SchoolsEstela RomeroDecember 18, 2019

"20 de Noviembre"

SchoolsEstela RomeroDecember 18, 2019

SCHOOL VISIT

This is our last day before Christmas holidays start!. After all these weeks visiting students school after school surrounding “El Rosario” Sanctuary area, we have little by little been coming down hill and just peeped loud for the kids at the “20 de Noviembre” Elementary, our last school belonging to this whole area which Oyamel and Pine forests shelter Monarchs at the peaks of these mountains. This school bears the name of one of our two most important civic dates to celebrate in Méxco: “The Mexican Revolution” day, when farmers all over our country, managed that, in our Constitution, instead of the State, they were considered “Ejidatarios”, that means, owners on the rights of the benefits their lands provide to them, that is, the rights on water sources, land, forests, and underground resources, a law still prevailing up today, stating, besides, that children, grand-children, great-grand children and great-great grand children shall inherit these rights automatically, from generationn to generation. Children were really excited at seeing their Ambassador Monarchs arriving and asked loud to each other: “which topic do you think we will learn about today?”, “I wish it were animals again!”. They were so taken away the moment we were in the classroom trying to recall the moment when grandparents or great-grand parents, or in a few cases great-great-grand-parents would tell them stories at home, while around the fire for dinner, which animals and plants they used to see when they were children…. “Great grand-pa tells me the near home at dawn, the singing of frogs and toads could make you deaf”, —A kid said rising his hand eager to tell his story—.. “Grand-pa tells us that there being not much to do for a living in that time, they would sharpen kind of arrow tools and would be so good at hunting moles and rabbits rich in protein to eat!; we still have rabbits, but moles have almost dissapeared, due to the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers for growing corn, wheat, potatoes, and not to say avocados nowadays, which, due to our altitude (ten thousand feet) and cold climate, are the only things we grow here”, — a girl assured—.. “But nowadays many of our parents, mine, for example, are attending training on how to prepare their own fertilizers with rests at home; they will not anymore damage the soil and the water, since we all know how this is harming our health and environment; this way, my parents can even sell their products at even better prices than they used to, since they are much healthier”, —one of the oldest girls in the group attending 6th grade, said proudly—. So many stories and knowldege our children acquire from their seniors, that they get so many skills for their own lives… We came then to the topic of our local animals and plants and learned about their status and classification in threatened, endangered and extinct species. “We are sad to confirm that deer, and road-runners are definately extinct, but so happy to hear that salamandras, armadillos, fox, moles, and raccons, are on time to be rescued… and that our birds, frogs, toads, owls, bees, bats, snails, only need protection of their habitat!… wombs being so important for equilibrium, lizzards, so incredibly looking relatives to dinosaurs!!!, oh mine!, to think that they all share habitat with Monarchs….and… no kidding, to think that after dropping so sadly, Monarchs were so many last year and are so many now!, our parents tell about how our friends in the North should have done so much so, that they managed this wonderful numbers in population!!!. We have to do just the same to keep building up habitat for them to overwinter here!!!.