SchoolsEstela RomeroNovember 16, 2021

Not severely affected by Covid

SchoolsEstela RomeroNovember 16, 2021

THE VISIT

“Vicente Guerrero”, Elementary

“El Rosario” Village

“El Rosario” Sanctuary

Coordinates: 19.5790641 -100.2711027

You can see from the photo at the top of this page how our villages that surround the monarch overwintering sanctuaries are situated. We live in a wonderful natural surrounding high up in the mountains very close to the butterflies!

It shall take us a few days to achieve all of our visits to “El Rosario” Sanctuary’s surrounding schools -kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Ejido “El Rosario,” the land area within which the monarch’s largest colonies concentrate, has the highest population density, both in families and students, of the three major sanctuaries.

COVID Times: Health System for our Local Families

With reference to the COVID pandemic and to better understand medical care in Mexico, here is a glimpse at how our health system works for families living in small villages surrounding the monarch sanctuaries.

At least half of local families do NOT have official and permanent medical insurance. We get rather basic medical aid at our local hospitals. Suspicious COVID cases were conveyed to our large and highly-competent public hospitals in our capital cities.

Traditionally, our public medical system is always available for people from small villages and towns. When requiring major treatments, we are provided with immediate registration and assistance. We simply need to prove our town of residence and our modest income status. This is done through a simple social survey and our own Mayor’s or Ejido Assembly’s written remittance (if requested/ required). High-cost treatments result, in many cases, in low to nearly no cost to our families.

TREES: Our topic again this season

The Symbolic Migration determined that our environmental lesson topic, “the benefits of trees and the importance of forest conservation,” would be extended through this season as it is one of major importance.

“We should know how monarchs and other animal species, plants, mushrooms, and trees shape our forest ecosystem. In this way, we can strive for every species’ conservation.

The monarch migration is a sign that our forests are healthy. We should observe them closely in case they exhibit unusual behaviors. This could indicate significant changes in our ecosystem, as all species are interrelated.”

Children volunteer responses to the forest model, pointing to the different elements and their interaction in nature. Estela reminds them of related facts learned in previous seasons, such as the vital roles of pollinators and mushrooms.