Faculty of Sciences held a participatory workshop to co-design part of the content of the permanent exhibition that will be open to the entire community in December.
Consuelo Martínez, Journalist.- With the aim of making local institutions and organizations aware of the work carried out in the “Kallfüko, immerse yourself in the Valdivian coast” project, a socialization day was held at the Calfuco Coastal Aquatic Resources Laboratory (LCRAC). Authorities and representatives of the Seremi of Science and Technology, Seremi of Education, Seremi of Women and Gender Equity, Sernatur, local organizations and academics from the Institute of Marine and Limnological Sciences participated in the opportunity. This project is led by the Faculty of Sciences of the Austral University of Chile (UACh) and its Linkage with the Environment unit and financed by the Public Science Program of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation in the Public Space for Disclosure category. .
The exhibition will open in December of this year and will be installed in the Calfuco Laboratory. It will cover different areas of Marine Sciences through a tour that will value the marine heritage of the Valdivian coast with the aim of socializing scientific knowledge with a gender perspective and bringing science closer to the community to promote scientific tourism in the region.
The tour will be made up of a route of experiential stations that connect marine diversity and its ecological interactions, ecosystem services and the cultural heritage of coastal communities, through a co-design work with academics from the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnológicas (ICML) of the UACh and local organizations, who will share their ways of life and experiences with the sea.
During the day, the project was presented, emphasizing the progress of the co-design stage and the projections that open with this exhibition for the community. Dr. Carolina Gaínza, Undersecretary of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation who participated in this space and visited the Coastal Resources Laboratory, pointed out regarding the future exhibition that “we were able to see the research they are carrying out on issues of the marine ecosystem associated with the climate change and how also through a Public Science project: “Kallfüko, immerse yourself in the Valdivian coast”, housed at the Austral University, they are carrying out work with the community, developing public spaces around the research that is being develops in this center and how this is linked with the cultural heritage and with the communities of the area.
During the day, a workshop was also held with ICML academics and local organizations, such as the Los Pellines Neighborhood Council; Pichitraiguén, Curiñanco and the Juan Bosch de Niebla School, who shared their ways of life and experiences with the sea, this in order to gather information for the sample module: The sea and its people. On the occasion, there was also a tasting of products from the Valdivian coastal forest and collected sustainably in the Pilunkura Nature Reserve. Marisol Barría, director of the project, explained that “with this participatory co-design workshop we seek to generate shared knowledge about the ways of inhabiting the coast, relieve the tasks of the communities and promote a greater degree of appropriation in those who will be future users of the shows, since they have been part of the process since its inception”.
For her part, Francisca Corbalán, Seremi de Género y Equidad, indicated that “for the Ministry of Women it is fundamental to contribute with the gender perspective for the construction of a more community and balanced space, in addition to publicizing the historical role of women on the coast.
During the day, there was also a guided tour of the laboratory where the attendees talked with the researchers and learned about the research projects being carried out in Calfuco and the scientific dissemination products such as the Ojo de Pez photographic exhibition.
Finally, Leyla Cárdenas, dean of the Faculty of Sciences, appreciated the conference and the call and indicated that “through this project we want to connect with the community in a closer way, opening our laboratory and sharing scientific knowledge. We want to contribute to the Los Ríos Region in the development of scientific tourism and disseminate to visitors the vital importance they have in caring for the oceans so that as humanity we can successfully face Climate Change”.
Photography contest
During the month of May, as part of the project initiatives, a photographic contest is being carried out through social networks that invites the participants to capture in a photograph what they see every time they observe the coast of the Los Angeles Region. Ríos and share their perspective on the wonders that the sea offers. The deadline for sending the photographs expires on Wednesday, June 7. rmation on Instagram @ciencias.uach
