Early in the last December, an environmental lawyer has told UN News how children and teenagers from some of the most vulnerable neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, have been moved to tears after encountering nature for the first time.
Ana Di Pangracio works for the civil society organization Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales or FARN which is involved in projects to restore degraded land in Argentina. She said they “work in the Matanza Riachuelo basin which is a polluted area on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, which is home to around 4.5 million people, many of whom are living in socio-environmental vulnerable situations or other difficult circumstances”
“Restoration activities include planting native flora and removing non-native invasive species across some 4.5 hectares, as well as building viewpoints and interpretative trails and cleaning up illegal garbage disposal.”
Part of our work is bringing people, especially young people, to experience this restored natural wetland. Some are moved to tears when they experience nature for the first time in their lives. We comfort them and tell them it is OK to be emotional; I’m really pleased that they are able to connect with nature in this way, as I can see that our work is having a big impact.
They tell their friends and teachers about the experience as well and so we get more visitors. There is an educational element to our work as we teach the children about the importance of protecting wetlands but also the adjacent grasslands and native forest.
“I’m excited to give more young people the opportunity to enjoy nature and for them to become the new guardians of wetlands and take the message back to their peers about the importance of preserving ecosystems for future generations.”
