Instituto Terra has the first graduating class of the Terrinhas in Aimorés, little environmental monitors who work in schools as a replica of environmental knowledge. Given the success of the program, this model of environmental education will be expanded to 77 more schools in the Doce River Valley from 2009 on
In Aimorés, Minas Gerais, there is a group of boys and girls, from 8 to 14 years old who are ready to act in defense of the environment and the Atlantic Forest. They are 350 elementary school students from public and private schools in Minas Gerais who spent the last three years learning, practicing and passing on information about how you can live and prosper in harmony with nature.
This young team integrates the 1st class formed by the Terrinhas Project, from the Terra Institute, and it was involved in last week of November, on the 24th and 25th, on the activities to the closing of the project, held at the Bulcão Farm.
Before receiving the certificates, the "Terrinhas” reminded a little of what they produced during the development of the project through the slideshow of pictures and the exposure of the projects. There was also the presentation of the Fabric Book, where they recorded all the knowledge acquired, and the presentation of a play called “Shadow Theater”, that tells the story of the shadow theater.
The Terrinhas Project is an environmental education program of the Terra Institute developed as a pilot project in public and private schools of Aimorés. The success of the results and a newly established partnership with the company Vale will implement the program in over 77 schools from 2009 on, reaching another four municipalities of the Rio Doce Valley, between the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo.
The program prepares little environmental monitors, students selected from the 5th to 7th grades (or from the sixth year to the eighth year of new basic education of nine years) from the schools assisted by the Environment in Education Program. These monitors participate in educational activities in visits to the Instituto Terra and they receive kits of didactic materials, which they share with colleagues in the school relating to the Environment subject.
The "Terrinhas" receive information to act on educational projects developed for environmental education in schools and through this multiplier effect, the project has reached more than 3.2 thousand students from the public and private school system of Aimorés, totaling over 12.8 thousand people from the local community as indirect beneficiaries.
The Terrinhas project began in 2005, in partnership with UNESCO and Rede Globo / Child Hope Project, and has been selected twice by UNESCO as a model project for environmental education.
The 350 students are graduates from the following schools of Aimorés:
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Centro Educacional Crescer – Downtown
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Escola Estadual "Américo Martins da Costa" – Downtown
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Escola Municipal "Teixeira Soares" – Downtown
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Escola Estadual "Machado de Assis" – Downtown
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Escola Municipal "Santo Antônio do Norte" - Santo Antônio do Rio Doce
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Escola Municipal "Henrique Rodrigues de Barros" - Penha do Capim
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Escola Municipal "Secundino Cypriano da Silva" - Alto Capim
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Escola Municipal "Honório Vicente de Oliveira - São Sebastião da Vala
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Escola Estadual "Maria de Castro Paiva" - Mundo Novo
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Escola Estadual "Manoel Victorino de Oliveira" – Tabaúna
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Escola Estadual "Frei Afonso Maria Jordá" - Downtown
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Escola Estadual "José Tavares de Souza" - Conceição do Capim
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Escola Estadual "José Teixeira Franco" - Expedicionário Alício
