Fundación Patagonia Sur believes that change is rooted in education. We believe that one of the best ways to promote our mission is through the implementation of educational programs.
The foundation began its focus on environmental education in 2008 with a workshop for educators in the region that encouraged their incorporation of the natural environment in school and community activities. Since then, Fundación Patagonia Sur has worked with local schools and communities in Futaleufú and Palena to implement activities that promote environmental awareness and conservation.

In 2010, the foundation’s English Education teachers are leading environmental education initiatives in their schools and communities to promote awareness of local and global environmental issues. They are teaching about ways to reduce humans’ impact on the environment via workshops about composting, recycling, and leading a sustainable lifestyle. The teachers are also forming an Environmental Committee in each town that is dedicated to formally integrating environmental education in the schools and to overseeing the school’s environmental certification with the National Environmental Commission’s program, SNCAE.

Eco-Camp, January 2010

From January 25 to February 1, Fundación Patagonia Sur held Palena’s first Eco-Camp with the help of three Chilean Scouts educators. Twenty children attended the summer camp and learned about the natural environment through entertaining activities and projects. The Eco-Camp focused activities on energy use and conservation, biodiversity, and waste management. The Eco-Camp taught participating children about the difference between organic and non-organic wastes, methods of composting, and the purpose of separating non-organic wastes for recycling. Children collected 80 kilograms of aluminum cans and collaborated with a couple from Osorno to donate the cans to a hospital in Osorno that will use the profits to buy medicine.


Environmental Education Workshop (EEPE) in Patagonia, November 2009

On November 13, 14, and 15 2009, Fundación Patagonia Sur hosted an environmental education workshop in Palena with the objective of creating and training a network of environmental educators in the area. The didactic workshop was based on a methodology known as EEPE: Enseñanza de la Ecología en el Patio de la Escuela (Teaching Ecology in the School Yard). This methodology was brought to South America by Peter Feisinger of the Audobon Society, and is being practiced in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, and other parts of Chile.

Fourteen people participated in the environmental education workshop, including teachers, CONAF employees, representatives from the Municipality of Palena and the Municipality of Trevelín in Argentina, an employee from the Palena Department of Education, community members from Palena, and representatives from Fundación Patagonia Sur.

Fundación Patagonia Sur organized the three-day workshop with support from CONAF, CONAMA, and the Ministry of Education. The activities were led by environmental educators José Vistoso and Diana Moscoso of Valdivia.