Climate Action Nicaragua Project #46212

Nicaragua's Nature Stewards: The Junior Rangers

by Paso Pacifico

Project Report | Jul 12, 2021
Citizen science saves the day

By Sarah Otterstrom | Executive Director

Junior rangers learning about life along the coast

Dear Friend,

In our last update, we mentioned that a record number of junior rangers (over 240!) were enrolled in our program. Since then, our rangers have taken part in global events, workshops and a field trip to the beach. Below are some updates on the program’s activities, all of which were made possible by your generous donations:

Our junior rangers took part in the City Nature Challenge and, along with other Paso Pacifico volunteers, photographed over 141 species (ranging from plants to fish) in the forests and wetlands of Ostional, Nicaragua. Some of the photographed animals included the American crocodile and a white-nosed coati. You can read more about our participation here.

The rangers also took part in the semiannual Global Big Day birding challenge. Our 41 volunteer birders spent their time documenting birds from dawn to dusk. We’re proud to share that for the third consecutive time, our team identified the most species (211) out of all the teams! The junior rangers helped boost Nicaragua to 4th place as having observed the most species in Central America.

In Northern Nicaragua, the rangers held celebratory activities for the macaw after a successful nesting season, thanks to the community and supporters like you. The celebrations included meals made by parents and piñatas for the children.

Last week, teachers and rangers held a workshop for the communities of La Salvia and El Rosario about the conservation of limpets, proper disposal of garbage, and recycling in the school and home. The workshop had 128 guests including children and their parents.

This week, 31 junior rangers had the opportunity to visit the beach for a life-changing field trip. For half of these kids, this was their first time visiting the beach in their life, making the hands-on learning experience all the more exciting.

We wanted to thank you for investing in these children and their education. With your help, our junior rangers are painting a bright future for themselves and the animals around them.

31 junior rangers took a field trip to the beach

An art piece by one of our junior rangers

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Mar 12, 2021
Record number of Jr. Rangers enrolled

By Sarah Otterstrom | Executive Director

Dec 27, 2020
Fall adventures in environmental learning

By Sarah Otterstrom | Executive Director

Jr. Ranger clean-up at the end of rainy season

Dear Friend,

During this challenging year, we thank you for supporting the Junior Ranger program in Nicaragua. Since our last update, the rains of the season increased and the once dry landscape turned green. Thankfully, covid cases decreased during this period and so we were able to resume educational activities in small groups.

It was not completely easy. Nicaragua was hit by two major hurricanes (Eta and Iota), and during those weather events, we canceled activities and focused on helping families move to higher ground. Eta caused damage and flooding in many homes, but Iota was less destructive in the far southwest corner of Nicaragua. Fortunately, all of our children were safe.

- In September, children learned about waste and recycling. Then, children participated in Nicaragua's international coastal clean-up along streams and beaches near their homes.

- In October we celebrated bats. Children learned about the important things that they do as pollinators, seed dispersers, and controllers of insect pests. They took some time to develop art projects focused on these .

- Children also participated in birding observation outings with the adult rangers and through lessons about birds and art projects. Outings included October Big Day where children learned how to use the eBird citizen science platform for recording bird observation.

- After nearly a week of rains associated with the hurricane Eta, children participated in a listening excercise where they sat and listened to the forest and the sounds of birds and animals, and then wrote down their observations.

- A favorite field trip for the children was a trip to the mangrove estuary in early December where the children learned about the importance of these wetlands to wildlife and to protect the community from storms.

- As the rainy season has come to a close, there is a lot of garbage and debris that has been transported by water. The children finished up the year with one more beach clean-up.

In our Junior Ranger program, we are once again practicing strict social distancing and outdoor- mask-wearing as reports of Covid in Nicaragua have begun again.

We are grateful to you for supporting these children as explore their natural world and ways to protect it.

Sincerely,

Sarah

Mangrove field trip and drawing excercises

Birds and painting on cardboard

Birding October Big Day

Listening excercise

Bats are pollinators

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