After a visit to Rancho Cacachilas with EPI Mexico, Itzel, Ángela, Ivanna, and Fátima were inspired to take action. The students from Technical High School Number 10 in La Paz, Baja California Sur, chose to tackle water waste in their community. Accompanied by their teacher Marcia, they developed the EcoDrop project, an ecological sink with a drip irrigation system that reuses water to hydrate nearby plants.
“We were inspired by our trip to the El Bule trail, where we received talks about gabions, which help retain water, and about watersheds. We incorporated this knowledge into our project,” explains Itzel.
Through teamwork and collaboration with teachers, they gathered materials, designed the structure, and faced logistical obstacles to make their idea a reality. Their initiative, which saves water and promotes environmental awareness in their school, was recognized as the winning project of the EPI Mexico 2023 Student Fair.
“We couldn’t live without water because it’s a vital resource worldwide, and it’s running out—especially here in Baja California Sur, which is a desert state where water is very scarce. That’s why many programs, like EPI, aim to raise awareness about this resource and encourage young people to take care of water and develop different projects to help conserve it,” says Ángela.
This student initiative exemplifies how the Place-Based Education approach can drive sustainable development from within the community. For this reason, Ecology Project International Mexico, which has implemented this approach for several years, is committed to an innovative co-creation project: the Place-Based Learning Guides for Sustainable Development. Constructed in collaboration with teachers, civil society organizations, and government entities, this project is aimed at schools across Baja California Sur.
Currently in its first phase, this project seeks to transform the way in which elementary and high school students understand their environment, connecting them with the natural and cultural richness of their communities.
What is Place-Based education?
Place-Based education is based on contextualizing learning by using local examples and issues. This approach encourages students not only to acquire knowledge, but also to develop practical solutions to the challenges of their environment.
"We want all the information that reaches the students to be contextualized, the examples and issues to be local, and the solutions to be local as well. Situated learning is for life," explains Dulce A. Paz, a member of the EPI Mexico team.
According to an article in the Tepeji del Río High School Scientific Bulletin, from the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo:
“The goal of situated learning is to lead the student to acquire meaningful learning where they find meaning and utility in what they learn in the classroom. In this way knowledge is based on what the student will actually know, will be able to do and wants to know.”
Situated learning includes methods such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Case Based Learning (CBL), which foster the development of key competencies in students through contextualized and practical activities.
PBL focuses on solving real, open-ended and relevant problems, promoting skills such as self-regulation, creativity, inquiry, and collaboration. The process includes stages such as problem definition, brainstorming, research, and presentation of results, with the teacher guiding and evaluating progress.
On the other hand, the CBL proposes practical cases to analyze and propose solutions, encouraging meaningful learning, collaborative work, and connection with real contexts. Its process includes the presentation of the case, team analysis, conceptualization, decision making, and discussion of results. Both methods integrate teaching, research, and reflection, focusing learning on the student.
"We promote students to know to protect. These outdoor activities generate important connections, even if they don't study science, they foster a sense of belonging to their environment," emphasizes Carolina Navarro, also part of the EPI Mexico team.
New Mexican School: an opportunity for change
The project is aligned with the principles of the Nueva Escuela Mexicana - New Mexican School- (NEM), an educational model that seeks to transform traditional learning throughout the country. Instead of isolated subjects, the NEM promotes comprehensive learning focused on solving community problems.
"It is an important moment for education in Mexico," says Dulce. "The NEM puts the student and the community at the center, using problem-based learning that integrates several areas of knowledge."
The Secretary of Public Education (SEP) implements the New Mexican School as a plan that guarantees the right to a comprehensive, inclusive, equitable, and excellence education for children, adolescents, and youth. This model promotes a collaborative and multicultural education, adapted to the diverse regions of the country.
As defined by SEP, the New Mexican School is based on the following key principles:
Fostering identity with Mexico: Promotes love of country, appreciation for culture, historical knowledge and commitment to constitutional values, recognizing culture as an essential element of humanity.
Responsible citizenship: Forms students who respect human rights, practice civic values such as justice, solidarity and respect, and promote peace, equity and social welfare through empathy and community action.
Honesty: It stands out as an essential value for social coexistence, based on trust and truth.
Participation in the transformation of society: Promotes critical thinking, innovation, and creativity to improve social, economic and cultural conditions, prioritizing equity and justice.
Respect for human dignity: It places the human being as the central axis of the educational system, promoting equality, human rights, and a humanistic perspective that encourages active participation in a just and democratic society.
Interculturality: consists of valuing cultural and linguistic diversity, promoting dialogue and exchange between cultures on a basis of equity, respect and mutual understanding.
Culture of peace: implies fostering constructive dialogue, solidarity, and the search for consensus in order to resolve conflicts peacefully and promote coexistence while respecting differences.
Respect for nature and care for the environment: this involves recognizing that human well-being is closely linked to the health of the natural environment. It is therefore essential to reflect on our consumption habits and act, both individually and collectively, to reduce pollution and curb climate change.
In addition, the NEM is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG4, which seeks to ensure inclusive, equitable, and quality education, recognizing its importance in overcoming poverty and fostering community participation.
The New Mexican School promotes active, collaborative, and contextualized methodological strategies that integrate teacher reflection, collective learning, autonomy, and socio-affective aspects, linking activities to the environment and using adequate resources. These approaches are in line with EPI's Situated Education approach.
Place-Based Learning Guides: transforming education in BCS
The program Saberes desde el territorio: Guía de Aprendizaje Situado en Baja California Sur (Knowledge from the Territory: A Guide to Place-Based Learning in Baja California Sur) promoted by EPI Mexico seeks to connect students with their natural environment and foster resilient communities, in a context marked by challenges such as school dropout and low learning outcomes.
The program will be developed in three phases:
First Phase (2024-2025): With the help of a seed fund, EPI will assess the project's viability and scalability. The team will map key stakeholders, select relevant topics, and organize a Workshop for the Strengthening of Teaching Capacities for teachers in the municipality of La Paz. The goal is to engage at least 20 teachers and reach 400 students.
Second Phase (2025-2026): EPI will expand the project to three municipalities in Baja California Sur. The team will conduct a Teacher Capacity Building Workshop for educators in these municipalities, aiming to involve 65 teachers and benefit 1,300 students.
Third Phase (2026-2027): EPI will work with State Educational Liaisons to facilitate teacher capacity-building workshops, ensuring the program's implementation across Baja California Sur. This phase aims to train 225 teachers and reach 4,500 students.
The project is aimed primarily at teachers in public schools in BCS, due to their ability to reach a multitude of students.
"It would be much more complicated, for example, if the workshops were given to students in each school, than if we trained the educational liaisons and they passed it onto the teachers. In this way, the reach is much greater," explains Carolina.
"What we want is to invite them to explore. If we are going to talk about the sea, let's go see it. We also seek to encourage curiosity in the teachers, since they are the ones who are in front of the groups and have a presence throughout the state," adds Dulce.
The project is currently in its initial phase, with the design and piloting of the first of the ten classes that will make up the program, following a diagnostic stage with the parties involved.
EPI Mexico has experience in similar projects. In 2021 and 2022, together with the German Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Mexico (GIZ) and the Central and Neovolcanic Axis Regional Directorate of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), it developed the Biodiversity and Community Health program, which impacted 376 schools, 1,498 educators and more than 40,000 students in the central region of the country. EPI designed all the learning guides and pilot material for this project.
"I have always thought that on-site activities are meaningful learning, because students develop a better understanding and are more aware of the process being taught," says Eduardo Zapata Hernández, an elementary school teacher who has participated in previous EPI projects.
Methodology and Approach
The design of the guides includes 10 lessons per educational level (primary, secondary and high school), with cross-cutting themes such as water and the environment. The activities are adapted to the local context, using the 5E methodology: engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate.
"We want the guides not to be something to be kept in a file cabinet, but useful and practical tools," Carolina points out.
This project, built on hope and collaboration, seeks not only to improve learning outcomes, but also to foster a sense of belonging and responsibility towards the environment.
"We are excited to see this project take shape. We believe we can create a useful tool that will positively impact communities and future generations," concludes Dulce.