Over the course of four years, the Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA and the Corpopalo organization have worked hard to develop the “Observing Wild Birds as a Strategy in Conservation” project. This wonderful initiative helps start a conversation with the people of Cauca, Colombia about sustainability and bird conservation, with the goal to preserve biodiversity in the northern region as well as the center of Cauca, Colombia.
The Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA and the Corpopalo organization work in diverse ecosystems with diverse cultures. Their educational programs get communities excited to learn more about bird conservation, and their use of the International BirdSleuth curriculum in workshops has helped create an environmental conscience in the participants. After the activities, teachers, students, and families have grown to care more about Caucau’s environment.
During the workshops, participants learned tips and tricks for observing and identifying birds, about migratory patterns, and how to collect and enter their observation data. Below, we’d like to highlight some of the activities that the Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA and Corpopalo collaborated on in schools around Cauca, Colombia:
- The first programs were done in the Niña Maria school in the Japio estate of the town of Quilichao, during which students observed and drew local birds, and identified the species they saw every day. They had a lot of fun and learned a lot about bird conservation.
- In 2016, they visited the Educative College Institution (Institución Educativa Colegio) in the city of Piendamo. The Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA hosted 6 workshops with the International BirdSleuth curriculum! After the students observed local birds, they were excited to enter their observations in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird.
- With the support of Dr. Lilly Brigg, the Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA and the Corpopalo organization participated in an event to help educators learn more about ways to help their local community. Under Dr. Marta del Campo‘s leadership, the Center for Environmental Education OjO de AguA and the Corpopalo organization teamed up with the Colegio Ciudad de Piendamo to bring more social educational programs to their communities.
- In 2017, they worked to develop environmental education programs that the public could actively participate in. In the ancestral territory of Toribio, municipal bird conservation was a central theme. Using materials from the BirdSleuth International curriculum and other activities, the Nasa indigenous community was left enthused about bird conservation.
