Andrea Aliende (BIO+CCAA'19) collaborates in environmental education project in Ecuador

Andrea Aliente (Pamplona, 25 years old) finished her double degree in Biology and Environmental Sciences in 2019. After completing a master's degree in Teaching she took the plane and went to Ecuador, heading to Indoamerica University, thanks to a PIN scholarship from the Government of Navarra.

Andrea works as an environmental educator for the "El Jardín de los Sueños" project, a sustainable development initiative aimed at raising awareness about the environment and respect for nature. This protected forest is home to 36 species of amphibians, 57 species of reptiles, 225 species of birds, 24 species of mammals and 141 species of butterflies. "Currently this project has a sustainable development area where people who want to learn about the project and benefit from nature stay. The scientific community has also been interested in the project and it serves as a biological station for research," says the biologist.

Aliende carries out its work through a organic gardenwhere they try to recreate the undergrowth, looking for techniques to enrich the soil avoiding the use of fertilizers and pesticides. "The organic vegetable garden is a magnificent outdoor laboratory to visit and work in with the land and for that we need to prepare the land to be arable and fertile," he adds.

One of the novelties to be implemented is the preparation of the orchard for organic farming "beyond the typical monocultures of the area, such as cocoa or bananas". 

For Andrea Aliende, it is important to continue collaborating in this project in order to continue to support a more sustainable food and to "continue sharing and exchanging products and seeds with the community and thus enrich each other".