Celebrating Patagonia National Park’s 4th Anniversary with the community
Together with the neighbors of Chile Chico, we organized a festival to celebrate the 4th anniversary of Patagonia National Park and the first year of the community outreach program “Friends of Patagonia National Park” in early December. The event included music, stands, photographic exhibitions, workshops, and community visits to Patagonia National Park, with the participation of many local organizations.
Just as it is not possible to have healthy people on a sick planet, conservation cannot be successful unless communities are profoundly involved. Our vision is to consolidate the Route of Parks of Patagonia as one of the largest conservation models that are restorative for places, species, and communities, enabling a conservation landscape in which wild places and wildlife are secured, restored, connected, and surrounded by vibrant communities.
Through our “Friends of Parks program”, we are working for developing advocacy groups in the National Parks gateway communities, working with local leaders and schools for them to become the first line of defense of their national parks while promoting a new generation of conservation advocates. The program is currently being developed in Alerce Andino and Patagonia National start, and will soon be starting in Cerro Castillo and Pumalín National Park.
This past 2022, over 50 activities were carried out with locals, including flora, fauna, fungi & lichens field trips, cultural heritage activities and hikes, archaeology/paleontology field trips, birdwatching, camping experiences, and workshops.
