On August 26th, seven children from the José Carlos Mariategui School in Villa Salvación had the opportunity, along with two of their teachers, to visit the Manu Learning Centre (MLC). These sixth graders were rewarded with the first prize in the “Manu: My home” painting contest held last June.
The day began at 7 am at the Aguanos area, where Chiri, our boatman, transported the group to the MLC by crossing the Alto Madre de Dios River. Once they arrived, the entire MLC team introduced themselves. After a brief presentation by Mila and Jackie, they were divided into three groups to go into the rainforest and learn all its secrets. Thanks to the leadership of Renato, Luis and Carolina, they discovered more about Manu!
Afterwards, they engaged in a butterfly workshop to learn the differences between butterflies and moths and how to capture them without hurting. They also had time to study with Tadashi and me about all they had learned throughout the morning. For lunch, we had a delicious dish of lentil stew with rice from Maruja.
To finish off the day, we watched together the camera trap videos of animals, in which they were able to observe mammals, and take a close look at one of the snakes that inhabits the MLC: the Leptodeira annulata.
Later, followed by a cultural exchange to learn about different nationalities, the kids practised English with Antonio (Crees Manu volunteer from Austria), and Spanish with the Crees Manu Conservation Intern Blanca, and me!
Before saying goodbye, they did a short questionnaire about their experience at the MLC. On the way back to Salvación, one of the little visitors told us: “I am going to miss you very much, when can I come back?” We are happy, and really hope this day was educational, and inspired them to conserve Manu.
By Paula Sánchez García – Meridies Intern