Students Explore the Biodiversity of Lake Budi Through Art and Poetry
Students from 5th to 8th grade at Escuela Sol Naciente, on the coast of La Araucanía, created artistic and literary works inspired by native birds and the environment of Lake Budi, with the aim of strengthening their connection to local biodiversity and the biocultural memory of the territory. The project, led by teachers Estela Nahuelpán Burgos and Karen Molina Garcés as part of our foundation’s Docente Activo program, sought to highlight environmental education from an intercultural perspective.
On the coast of La Araucanía, in the commune of Saavedra, Lake Budi—whose name means “salty” in Mapudungun—connects to the sea and forms a highly biodiverse ecosystem that is home to birds, mammals, and insects. Inspired by this landscape, students from Escuela Sol Naciente participated in the educational initiative Wetlands as Refuges of Life and Memory, guided by teachers Estela Nahuelpán Burgos (language and literature/indigenous language) and Karen Molina Garcés (arts) within the framework of the Docente Activo program. The experience aimed to reconnect students with biocultural memory and Mapuche kimün (knowledge) through poetry, art, and collective creation.
As part of the process, students produced a variety of literary works—including poems, haikus, and calligrams—alongside drawings of wetland birds made on recycled fabric. These exercises allowed them to understand art as a creative tool for observing their environment as a source of inspiration. With this approach, the teachers encouraged a process of recognition and sensitivity designed to activate memories and, in turn, strengthen the relationship between school, community, and territory.
Poetry as a Path to Self-Discovery
In the literary component, students worked with acrostics, calligrams, and haikus as a way to express emotions and explore their daily surroundings. For Estela Nahuelpán, this practice opened a meaningful space for the personal development of the young participants. “Poetry becomes a pathway to express and understand feelings that are not always freely expressed,” she noted.
Writing haikus—a brief Japanese poetic form centered on nature—allowed students to create from their own experiences. They wrote based on what they observed and felt in the schoolyard, the wetlands, and Lake Budi’s everyday landscape. “Ñuke mapu (Mother Earth) is our essence that we all must protect,” reads one of the haikus created during the project.
Exploring Through the Senses
Creativity also emerged through drawings based on close observation of birds found around Lake Budi, such as the black-necked swan, cocoi herons, and the kingfisher. This approach sought to deepen students’ sensory experience and foster a profound bond with their environment. According to Nahuelpán, this type of exploration opens an essential space for holistic learning: “Sensory exploration allows us to become aware of ourselves and understand how this wonderful place where we live shapes who we are. Being che involves that sense of wholeness,” she explained.
Nahuelpán emphasized that this experience demonstrated the importance of recognizing the territory as a living pedagogical space—one capable of awakening students’ curiosity and creativity when they are encouraged to observe attentively and engage their senses. In doing so, the project reaffirmed the value of promoting educational processes grounded in the landscape, memory, and biodiversity of Budi.
