Students and teachers from the History and Geography Pedagogy program participated in the talk that addressed this topic.
With a large attendance of students and academics, the talk called: “Wetlands of life, education for the sustainability of the territory” was held, organized by the Geography Area of the Department of Social Sciences of the University of La Serena.
The presentation focused on the case study of the Huentelauquén Wetland Ramsar Site was given by the academic and Coordinator of the Geography Area, Mg. in Geographic Sciences, Marcela Robles; the academic, Mg. in Sciences, Víctor Bravo, and the Lic. in Education, Rubén Castillo, who were part of the multidisciplinary team that developed the study of biodiversity and conservation of the wetland biota, which laid the foundations for Las Salinas de Huentelauquén, with the support of the agricultural community, was declared a Ramsar Site.
“We are totally convinced that wetlands are open classrooms, and the international context also says so. That is why we mention them as wetlands of life and that they must be used in educational processes, at all levels, and also integrate the community. We use the concept of sustainability of the territory, that is, how this lived space is articulated, the enhancement of these ecosystems and what is the role of universities. The enhancement has to start by pointing out and showing the community what there is, what exists, what has been done and everything that is missing, and also pointing out how important they are for our territory,” explained the Mg. Marcela Robles.
The ULS academic added that at the national level “we already have 14 Ramsar sites and we want to increase the number of protected spaces, because we know that they play such an important role as an ecosystem service. We have a lot of faith in this XNUMXst century education, using and valuing more what we have.”
The talk took place in Room 118 of the School of Pedagogy in History and Geography (Andrés Bello Campus) and was attended by the Director of the Department. of Social Sciences, Mg. Hernán Cortés, the representative of the Department of Environmental Management of the Municipality of Coquimbo, Rubí Martínez, professors and students of the course.