Accompany us through the process as we support and develop the eco-education programs of Sierra del Lacandon, a protected area with the Mayan Biosphere Reserve.

"I support this project."

(You are also welcome to accompany the process as much as you prefer, not to worry!)

Fundraisers

Participatory workshops and interviews with community members actively involved in environmental protection, community organizations, and the local public schools of SdL. We believe in the power of context-responsive transformative education.

Comprehensive and holistic ecological curriculum development: 2 team members, 1 month.

Comprehensive and holistic ecological curriculum finalization: 2 team members, 1 month.

Pilot program and teacher training in a local public school: 2 team members, 1.5 months.

The Research Foundation for the Innovation of Eco-Education

Celebrating and cultivating powerful teaching, meaningful learning, and transformative education for living in harmony with nature, la madretierra (mother earth), and our comunidad planetaria (planetary community).

The Research Foundation for the Innovation of Eco-Education is a 501c3 non-profit organization that researches, promotes, and advances ecological, environmental, and socially-regenerative education for children and youth in Central America and beyond.

In September 2020, we teamed up with a long-established conservation and reforestation organization called Defensores de la Naturaleza, in order to support and advance environmental education in the most ecologically critical areas of Guatemala. Our team headed into Sierra del Lacandon, a protected area within the Mayan Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. Using participatory methods, we engaged with each of 10 communities, conversing with children, youth eco-education volunteers, teachers, and community leaders ("cocodes") to garner a solid understanding of their ideas and priorities.

One member of our team, María José, is now back in Sierra del Lacandon to help co-create two major pedagogical materials for use by all local schools: 1) an interactive park-wide map of ecologically and culturally points of interest, and 2) a calendar of ecologically and culturally pertinent annual celebrations. In the coming year, we aspire to co-design a curriculum for teachers and youth group leaders, delving into key ecological issues such as biodiversity, reforestation, and community organizing. We even hope to support a centrally-located public school to become the area's first eco-school and teacher training center.

We have committed to a 2-year collaborative partnership with Defensores de la Naturaleza -- or "Defenders of Nature", one of Central America's oldest and most well-regarded nature conservation and reforestation organizations -- in order to build the educational programs of Guatemalan nature reserves and protected areas in a long-term, community-sustaining way. Ultimately, our goal is to have a positive impact on the ecological knowledge and actions of the students, their families, and the communities in general.

This is us crossing a river where a bridge had collapsed on our way to meet with one of the communities of Sierra del Lacandon. (We're quite persistent, as you can see!)

Check out our other important ecological education projects!