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Conservation Education in Puerto Rico
In 1986, the Institute of Tropical Forestry (now International Institute of Tropical Forestry), as part of the USDA Forest Service, began a pilot project in which the principal goal was to assist in the curricula and forest research development in the Pablo Colón Berdecía High School of Barranquitas that is localized in the central mountains of Puerto Rico. That effort illustrate that the Forest Service is recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in caring for the land and serving people. The Forest Service has a commitment to environmental education and transfer of scientific information to the public. In the case of Puerto Rico, it acquired a great significance because Puerto Rico is a Hispanic Country and Hispanics are underrepresented in the sciences and mathematics in the United States of America.
The training sessions include, between other activities, information on weather monitoring, forest community dynamics, tropical soils and nutrient cycling, hydrology and stream ecology, dynamics of vertebrate populations, and natural history. The USDA Forest Service, the University of Puerto Rico researchers, as well as LTER researchers from collaborating mainland institutions conduct training sessions. In some occasions, individuals that have a special knowledge, like some topics in science and natural history, collaborate with the students in the particular projects that they have interest. By other way, students conduct symposia open to other student and the general public. Projects for science fairs, including at the national level and the publication of science articles in scientific magazines have been some of the products of the students work. In addition, students develop a profile of the forest near their schools including ecophysiographical structures, chemical and physical parameters, biodiversity and the integration of the urban and rural community forest. These goals depends on the high school location, as an interdisciplinary curriculum theme to provide students with a hands-on, inquiry-based experiences to develop their environmental literacy as well as their potential as future leaders and advocates for the conservation of the urban and rural forested landscapes.
The training sessions include, between other activities, information on weather monitoring, forest community dynamics, tropical soils and nutrient cycling, hydrology and stream ecology, dynamics of vertebrate populations, and natural history. The USDA Forest Service, the University of Puerto Rico researchers, as well as LTER researchers from collaborating mainland institutions conduct training sessions. In some occasions, individuals that have a special knowledge, like some topics in science and natural history, collaborate with the students in the particular projects that they have interest. By other way, students conduct symposia open to other student and the general public. Projects for science fairs, including at the national level and the publication of science articles in scientific magazines have been some of the products of the students work. In addition, students develop a profile of the forest near their schools including ecophysiographical structures, chemical and physical parameters, biodiversity and the integration of the urban and rural community forest. These goals depends on the high school location, as an interdisciplinary curriculum theme to provide students with a hands-on, inquiry-based experiences to develop their environmental literacy as well as their potential as future leaders and advocates for the conservation of the urban and rural forested landscapes.
