Re-education and environmental restoration: 15,644 Colombians involved
By means of re-education and environmental restoration marathons, 15,644 Colombians connected with nature and learned about the 5 environmental values during the week of World Environment Day.
The GEAP coordinated activities in this country and other countries in Latin America, the United States and Spain, through the International Program Children of Mother Earth, promoting the “connection of people with nature,” the central topic of the 2017 campaign.
Flori, Thorny and Club R promoted the application of the 5 environmental values or 5R’s (re-educate, reuse, recycle, reduce and reject), impacting the lives of 1,255 people, who decided to be multipliers of this practice and join the Environmental Movement “Guardians for the Peace of Mother Earth.”
Similarly, 243 digital signatures were registered for the recognition of Mother Earth as a living being, as a result of a work that had a reach of 12,559 students and 3,085 citizens of the rest of the community.
Bogota stresses the importance of the “R”: Re-education
Activists from the capital sensitized around 3,000 elementary and high school students from different educational institutions; teachers and principals stressed the importance of re-educating the present generations. Read more
838 students from 2nd to 7th grade and 21 teachers from Dulce Maria School, Suba locality, learned about actions to preserve nature, and received information to participate in the signature for the Mother Earth Proclamation as a living being.
In the town of Bosa, the rector of the Los Naranjos School, Diego Zawadzky, stressed the importance of promoting a change of mentality through the value of reeducation, “to move from a consumerist and immediatist mentality to a different mentality that helps us say: Well, we are human beings, beings that share this common house, and we have to learn to live in it without thinking that we are the only owners and that we can do whatever we want with it.” 1,500 students participated in the educational session.
The activists also visited Emmin School, Ciudad Bolivar, where 97 students participated.
Cundinamarca and Orinoquia in harmony with nature
171 activists, 455 citizens and 1625 students from these two great regions of the country decided to connect and be in harmony with Mother Earth through environmental fairs, ecological parades and educational talks on solid waste management; activities carried out in coordination with environmental groups, mayors and the Environmental Police. Read more.
In the municipality Fusagasuga of Cundinamarca, the GEAP participated in the realization of the Expoambiente, the first environmental fair of the municipality, organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. It was attended by institutions such as: Emserfusa, the NGO “Water yes - petroleum no,” the Gardner School, the Universidad Nacional Abierta y a Distancia de Colombia (UNAD) y la Biolodo company.
The event was conducive for activists to present the Proclamation of Constitution of the Rights of Mother Earth, and collect signatures in support of this proposal. In the municipality of Sopo the talk and the activity of recovery was carried out in the Colegio Cooperativo.
On the other hand, an ecological parade (floats made with recycled materials) was deployed in the municipality of Soacha; a joint activity of the City Hall, the CAR, the Environmental Police and the GEAP.
In the department of Meta, the activists worked in union with the Environmental Police. In the city of Villavicencio the educational talks with the Club R were developed in different educational institutions. The central activity brought together 310 people with the participation of environmental groups and the media.
Regions focused on the recovery of green areas
The Eje Cafetero and the Santanderes generated a positive environmental impact through days of recovery of green areas in which seeds, trees and ornamental plants were sown, after the educational talks promoted by the GEAP. Read more.
These tasks in the departments of Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Antioquia, Santander and Norte de Santander, involved 1,587 students and teachers from 6 educational institutions. Additionally, 195 new Guardians for the Peace of Mother Earth were registered and 39 signatures supporting the Proclamation of Constitution of the Rights of Mother Earth.
In Piedecuesta, Santander, the GEAP along with the Environmental Police and other entities, participated in the parade of floats decorated with the topic of the 5R’s, which toured the main streets of the city.
Recreational crafts were made with recycled material in some institutions. The Re-educate value was backed with the didactic help of a large illustrated cardboard book, with drawings that showed how children should teach their families and friends environmental values.
On the other hand, in Risaralda, Pereira, the Environmental Police and CARDER organized the Walk for the Environment, in which GEAP volunteers and other entities such as the Metropolitan Police, the Mayor’s Office of Pereira, the Technological University and the Catholic University Of Pereira participated; the walk began in the Olaya Herrera Park and finished in the Olympic Villa Park.
The Colombian West acts for environmental causes
In the western region of Colombia, the GEAP celebrated World Environment Day in Valle del Cauca, Cali, Pradera, Santa Elena, Yumbo, Guacari, Buga, Cartago and in Popayan.
1,958 students, 196 participants from different sectors and 32 organizations joined the environmental movement promoted by the GEAP, in order to plan and carry out activities for the recovery, planting, reforestation and cleaning of areas that have been neglected or are in danger from the winter wave. Read more
Between the restoration marathons, the Bolo (Pradera) River was cleaned, in which five garbage bundles were collected along the river, recuperation of green areas and installation of mugs designed by activists for the adequate disposal of solid waste.
The danger of the community of El Florido (Santa Elena), due to the overflow of the La Honda ravine because of the last winter wave, was the reason for the GEAP environmental movement Guardians, City Hall officials, environmental foundations, cultural and community, to unite to plan the reforestation of the jarillón of the ravine.
The recovery of Lake Chilicote de Tulua (Valle del Cauca) was also carried out, as well as the cleaning of the La Monja ravine in Popayan, where more than 500 students participated.
Southern region decides to “connect people with nature”
Communities and 687 students from the municipalities of Neiva, Pitalito, San Agustin, Melgar, Mariquita, Ibague, Chaparral, La Hormiga, Orito, Puerto Asis and Doncello were motivated to implement the 5R’s during the recovery marathons of important parks and ravines of the territories. Read more
The recovery of spaces in the heart of the Colombian massif took place in the Simon Bolivar Park. The activity was attended by the police station, public companies of the municipality of San Agustin and intendant Juan Manuel Rojas Suarez.
In four municipalities of Tolima, the importance of preserving natural resources was promoted. The mayor Alexander Galindo; the Secretary of Environment, Alejandro Sanchez Niño and Julian Marin, Chief of Environmental Police were present at the activity carried out at the Colegio Adolfo Kolping of the Mariquita municipality. In addition, the recovery of the Peñón ravine was carried out with the participation of the Firemen, Red Cross, Civil Defense, among other entities.
The recovery of green areas, cleaning of water sources, environmental talks and arborizations, in conjunction with the community, were among the activities in Putumayo.
Citizens participate at the Amazon trapeze
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment invited GEAP to participate in the bike ride and walk, carried out to promote the reduction of levels of environmental pollution caused by carbon dioxide emissions that are mainly produced by transportation and industrial production.
The Guardians presented the Children of Mother Earth International Program to the citizens, and among the main subjects was the teaching of environmental values. Entities such as the Departmental Government, City Hall, Ministry of Departmental and Municipal, SENA, Environmental Police, among others were present.
The activity concluded with the planting of 50 trees in La Vida Park, which were delivered to the community in the Amazonian capital for the production of oxygen and as a contribution to Mother Earth.
Environmental Actions on the Atlantic Coast
In Riohacha, the cleaning of the main park of the city was carried out. The Environmental Police invited the activists to a walk from the Parque de la India to the Entre Rios Park, where an environmental parade was held in the company of SENA, the University of La Guajira, different educational institutions and environmental organizations.
Activities carried out on later dates
Following the central date of the celebration of World Environment Day, the GEAP Colombia continued to carry out educational and environmental restoration activities, including:
June 6
• Palmira, Valle - Jardin infantil Harold Eder. 220 students and 15 teachers.
• Geriatric home “Renacer.” With the happy participation of 40 senior citizens, the home garden was cleaned and objects were made with recycled material.
• Cartago, Valle - Instituto de Comercio Practico Inscop, with the participation of 250 primary and secondary school students.
June 6 and 7
• Dosquebradas, Risaralda - Institucion Educativa Santa Juana de Lestonnac. 330 children from preschool to 5th grade elementary sensitized, and to put into practice what they learned, they participated in the recovery of the green areas of the Institution.
June 8
• Pasto, Nariño - Cleaning marathon in the path Camino Real, important place in the history of the region for being one of the routes of the Liberator Simon Bolivar. From the community, 45 people participated and the Confluence of Women organization along with its president Ana Maria Jojoa.
June 9
• Soacha, Cundinamarca - Recovery marathon of the Bogota River, where the Mayor, CAR, the GEAP, Colegio Psicopedagogico Juan Pablo II and Colegio Castillo de San Mateo participated. Playful and educational activities were carried out in the San Nicolas de Soacha Park, focused on the recovery of the river basin.
