Líderes de Ansenuza in Mar Chiquita, Córdoba, Argentina, continues to make progress and with the final phase beginning. This ambitious program began in May 2021 with the objective of generating sustainable changes in the wetlands of Mar Chiquita. These changes will be driven by young environmental leaders who will carry out projects that mitigate the threats present in the region.
For the last six months,15 teachers have been mentors for teams of youth in 12 locations, helping them to understand the ecosystem with virtual (online) classes, individual and group challenges with prizes, and in-person meetings such as field trips, boat trips and other activities.
Each youth team is regularly assessed by “The Phalaropes” – the name that the Experiencia Ambientalia team is known as – to be able to advance in different activities and score points that lead them to earn prizes that will continue to inspire awe for the magnitude of the place that they inhabit.
Left: Outdoors activities during training workshops of Experiencia Ambientalia. . Right: Laguna Mar Chiquita, Argentina. Photos: Fundación Líderes de Ansenuza.
On October 1st, five students and a teacher were rewarded for their exemplary performances in challenges and individual activities, with onehour long overflight of the southern shores of the Mar Chiquita Lake.
“To love it we have to know it. It is not enough to just know that Mar Chiquita is big, you have to fly over it to really understand its immensity”- said Dr. Enrique Bucher, an expert in ecology who lead one of the online workshops, and who gave us the fantastic idea of rewarding the outstanding participants with an overflight of the lagoon.
So, after considerable preparation, the flight took place in a light aircraft on October 25th, during which the students took more than 300 photos of the site and were wowed by the immensity and biodiversity of Mar Chiquita. “We saw incredible landscapes, many flocks of flamingos and even phalaropes!. Mar Chiquita is incredible”, declared the lucky students.
Left: Group of students ask questions before overflight of the southern shores of the Mar Chiquita Lake. Right: Students before boarding. Photos: Fundación Líderes de Ansenuza.
It is also hoped that the six outstanding teams and their mentors will visit the island of El Mistolar, 40 kilometers from the southern shore of Mar Chiquita, where they will continue to learn about the flora and fauna of the region.
Another significant activity for the program includes the Environmental Leaders Forum (Foro de Líderes Ambientales), a 3 day retreat for 27 outstanding students, five teachers and numerous speakers. The attendees will gain a deeper understanding of topics such as: environmental leadership and activism, the importance of science for conservation, sustainable production with a special focus on agriculture, ranching and ecotourism, details of the process of the creation of the Ansenuza National Park, and many other themes.
This experience has also been a great learning process for the organizing team, who needed to rapidly adapt the activities due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic as well the demands of public, but they are now enjoying the rewards of their efforts as the results of the work are collated. “We can see week by week how the students are becoming ambassadors for the site, and how they are revolutionizing their schools and neighborhoods.The projects that are being carried out are exceeding our expectations”, commented Florencia Barbero, leader of the Ambientalia team.
This program is supported by Manomet through the WHSRN Executive Office and by other organizations such as the International Program of the United States Forest Service, Office of the US embassy in Argentina, Natura International, and Aves Argentinas.
Cover Photo: Participants of Experiencia Ambientalia watching bird in Mar Chiquita, Argentina. Photo: Fundación Líderes de Ansenuza.
