Purpose
Increase community resilience to climate change through capacity building and climate education.
CLIMATE IMPACTS
Community members from Santa Lucia report the following impacts:
Water sources drying up
Corn, the staple crop, no longer growing
due to changing rainfall patterns
Increase in pest prevalence
affecting agricultural productivity
Increased use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers
to combat crop declines
Fruit trees no longer producing
Activities
Workshops
Project leaders instructed three groups of middle school students and one group of high school students on the basics of climate science and impacts. Instruction was also provided on how to plan and execute local adaptation projects.
Homework
Students wrote reports on their respective projects, sourced project materials from their homes and communities like bottles, rope, etc. and made “eco-bricks.”
Pilot projects in communities
Upon completion of a hoop garden at the school, six teams of high school students led the construction of hoop gardens in their respective communities.
Pilot projects at the school
Students helped construct hoop gardens, xeriscaped gardens, and eco benches.
• Hoop gardens are a small-scale and inexpensive type of greenhouse. They use PVC tubing or rods and greenhouse film to cover garden beds, which helps protect plants from freezing temperatures, heavy rainfall, and insects.
• Xeriscape gardening is a type of landscaping technique suitable for arid climates that uses rocks and plants that require minimal water to survive.
• Eco-benches were built using “ecobricks” made of plastic bottles filled with non-recyclable or noncompostable refuse from homes, schools and public spaces.
project outcomes
project design
Facing temperature extremes, erratic rainfall, and pests, families in Santa Lucia need locallyled adaptation interventions that reduce their vulnerability to climate change. Through this project, a local Peace Corps volunteer and teachers from a nearby school worked together to develop a curriculum and instruct middle and high school students and the broader community on climate science and how to develop interventions that boost local resilience to the effects of climate change. The project aimed to help the youth of Santa Lucia in project planning and management while exposing them to local environmental issues. Students learned how to implement adaptation projects, such as smallscale greenhouses and xeriscaped gardens, to give them practical tools for creating more climate-resilient communities.
Students constructing hoop gardens
