Workshops
- One of the areas of improvement we are most proud of is our on-going teacher and community leader workshops. The ability to bring teachers and community leaders together for an opportunity to learn new techniques and teaching strategies, which focus on environmental education, is an invaluable tool to advance our broader goals of environmental awareness.
Each year, four 3-day workshops are rotated in the communities that participate in the Adopt-A-School program. Topics for teachers include development of productive lesson plans, inclusive education for all students, health and nutrition in the rainforest, the importance of including parent participation in the educational process, and much more.- Workshops for community leaders from all of the Adopt-A-School communities include topics on the role of community leaders in the village, health and nutrition as the basis for a prosperous community, sustainable use of natural resources, productive soil strategies, and the exchange of experiences among leaders of neighboring villages.
- Recently we have facilitated student teaching opportunities for college students who will
soon graduate and make decisions about their future. The student teachers are placed in various communities along the Amazon in an effort to expose them to the teaching opportunities available in the rainforest. For their stay, which varies from 3-6 weeks at a time, CONAPAC provides each student group with a food and supply package as well as transportation to and from the village. Our hope is that these future teachers will come to understand and appreciate the rainforest communities and what they have to offer as a career choice. - Often the excitement of the Adopt-A-School delivery of books and school supplies overshadows the important influence workshops have on teachers and parents of a community. The importance of the quiet behind the scenes education accomplished during workshops and the support they offer the adults involved cannot be underestimated.
This year we hosted the first in a series of “Water Workshops” as a part of the inauguration of a new water plant. To raise awareness of the importance of clean water and inaugurate the water systems, CONAPAC is conducting water workshops in every community where we have installed a water treatment plant. A workshop consists of a day and a half of information and activities presented by local experts and authorities including representatives from the Iquitos Board of Health and IIAP, the Institute of Investigation in the Peruvian Amazon. Themes covered include global water issues, contamination sources, an overview of the water situation in Peru, microbial organisms, consequences of contaminated water consumption, and very basic financial management strategies.
