Girls and boys from Aysén discover native flora and fauna in outdoor classrooms

More than 500 elementary school students from four communes in the Aysén region explored regional biodiversity within the framework of the Parks and Reserves Program as a Natural Laboratory of the Explora Aysén Project.

Celeste Skewes, Journalist Explora Aysén.- A learning space where teachers and students can learn about the natural heritage present in the region through a set of resources and pedagogical strategies that promote the understanding and appreciation of regional biodiversity present in Protected Wilderness Areas (ASP) is the objective of the Parks and Reserves program as a Natural Laboratory.

The program, which investigates the unique regional biodiversity, is promoted by the Explora Aysén Project of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation and is executed by the Patagonia Campus of the Austral University of Chile.

Birds, mammals and amphibians: a world to discover

Can amphibians always breathe underwater? Do all mammals have hair? Do all birds have the same type of beak? These are some of the questions that boys and girls asked within the framework of the program that, between June 2022 and March 2023, developed a work that consisted of the delivery of educational resources on birds, mammals and amphibians to the participating educational establishments; a methodological transfer workshop for teachers, and guided visits to parks and reserves in the region.

“The educational resources that we make available to the establishments are a contribution to the valuation of the natural heritage of the region and were carefully designed with girls, boys, adolescents and teachers in mind, considering principles of inclusion and gender stereotypes, with territorially relevant content. and that they had the scientific advice of researchers from the region”, comments Viviana Pizarro, director of the Explora Aysén Project.

know to care

To date, the program has made 23 visits to parks and reserves in the region, with the participation of more than 500 students from twelve educational establishments in the communes of Coyhaique, Río Ibáñez, Cisnes and Aysén.

“Participating in this program was a very enriching experience for our students, since it allowed them to get to know and value the natural heritage of the region, which are our parks and reserves. The set of resources and activities prepared by Explora, which ended with guided field trips, promoted significant learning in our boys and girls”, says Ximena Vera, a teacher at Campo de Hielo School.

About the experience of the program, Viviana Pizarro concludes: “This experience was super enriching in every way, occupying our wild areas as a natural laboratory, working as a team, wanting to go out and see new things, makes the content appropriate for the and the students in a different way, constituting a unique experience”.