RDescubre Program– X Educational Expedition to Pico Duarte
September 11-15
The 10th Educational Expedition to Pico Duarte, an initiative of the Siempre Más Foundation and the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival of FUNGLODE/GFDD, will take place from September 11 to 15, 2014. This year, the group will be comprised of around 100 volunteers, made up of some 75 students from the Femenino Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes Polytechnic School in Santiago; the Baseball Children’s League of Santiago; the Hogar Del Niño Orphange in La Romana; and the Orfanato Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos in San Pedro de Macorís. In addition, teachers, staff, and guides will also take part in the 4-day trek up the highest mountain in the Caribbean.
This educational initiative, promoted at the first Dominican Environmental Film Festival in 2011, aims to turn students into active protectors of the environment as they learn the value of personal effort, discipline and teamwork while developing aptitudes necessary to overcome obstacles and difficulties as they seek to achieve their own personal goals.
Throughout the trek, students will receive 11 educational lectures given by experts in environmental conservation, including the Director from the Armando Bermúdez National Park. The talks will focus on creating a broader understanding of the geography of the mountain range, flora and fauna, climate, environmental conservation, forest fires and reforestation, among other issues.
The 10th Educational Expedition to Pico Duarte marks the second DREFF sponsored expedition in 2014. Moreover, the Festival provides equipment needs for additional expeditions carried out by Siempre Mas and organizes activities throughout the year to bring participants together and reinforce leadership values attained during the trip. Since 2012, the Dominican Environmental Film Festival has been committed to promoting increased environmental stewardship by offering at-risk and economically challenged youth a chance to partake in these expeditions.
RDescubre Program: Educational Excursion to Las Salinas
Thursday, September 11th
40 students from the René Descartes School in Baní will participate in the first-ever educational excursion to Las Salinas. The community activity, which will commence at 8:00 AM, aims to recognize the efforts of the school children and of their director, Gaudy Ruiz, as a model for the foundations’ Eco-Huertos program. After watching a short film program at the Centro Cultural Perello, the students will board a bus to Salinas, where they will sail out to sea in a catamaran to discover and explore the Dominican coastline from a different perspective. Expert biologists will accompany them on the trip to help them understand the unique biodiversity contained in the region, which includes coral reefs, mangroves, and sand dunes.
During the excursion the students will also have the opportunity to discover the shallow reef ecosystems and mangroves by getting in the water, after which they will be rewarded with lunch.
GFDD and FUNGLODE hope that the event will strengthen the relationship of community members with their natural surroundings, in line with the DREFF’s overall mission to educate Dominicans about the importance of environmental protection.
Cleanup of La Ciénega & Manabao
Thursday, September 11th
Over 90 sudents, from the more than 1500 students who have taken part in the nine Pico Duarte expeditions – a DREFF collaboration with mountain climber Karim Mella and Siempre Más Foundation – will be chosen as leaders to participate in the second consecutive environmental excursion to La Ciénega de Manabao, Jarabacoa.
The students will depart early morning for this day-long adventure, which will take them to the Jarabacoa municipality, in the middle of the Cordillera Central mountain range, where they will undertake a cleanup project of the Ciénega and Manabao communities, which serve as the entry point to the Armando Bermudez National Park.
In addition to reinforcing the values they acquired during the expeditions to Pico Duarte, the objective of this excursion is to encourage positive actions in defense of the environment through community work.
Neighborhood Clean Up- Calle 20
Friday, September 12th
Marcos Ruiz Street, formerly and popularly known as “the 20th”, is located in the Villa Juana sector of Santo Domingo. This year, the Dominican Environmental Film Festival and the Narciso González Cultural Center are taking the initiative to clean up the 20th, topping off of the activity by creating a decorative wall mural with recycled materials collected during cleanup.
More than 100 students from the area, as well as volunteers from the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic will participate in the cleanup activity, which aims to beautify the neighborhood and raise awareness on sustainable waste management practices.
With the motivation, experience and creativity of Bertha Santana, coordinator of the ReCrearte program, participants and the community will learn about the importance of practicing the “3Rs” of solid waste management: reduce, reuse and recycle.
