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Turning Environmental Education into Action in Sierra Gorda

What happens when environmental education moves beyond the classroom? In Sierra Gorda, it becomes compost, school gardens, recycling campaigns, planted trees, water conservation, and young people and teachers ready to take action.

Between June and August 2026, 21 university students participated in a two-day environmental camp designed to connect knowledge with hands-on experience. During the first day, Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda specialists introduced them to the extraordinary biodiversity of the region and discussed some of its most pressing environmental challenges, including waste management and water pollution. Pati Ruiz Corzo, our General Director, encouraged the students to see themselves as active participants in conservation and to begin making a difference in their own homes, schools, and communities. The following day, they took their learning outdoors. A forest walk helped them understand ecosystem services such as carbon capture, water infiltration, erosion control, microclimate regulation, and habitat for biodiversity. They also prepared seedbeds, learned how to make compost, explored different seeds, and experienced practical examples of sustainable living.

At the same time, the impact of environmental education continued multiplying through teachers. 197 educators graduated from the seventh edition of our Diploma in Sustainable Development: Teaching Tools for Climate Action. Rather than ending with the course, each teacher developed a school or community intervention project inspired by our Green Protocol. Their initiatives include recycling campaigns, environmental committees, rainwater harvesting, waste separation, school gardens, and healthier food practices. Educational authorities reviewed the results of these projects and proposed incorporating their follow-up into their own work plans, an important step toward giving these actions continuity in schools and communities.

We also provided practical resources to help turn environmental awareness into everyday habits. Schools received 167 waste separation containers, while 60 educational signs about water conservation were installed to share information about pollution, water scarcity, and responsible water use. Beyond the classroom, we distributed 10,000 trees to 20 communities for the restoration and improvement of public spaces and community green areas.

For us, environmental education is not simply about teaching people to care for nature. It is about giving them the knowledge, tools, and confidence to do something about it. Every student who discovers the value of a forest, every teacher who launches an environmental project, and every community that improves its surroundings strengthens a broader culture of responsibility for Sierra Gorda.

Thank you for helping us turn environmental education into action.

Links:

• http://www.sierragorda.net