Outreach and Education
This Program Area is an insurance policy for conservation. By educating young people about the importance of their forests and its wildlife, we ensure that the conservation corridors we build now will be protected into the future.
Photo: School children from the Aceituno community in the Paso del Istmo
By working directly with the youth who live in conservation corridors, Paso Paso is beginning to change, not just attitudes, but also behaviors. For example, in the coming year, we will work on replacing sling-shots with a better toy for connecting with birds and wildlife, binoculars. Paso Pacífico believes that knowledge and concern for nature comes about through first-hand experience. Therefore, rural children already carry a deep understanding of their environment. We build on this foundation by organizing field trips, sponsoring outdoor recreation activities, and promoting environmental curricula in schools.
Through outreach and extension programs with adult landowners, we are training people in new and alternative land uses. When Paso Pacífico supports landowners with technical assistance, we are simultaneously providing rich learning opportunities for landowners.
Photo: Asociación Pacífico Sur members after a workshop on post-harvest crop management.
Paso Pacífico’s activities give local people a new perspective on the wildlife they have seen their entire lives. For example, by training local hunters to observe primates and collect data on their behavior, we are seeing that those who were once avid hunters have now become extremely skilled and passionate about wildlife monitoring.
Photo: Local farmer, hunter, and now biological technician Eriberto pauses before continuing work on primate monitoring transects
