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15 February 2002 By Xavier Castellanos in San Marcos, Guatemala Conservation, the environment, zoology. Not the easiest subjects to get across to young schoolchildren whose minds wander easily. But professional educators at the Guatemala Red Cross and the Justo Rufino Barrios school in San Marcos, on the Mexican border nearly 300 kilometres from the capital, may have a found a way. They call it the paper zoo. To develop the idea they first needed: a large amount of waste paper - glady supplied by a municipality anxious to recycle waste that would otherwise end up at the local dump and be a threat to the environment; a lot enthusiasm from everyone; the full participation of teachers and students; and, of course, the support of the community. The children now make and care for elephants, giraffes, tigers, monkeys and many more animals who live at the play zoo. The students learn about them, where they come from, what kind of food they eat. Staff believe that the creative aspects of the zoo project, and the fun of it all, are the best educational tools for teaching somewhat dry (for children at least) subjects like conservation. "The children learn about animals in general, about the life story of each animal they build with the recycled paper, and which species are at risk of extinction and why," says Mirna Soto, head of the Red Cross training department and responsible for the project. "During the whole process we also spend a lot of time discussing environmental issues." The idea sprang from the problem of the tons of waste paper that gets thrown away every day in San Marcos, and the lack of any real effort to find something constructive to do with it, according to Soto. There were no external funds available for the project, so it was very important to win community participation and get donations of paint and glue. Students and teachers concentrated on the educational process of building the zoo. This project is being seen as an example of what the Red Cross can offer communities using enthusiasm, creativity and discipline - but without huge financial resources. "Our hope is to expand this experience in the rest of the country," Soto added. "Our goal is that at least one school in every department of Guatemala has a paper zoo, and the students at these schools could share what they learn with visiting students from other schools. Through teamwork visitors will learn about recycling and animal life in the wild." The paper zoo project is a highly original idea which has motivated students, teachers and the local community - and it has quickly proved popular. A rural school near San Marcos became the first visitors to Justo Rufino Barrios. Now the mayor of San Marcos - another early visitor to the paper zoo - confirms that less waste paper is being destroyed. The community clearly prefers to donate paper to the school rather than burn it as they usually do," he said. |
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