Educators from the coast to the Andes in La Araucanía will address socio-environmental challenges related to water, soil, and interculturality

Rain accompanied some of the hours of “Docente Activo,” a program that experienced a new edition following a call extended to 12 communes in the La Araucanía region. Water—through initiatives for the protection of wetlands, rivers, and streams—will be a central theme in several of the projects developed by the 10 pairs who joined the experience. The program was held at the Sustainable Development Center of the Villarrica campus of the Catholic University (Cedel UC), at the Kodkod Lodge, and at Bosque Pehuén, a nature reserve protected by our Foundation.

Additionally, soil erosion, river and watershed memories, and intercultural integration and awareness are some of the topics the educators will delve into. This year’s theme is interdependence, “a concept that reminds us of the reciprocal interactions and relationships that exist among various beings in nature, a theme that motivates us to develop and co-create educational methodologies that promote constructive ways of relating to ourselves and to socio-ecosystems,” explained FMA’s Learning Director, Manuela Méndez.

Thus, the program aimed to reflect the interconnections present among various beings in nature through scientific and poetic observation exercises, mapping, oral storytelling, and the creation of collective works and perspectives, among various activities and artistic mediations to promote the intersection of art and ecology in education. Through the particular experiences lived with educators from heterogeneous contexts, evocative metaphors and dialogues emerged around the natural phenomena that took place during the autumn days of the program.

In this way, educators were able to reflect on and feel interdependence by perceiving the movement of water falling from the sky and flowing into rivers and the land of the watershed; by sharing scientific knowledge; and by learning from the Mapuche people’s knowledge through the voices of educators and community members from the territory, as well as by projecting artistic and sensory methodologies in dialogue with the biodiversity of the Andean Araucanía.

Regarding this, FMA’s Learning Coordinator and Strategic Learning Officer, Amparo Irarrázaval, highlighted the importance “of welcoming a group composed of educators from different areas of work and different communes, as this enriches the dialogue and reflections that arise throughout the program. Each one contributes from their studies and life experiences, and that is precisely what we aim to emphasize: valuing all those biocultural knowledges.” She also added that among the reflections they sought to stimulate was the relevance of dialogue, mutual recognition, and building connections to continue expanding the network of educators committed to caring for nature.

On the other hand, the program’s mediation coordinator, Fiorella Angelini, referred to the value of art as a knowledge articulator and its role in expanding visions on conservation, stating that “as an artist and educator, I find instances like these very relevant, as they invite educators to immerse themselves in the socio-ecological perspective of art and sensory experiences as triggers for reflective and educational processes. In this edition, we delved into methodologies that could inspire their work processes, highlighting collaboration, interculturality, art, and connection with the territory.”

Interdependence as a relational perspective

Since 2012, “Docente Activo” has aimed to promote the integration of transdisciplinary strategies to foster knowledge and care for nature from multiple perspectives, languages, and knowledges. In this edition, the theme of interdependence was unfolded as a prism to observe the particular experiences that make up the realities in educational spaces and public institutions in the region. This time, we also had the support of the Local Public Education Service of La Araucanía (SLEPCA) and the Department of Education of the Seremi of Education of the La Araucanía Region, who disseminated the call, allowing us to integrate more educators from the coast.

Based on the concept of interdependence, emphasis was also placed on the collective nature of learning in nature, aiming to promote socio-ecological, artistic, and biocultural bonds. In this regard, our Conservation Director, Tomás Altamirano, addressed various dynamics of the forest and its decomposition processes within the program, while guiding an activity on acoustic bird recording, a topic he has specialized in since 2007 through his research on Andean mountain birds and his role as coordinator of the National Bird Conservation Strategy. Altamirano expressed that “in natural ecosystems, interdependence is often present in invisible networks and relationships, which are a permanent source of properties (such as heterogeneity, adaptation, and memory) that emerge and sustain the web of life. Some of these relationships we can perceive or distinguish in various ways through the senses, such as listening.”

Meanwhile, the Conservation Projects Coordinator, Sebastián Carrasco, assured that in the forest, interdependence manifests structurally, in the interactions of biotic and abiotic components of nature. For example, through relationships between vegetation and climatic phenomena, where rain and canopy cover facilitate the retention of moisture in the soil for the reproduction and development processes of flora in temperate rainforests.

Both members of the conservation team also highlighted the need to approach the study of the forest from concepts like structure, composition, and functioning, guiding observation activities using magnifying glasses and tree measurement tools to foster more intimate encounters with that nature that is sometimes unseen.

Each activity aimed to stimulate creative reflections for the implementation of projects, where FMA’s Art team members—Project Manager Bernardita Pérez and Curator and Publications Coordinator Ignacio Serrano—also participated to broaden perspectives on art and interculturality through the works of renowned artists such as Seba Calfuqueo and FMA’s curatorial approaches, like “Twisted Trees.”

Territorial agents committed to nature care

Yalhil Faúndez, a science teacher at El Encuentro School in Villarrica, will carry out, together with his partner Manuel Velis, a proposal to strengthen the care of water bodies, due to the degradation of the watershed caused by pollution and disconnection from the natural environment, focusing on the Ñancul and Lake Villarrica. Reflecting on the program, he shared: “It’s been a self-reflective experience that helped me reconnect with myself, my childhood, and nature—to remember that we are part of a larger interconnection; to once again feel like part of nature and a network with others in tune with it.”

This edition also brought together professionals from disciplines beyond education, such as psychologist Paulina Castillo from the Local Office for Children in Curarrehue. She appreciated “how we approached nature by experiencing interconnection as living beings in multiple ways—by nourishing and creating spaces for conversation.”

Her partner, science teacher Pabla Verdugo from the Monseñor Francisco Valdés Educational Complex in the same town, said the sessions invited her to “feel with the body, to consciously receive the water falling from the sky, and to listen to colleagues reflect on different aspects of life and death while observing how death looks in the forest— which, at the same time, is also life.” Together with Castillo, they will take on the challenge of connecting the memories of the Trancura River through stories from elders recorded by local children.

Another participating educator was Pedro Rico, environmental educator at Tranapuente Public School. Alongside Lizbeth Godoy, he will lead a project to combat the degradation of the Imperial River wetlands, which face constant pressure from agriculture. Rico expressed his joy about joining Docente Activo, as it allowed him “to perceive things in new ways I hadn’t experienced before, and it’s exciting to think about how to apply new methodologies with the children.” One moment where he deeply experienced interdependence, he said, was while creating a collective artwork with natural elements alongside other teachers. “Later, when we toured Bosque Pehuén and learned how each individual has a function in the forest, I felt the same as when we created the artwork—that each person was important to something greater,” he reflected.

Lastly, Estela Nahuelpan, community leader and teacher of Mapuche language and literature at Sol Naciente School in Carahue—who will work with art teacher Karen Molina to protect the Monkul wetland—stated, “This has been a wonderful opportunity to meet fellow educators who are interested in generating changes in their pedagogical practices to create meaningful learning experiences and drive changes in how we teach and how the education system works, considering the territory as a fundamental element for education.”

Other teacher-led proposals will dive into the need to strengthen intercultural awareness or create strategies to address the loss of lawen—traditional medicine—within menoko, or sacred wetlands, among other initiatives. From now on, our team will begin a support phase, where various FMA educator pairs will visit the participating schools to assist in designing the projects in response to the socio-environmental challenges the teachers will tackle. A collective gathering in August will bring everyone back together to share progress.

Learn more about the challenges being developed in the 2025 Docente Activo program HERE.

Report by Violeta Bustos, Communications Director of Fundación Mar Adentro.