Create 50 guardians for Bahia Magdalena mangrove

We were invited to participate in the Oyster Gastronomy Festival 2024, titled "Santo Domingo and its Flavors", which took place in March 2024. At the event, we presented an educational module focused on sustainable fishing. This festival, now in its third year in the Ejido Santo Domingo community, showcases the various oyster products produced in the region. Oysters are a key product and livelihood for the local residents. A total of 20 oyster farming cooperatives from the Bahia Magdalena area participated.

Our module at the festival featured a variety of recreational games such as bingo, a version of snakes and ladders, puzzles, and talks on how to practice sustainable fishing and why it's important to protect the environmental goods and services provided by the mangroves, where oyster farming takes place.

Having the module at the festival helped the community members recognize the team and the work being done in the community. Many approached us with questions, and overall, the response was positive.

Additionally, we visited schools to conduct environmental education talks focused on environmental goods and services. The students engaged in an activity where they drew actions to conserve the environmental services of the mangroves.

Overall, the festival not only fosters pride and a deeper connection to the natural resources and ecosystem among the community but also strengthened our social bonds, allowing us to actively participate in and support their local traditions and environmental stewardship.

As part of the activities for the conservation of the area, in December 2023, an environmental education talk on plastic pollution was given for elementary and middle schools in the town of Santo Domingo, BCS. Students attended a brief talk and engaged in an activity where they answered questions about what they learned, covering topics about the different types of waste, the issue of plastic pollution, and individual conservation actions that they can follow.

Additionally, the annual observation rounds were conducted, during which specific observation points were visited to take panoramic photographs and observe changes in the landscape. Fortunately, overall, no significant changes were found.

Finally, a discussion was held with representatives from 9 cooperatives in the oyster sector to discuss the creation of a community surveillance committee to support mangrove forest conservation. During this discussion, organization began to identify where the different cooperatives are located for organizing the surveillance routes.

For 2024, the plan is to formalize the community surveillance committee and begin the rounds after a training course for members, to conduct more frequent monitoring and establish a communication channel with a wider range of coastal resource users, collaborating together for conservation of the mangrove forest.