In order to build conservation awareness in Venezuelan youth, the ministries of People’s Power for Environment and Education have initiated an environmental project that will be incorporated in formal activities in rual Venezuelan schools.

The Director General of Watersheds of the ministry, Rodolfo Roa, explained that the plan will teach conservation practices on soil and water. “The conservation education project will target children and adolescents through the establishment of school nurseries and orchards that encourage the appropriate use of natural resources,” he said.

The intention of the project is to coordinate the efforts of the soil conservation program called “All Hands for Planting,” promoted by both ministries.

“Rural schools are an ideal setting for students and their families to have the opportunity to share agricultural knowledge,” said Roa.

In the first instance, the project will be used in the Venezuelan states of Aragua, Barinas, Merida, Tachira, Trujillo, Lara and Portuguesa. “The importance of the program from starting in these states is that they are located in basins that serve as distribution points for the main water reservoirs in the country,” said the Director General of this division.

Venezuelan News Agency, Press and Communications Office of the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic to the U.S- August 6, 2010