Project News

Again this year, the Project held environmental activities to coincide with the celebration of the founding anniversary of Chagres National Park. Banners created with the theme "Let's Protect Biodiversity" by students from the 3 junior high schools located inside Chagres National Park were gathered for display.

The students present their artwork during the event. (October 8, 2010, at the Cerro Azul elementary school)

All the schools that participated in the event are located either on the Alhajuela lakeshore or in the hills upstream from the Lake. There are no roads to the schools and they have no electricity; however, they are blessed with an incredible natural environment. The students carefully drew the diverse plants and animals found in their surroundings. After each explanation by the students about the meaning of their banner, the participants of the event gave a rousing applause of admiration. The photos below show the banners from the 3 schools.

The banner from San Juan de Pequeni school. The colors are bright. (Same as above)

Enlarged view: there are drawings of an alligator, jaguar, iguana, monkey and people. (Same as above)

The banner from Victoriano Lorenzo school. The mountains and lake surrounding the town look three-dimensional. (Same as above)

Enlarged view: real leaves were pasted on the trees and moss on the crest of the mountains. (Same as above)

The banner from San Juan de Pequeni school for native people. There are drawings of their traditional house and dugout canoes made from logs. (Same as above)

Enlarged view 1: The Harpy eagle (Panama's national bird) is well drawn. (Same as above)

Enlarged view 2: Real pebbles were glued on the river where an alligator is swimming. (Same as above)

We hope that this call made by the junior high students from Panama's mountain villages will contribute, even in a small way, to the conservation of biodiversity, which is a global issue today.

Last year's activities on the Chagres National Park anniversary can be seen in the Project News dated October 13, 2009.

(Mr. Taku Mori, Farmland Use Plan / Environmental Education)