200 Dominicans Teachers Learn about Creative Ways of Recycling Waste

GFDD/ Funglode and LEA Plan Organizes the Conference-Workshop “The Future of Food: Feed the World, Protect the Planet”, Where ReCrearte Had a Special Presentation

Raising awareness through school, family and community, and the importance of caring for the planet to ensure the feeding supply for future generations: this was the main theme of the conference-workshop organized on February 13 by GFDD/Funglode, the LEA Plan educational program
and the Listin Diario newspaper, as part of activities marking the XXII edition of the Week of Geography.

"The Future of Food: Feed the World, Protect the Planet", held on Friday, February 13th at Funglode headquarters in Santo Domingo, was aimed to 200 teachers of Natural and Social Sciences from educational regions 04-10-15. The artist and coordinator of GFDD’s ReCrearte
program, Bertha Santana, presented the workshop "More Food, Less Pollution."

The person in charge of the LEA Plan, Rosario Vásquez, opened up the meeting with a presentation of the program and the results of Geography Week 2014. Meanwhile, Alba Iris de los Santos, program coordinator, reported that during Week Geography, through the Listin Diario newspaper, collectible booklets and a pedagogical
guide with lesson plans will be published. Meanwhile, professor Bolívar Morales Troncoso, the Instituto Panamericano de Geografía e Historia (IPGH), presented "The Role of Geography in the Distribution of Population, Food and Levels of Development."

ReCrearte Workshop
Following the introduction of GFDD / Funglode environmental programs, Santana explained the concepts and methodologies of ReCrearte program, as a strategy for
environmental protection, emphasizing the need for every citizen to commit to actions to reduce waste and pollution. The advantage of creative recycling was highlighted during the workshop, when Santana said, "let’s generate income from our own home using recycled elements and materials to produce pieces of commercial value”.

Following the theme of the Week of Geography, special emphasis was placed on recycling opportunities using waste
generated by food consumption; including containers, packaging and plastic bags. Various examples of pieces made from these materials were presented through the ReCrearte creative recycling program.

At the end of the presentation there was a Q & A session and reflections, where teachers highlighted the usability of creative recycling in the classroom as a teaching strategy for environmental education through learning by doing.

On February 5th
ReCrearte gave this same workshop at the Perelló Cultural Center in Baní to more than 100 teachers and students from high schools in the South region, particularly Nizao, Baní, San Juan and Azua- also as part of the activities of the Plan Lea during the Week of Geography.

ReCrearte works with disadvantaged members of the communities, by training them in the art of recycling waste to create objects and at the same time, they learn to create an alternative source of income.
The program, part of the projects of the Dominican Republic Environmental Film Festival, revolves around the "three golden rules" or 3R for the proper management of solid waste: reduce, reuse and recycle. The workshops demonstrate and emphasize the idea that recycling waste and transforming it into art strengthens both individuals and communities.

More information: www.r3crearte.org