By Jessica Wakauma Ausinheiler | Program Director
Dear friends and partners,
It is hard to believe that when we last wrote, JÓVENES GUARDIANES was just getting started.
Thanks to your generous support, what began as an organic environmental education effort has become a community-designed program for middle and high school students across the upper Mamoní watershed. Your encouragement gave us the confidence to invest the time to co-create a stronger curriculum with Judy Dourson (Geoversity Foundation), four outstanding local teachers, and student leaders, with support from partner schools and regional and national environmental education staff. Together, we developed three 75-minute sessions, tied to nationally recognized environmental events and complemented by field trips and interdisciplinary classroom activities. As this pilot year unfolds, we continue refining the model to identify the approaches that have the greatest impact.
Together, you helped us raise nearly US$5,900. We were especially touched by the friends—both longtime and new—who chose to support this work, many of whom have dedicated their own careers to education, conservation, and social change. Your confidence was the spark that helped transform an idea into something much bigger.
This year, we partnered with six rural public schools, completed 20 educational visits, organized a Global Big Day birding event with more than 40 students, parents, and community members, and directly reached more than 100 students, along with dozens of teachers, administrators, and families.
Students learned to read maps and better understand their watershed, identify the threats it faces, and explore practical actions they can take at home, at school, and in their communities to help protect it. They learned to use binoculars to observe birds and contribute to citizen science while strengthening their scientific observation skills. For many, it was their first opportunity to use a microscope. Using donated handheld microscopes, students examined microplastics collected from local rivers and drinking water, connecting a global environmental issue to the places where they live. We've included links to a few of our favorite posts below.
This quarter also brought exciting new partnerships. Fundación AES Panamá supported our water pollution session through a visit to Casa Wanda, an innovative center that intercepts trash from the Juan Díaz River while recovering PET plastics for recycling.
One of the most exciting outcomes has come directly from the students themselves. As part of the Mamoní Watershed Committee and in collaboration with leaders of the Venancio High School Science Club, we are launching a participatory Mamoní River monitoring program in which students will help monitor the health of their own watershed, building scientific skills while contributing meaningful local data.
Like any pilot, the program also brought valuable lessons. In one community, we chose to pause activities after a campaign by a few community members, despite the continued support of the teacher and many parents. We hope to return next year and continue building on that enthusiasm. We are also strengthening the program by more actively supporting student leaders to design and carry out their own conservation projects at school.
Finally, we wanted to let you know that we will be closing the Jóvenes Guardianes campaign on GlobalGiving for the time being. The program itself is not ending. At our current fundraising level, the costs associated with international transfer fees and monthly disbursements outweigh the benefits of remaining on the platform. When we are ready for the next phase of growth, we look forward to returning.
Your support helped launch a program that is empowering young people in one of the world's most biodiverse landscapes to better understand, care for, and protect their own watershed. We are deeply grateful for your trust, friendship, and partnership, and we look forward to sharing the next chapter with you.
Thank you for believing in the next generation of guardians of the Mamoní watershed.
Links:
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