|
Projects:
École VerteSTATUS: launched January 2006 / ongoing Bringing students from the city to the mountains of Seguin for environmental education camping trips and tree planting with local children. NEED: Haiti is an environmental disaster. Although less than 2% of its forests remain, cutting down trees for charcoal is a primary source of income for many poor families and accounts for 71% of the country’s total energy needs. Without trees, Haiti is vulnerable to droughts and floods like the one that devastated Gonaives in 2004. Even gentle rains carry precious topsoil to the sea, leaving agricultural lands increasingly barren and infertile in a country where the majority of households depend on small-scale agriculture to survive. Reforestation is recognized as an extremely important aspect of sustainable development. Donor governments and NGOs have planted tens of millions of trees over the last 15 years. However, despite the valuable contribution this represents and the important lessons learned, these collective efforts are only a modest start. RESPONSE: To increase awareness and environmental education to children in Haiti, Yéle Haiti works closely with Fondation Seguin to provide monthly environmental education camping excursions. Children from all different backgrounds from the city and county come together to plant fruit bearing species, capable of generating wealth for the region. Another goal is to gather enough information from these trips to develop educational materials to be integrated into the curriculum of Haitian schools. Partner: Sponsor: Photo: Students from Port-au-Prince on environmental education camping trip to the Seguin region. |
