SAVE ME Peace Project

Pollinators are essential to our daily life. Around the world, an estimated 80 percent of all flowering plant species and over one-third of our food is dependent upon or benefited by animal pollinators. Bees, birds, butterflies, beetles, bats, ladybugs and other insects, small mammals, and even reptiles that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce.

However, many of these pollinator species are in decline, threatening the productivity of both global food production and ecological communities.

FOOD SAFETY THREATS
• Bees are in danger (Colony Collapse Disorder – CCD) and, with them, also human beings and most animal species.
• The planet must revert a dangerous threat: bees are already an endangered species.
• The problems that affect bees and other pollinating insects pose a major threat to global food.
• Reasons causing threats: reduction of habitat, forest fires, climate change, introduced species, neonicotinoid pesticides and loss of genetic diversity.
• 10 out of 25 hummingbird species of the Lake Atitlan basin in Guatemala are threatened.

What can be done to reverse Colony Collapse Disorder – CCD?
To prevent the threat of the decrease in bee population and hummingbirds a major environmental awareness campaign educating new and older generations of the Lake Atitlan basin has been implemented on a pilot project using a 4-H curriculum Nature’s Partners to provide education on the importance of pollination with native of plants and flowers.

Project Description Excerpt
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Pollinators provide 1/3 of our food. Bees are in danger, also humans and biodiversity. The Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning Guatemala Chapter proposes “SAVE ME Peace Project” as a viable solution.

SAVE ME POLLINATION PEACE PROJECT PROPOSAL
Objectives
Considering the urge to protect bees and their habitat and to support agricultural crops and increase income through pollination, SAVE ME is a Peace project which is proposed by the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning – Guatemala Chapter which extends the benefit of “saving bees” to other pollinating species.

Location:
The initial location for the SAVE ME Peace Project is the Lake Atitlan basin in Guatemala, Central America. But it can span out to other geographical locations. The pursued objective by the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning – Guatemala Chapter is focused on benefiting the new generations and local communities by creating a Rotary service axis which includes Rotary Clubs, Rotary Community Corps – RCCs, Rotary Action Groups – RAGs, and Rotary Fellowships.

EXPECTED OUTCOME FOR THE ROTARY CLUB OF CARPINTERIA MORNING GUATEMALA CHAPTER D. 5240

The SAVE ME Peace Project
Is centered in working with Rotary Areas of Focus:
o Peace and conflict prevention / resolution ((Rotary Area of Focus No. 1)
o Disease prevention and health (Rotary Area of Focus No. 2)
o Basic Education and Literacy (Rotary Area of Focus No. 5)
o Economic and community development (Rotary Area of Focus No 6)

The SAVE ME Peace Project opens windows of opportunities for the creation of Rotary Community Corps (RCCs) and the participation of Rotarian Action Groups (RAGs) and Rotary Fellowships:
 Currently working on the creation of 4 new RCCs in the Lake Atitlan area.
Rotarian Action Groups- RAGs
 Rotarian Action Group for Peace (RAGFP)
 Literacy Rotarian Action Group (LitRAG)
 Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG)
 Rotarian Action Group for Endangered Species (RAGES)
 Food Plant Solutions Action Group (FPS)
 Rotarian Action Group for Microfinance & Community Development (RAGM)
 Rotarian Action Group for Population Growth and Sustainable Development (RFPD)
 Rotary Action Group of Dental Volunteers (RAGDV)

Rotary Fellowships:
 International Fellowship of Rotarian Educators (IFRE)
 Environmental Fellowship of Rotarians (EFR)
 International Fellowship of Bird-Watching Rotarians (IFBR)
 Rotarian E-Club Fellowship (REF)
 International Fellowship of Scouting Rotarians (IFSR)

Key Players:
Local key organizations engaged in the educational effort in support of the SAVE ME Peace Project.

At the Rotarian level:
• SAVE ME is a project proposed by the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning Chile Chapter, and adopted by the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning Guatemala Chapter with the inclusion of the Citizen Science 4-H curriculum “Nature’s Partners”, and opening the opportunities for the development of a Peacebuilding Spirit for Rotarians which includes the creation of Rotary Community Corps (RCCs) and cooperative work with Rotary Action Groups (RAGs) and Rotary Fellowships. And now with the opportunity of partnering with the Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning (CA) and the Rotary Clubs in District 5240.
At the Governmental level:
• The Ministry of Education of Guatemala authorizing to have access to schools with citizen science extension in environmental education extra-class programs.
• The National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) safeguarding the Decree of Law declaring the Lake Atitlan Basin a Protected Reserve of Multiple Use – (RUMCLA)”.
• At the academic level:
The Universidad del Valle de Guatemala – Altiplano (Highlands).

At the technological level:
• The Center of Transference of Apiarian Technology sponsored by MOSCAMED program Guatemala with Ministry of Agriculture Livestock and Food (MAGA) and USDA.

At the inter-institutional level:
• The Rotary Club of Carpinteria Morning – Guatemala Chapter coordinates through the work with local institutions schools and communities and is in charge of the field work and the project coordination.

The SAVE ME Peace Project shares solutions to meet with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations Development Program.

The SAVE ME Peace Project complies with SDGs numbers:

1) Contributing to NO POVERTY
2) Contributing to NO HUNGER
3) Contributing to GOOD HEALTH
4) Delivering QUALITY EDUCATION
8) Contributing to GOOD JOBS AND ECONOMIC HEALTH
12) Contributing to RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION
13) Contributing to CLIMATE ACTION
14) Contributing to LIFE BELOW WATER
15) Impacting LIFE ON LAND.
16) Contributing to PEACE AND JUSTICE
17) Making PARTNERSHIPS FOR THE GOALS

Facilitation of the curriculum Nature’s Partners a Citizen Science 4-H education program to students on a scholarship basis with the objective of increasing the habitat and population of pollinators. In a ripple effect Nature’s Partners fosters the opportunity for students to embrace important school, home and community Citizen Science projects.

• School Scholarships The objective is to facilitate the 7 sessions of the curriculum Nature’s Partners to 420 Students from 3rd to 8th grade coming from 12 Schools of the Lake Atitlan area in Guatemala at a cost of $ 24.00 per student scholarship Total $ 10,080.00

SAVE ME Peace Project Phase 2 Rotary Scholarship Project:

• Same objective as Phase 1, but with extended facilitation of the curriculum to 1,260 students from 3rd to 8th grade coming from 28 Schools of the Lake Atitlan area at a cost per student scholarship $ 24.00 per student. Total $ 38,635.72

SAVE ME Peace Project Phase 3 – Community Awareness Campaign
• Through printed materials and promotional giveaways consisting of refrigerator magnets, paper napkins, coasters, paper place-mats, market banners, fruit and vegetable market signs that will be distributed to restaurants and markets in the Lake Atitlan basin. Total $ 11,252.67.

With this knowledge, we will establish a nursery for plant supply for School pollinating gardens.

• SAVE-ME-CARPINTERIA-MORNING-ROTARY-PROJECT.jpg
• SAVE-ME-PEACE-PROJECT-UPDATE-RC-CARPINTERIA-MORNING-GUATEMALA-CHAPTER.pdf