Elementary Students
We developed a Spanish-language wildlife school curriculum that is both relevant and engaging for the younger generation – with topics including keystone predators in the region, a focus on Neotropical migratory birds, climate change, and the importance of protecting biodiversity. School workshops are designed to promote respect for wildlife along with observational abilities and critical thinking.
We have held workshops reaching students and teachers from pre-kindergarten through high school.
Last school year, 450 children and more than 20 teachers participated in this program – which has grown into the main source for environmental education in the region. University students from Hermosillo have volunteered to lead and present many of the most recent workshops.
Workshops include comprehensive resources and materials. Interactive games bring out the students’ curiosity: Serpents and Ladders, wildlife lotería, and live camera trap demonstrations. To give life to the different species, a set of plush wildlife puppets donated by Florida’s Brevard Zoo are used.
Students in the U.S. who have participated in our presentations on jaguar conservation in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands have also shown great interest. Some of these young conservationists have even taken initiative in “adopting” acres of the reserve through our Save-a-Spot for Jaguars program.