Create 50 guardians for Bahia Magdalena mangrove

Elementary and secondary schools of Santo Domingo started a waste separation campaign with their students as part of becoming themselves mangrove guardians. Santo Domingo, Baja California Sur is a community located in Bahia Magdalena important for conservation efforts because locals have direct contact with the Pacific coast and the mangrove present there.

The campaign requires them to collect, wash, separate, and deposit different types of plastic and metal waste. The campaign is not only benefitting the schools, but also the community and their surroundings where locals and families are learning about waste separation through children.

To support this initiative, our team provided a workshop to the students in all grades of both schools about the importance of separating waste and the benefits of taking care of our environment. The workshop took place on November 13^th and 14^th, 2019 in the Estado de Queretaro elementary school and the Telesecundaria 15 Juan Dominguez Cota secondary school.

Several topics were covered in the workshop like the different types of waste, types of plastic waste, the negative effects of plastic in the environment, how to separate our waste, why it’s important, and the environmental services and goods that our ecosystems provide.

After this workshop a total of 30 students became Mangrove Guardians and received a badge that certificates it. Now they have the responsibility of spreading the knowledge they learned to their friends, family, neighbors, and other members of their community, and promise to carry out the important task with enthusiasm and capability.

The upbringing of environmentally conscious children in the community is a long-term step towards creating a sustainable community. We are glad that you joined us in this cause. Thanks for your support!

Considering the biological importance of the Magdalena-Almejas lagoon complex, the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), has declared the area as a priority conservation site in Mexico. Particularly as: Priority Hydrological Region, Priority Marine Region, Priority Terrestrial Region, and Important Bird Conservation Area.

As part of our project we visited Bahia Magdalena last July. Our bio-monitoring team verified the flora, fauna and any activities that could affect the ecosystem. These lets us know the nature conservation status of the site.

Our field team took panoramic photographs of the observation points located strategically in the priority area covering a 360º angle from each one. Samples of the existing flora -especially those which were blooming- were taken, as well as evidence of the native and exotic fauna that travels through the site.

Moreover, on this visit we detected presence of garbage at some points. The garbage was collected, but it indicates visitors and community need to be responsable and take better care of the site.