¨Education breeds confidence, confidence breeds hope, and hope breeds peace¨ -Confucius

Last Monday, I had the chance to present Vivamos el Bosque at the Catholic University in Quito to a class of undergrad biology students. One of the goals of the project is to raise awareness about the importance of biodiversity conservation in urban areas, and to invite more people to take actions to protect the cloud forest.

As a guest speaker in a course of Biodiversity and Development, I presented Vivamos el Bosque from beginning to end…How did it started? The dream, the idea, the project… How did Jane Goodall Inspired me? How did Dekeyser & Friends Academy supported my venture? and How did I implemented Vivamos el Bosque this year….My goal was to show how small initiatives can have a positive impact in people and the environment. Students got really interested in the project. They asked important questions and gave good feedback to improve the project. Questions such as “how sustainable is the initiative in the long run” or “how self-sufficient are the youth entrepreneurs” made me rethink about certain issues of the project that still need to be taken care. For example, it is critical that Vivamos el Bosque initiative works well with me or without me and to attain that point there is still much to be done.
My hope is that my presentation inspired them a little and more youth take action to protect the environment with Vivamos el Bosque or with any other initiative they are interested in.

Thank you very much to Prof. Alvaro Barragán for giving me the chance to present the project to his class, for his friendship and ongoing support!