Thank you for supporting Children of Colombia’s “Save the Amazon Education Centre” Appeal! We have raised more than half the £1000 target to fund repairs to Natütama’s Environmental Education and Visitor Centre in the Colombian Amazon. Why not set up your own Fundraising page via the Just Giving link to boost the Appeal and help reach our target by the deadline of 31 December? Or click Donate Now to make a quick, no fuss donation.
Read more about the Education and Visitor Centre:
Fundacion Natütama is a Colombian charity that runs important environmental education and research programmes in the Colombian Amazon. It works with schoolchildren, families, fishermen and all the local community, teaching about conservation of the Amazon’s unique ecosystems.
The programmes are run from the Education and Visitor Centre – a beautiful, traditionally constructed building in the rainforest near the town of Puerto Nariño on the banks of the Amazon. People come to the Education Centre to learn more about endangered species like manatees, sloths and river dolphins and how they can live alongside them without threatening their lives or habitat. The young team of educators organises fun activities such as field trips, games, painting, drama and mime.
Many activities incorporate traditional myths and folklore. The strange, beautiful and often endangered creatures such as the manatee, boa (anaconda), caiman crocodile and river dolphin feature largely in these stories as spirits of the river and forest, interacting with humans who share their environment. Elders from the local Ticuna and other indigenous communities visit for storytelling sessions, passing on their traditional knowledge and cultural heritage to the younger generation and reinforcing the science-based teaching about preserving and respecting the environment.
Educators (when Covid restrictions allow) hold regular environmental education classes in local schools. Children in each grade learn more about the habits and lifecycles of different rare, endangered local creatures and how to protect them and conserve their environment. They are awarded a special certificate at the end of each course.
Each year Natütama organises a week-long festival of activities involving the whole community and based at the Education Centre. Parades, animal masks and costumes, theatre, dance and art all feature heavily, combinging local cultural traditions with environmental education.
Natütama’s aim is to help local people to understand and respect their local environment and to manage it sustainably alongside their traditional way of life. Farmers are encourage not to destroy ancient trees and wildlife. Fishermen and hunters are encouraged to avoid harming manatees, the giant pirarucu fish and other endangered species and to leave turtle eggs untouched or move them somewhere the babies can hatch out in safety.
Please support our 2021 Christmas Appeal – share with your friends and family, post on social media, set up a Fundraising page or Donate Now. Thank you!