The End of an Era

After over 6 years of intensive research and community development work in and around the Yachana Reserve, GVI Amazon is coming to a close. We have finished our final research project (look forward to our Road Effects paper, coming soon!) and are handing over the project to our partner, The Yachana Foundation. They will continue to maintain and monitor the reserve, using it as an hands-on science education center for students -- we're very excited to see what fabulous things this next generation of scientists find! For more detail on GVI Amazon's closure, and our accomplishments over the years, please read on...
GVI Amazon Closure Statement

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Teaching in Puerto Rico

It can be a daunting prospect, 5 weeks living in close quarters in the remoteness of the Amazon. But that’s precisely it. It is easy to forget there are local communities right on our ‘doorstep’. One such example is Puerto Rico that I have now visited on three occasions. GVI Amazon places a big emphasis on working with its surrounding local communities and Puerto Rico serves as a fitting reminder that all this research into the Amazon’s environmental stability goes deeper than stats, figures and pure intrigue. For some, this place is a way of life and a proven existence.

English lessons taught by some of the volunteers each week do a great job at strengthening ties whilst also being good fun! For my first lesson, teaching to a class of 15 8 – 9 year olds, the kids lit up at the prospect of shouting out newly introduced English words at the top of their lungs. Being anxious about the discipline of previously unfamiliar kids gave me an unexpected sympathy for my own school teachers who had to put up with much worse!

It was a definite highlight in the expedition, not just for the sake of teaching English but also witnessing and even contributing to the enthusiasm these local Ecuadorians had towards learning. I certainly look forward to the next lesson.


Grant Price - GVI Amazon volunteer, Nov-Dec 2010


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