Awareness about cocaine's ecocide in Colombia
Virtual Lessons
In order to teach children about Colombia’s natural wonders and how there are being threatened by cocaine, Shared Responsibility designed 6 virtual lessons for children aged 8-11. Please feel free to download and share them. Additionally, printable versions of these lessons are available. If you want to learn more, please contact us!
Click here to download a printable version.
Do you know Alex and Isabel?
Alex and Isabel are two Gorgeted Pufflegs, a family of hummingbirds that can only be found in a small region in Western Colombia.
Their lives are in danger as a result of the slashing and burning of the forest where they live to grow coca, and thus produce cocaine.
Here, Alex and Isabel will show you how cocaine is putting them, and many other animals and plants, at risk. And, you will also learn how to help!
THE ENVIRONMENT AND YOU
Colombia is the world’s most biodiverse nation per square kilometer. In its territory you will find rivers with seven colors, active volcanoes, impenetrable jungles, deserts, glaciers, beautiful beaches, cloud forests and many other unique environmental wonders. Learn more about this wondrous nation!
COCAINE DESTROYS THE FOREST
Our forests provide us with natural resources that we use to nourish ourselves, build homes and make clothes, among many other things. In addition, trees clean the air so that we can breathe and are the home to plants and animals. But, in order to grow coca to produce cocaine, large areas of trees are cut down, water sources are contaminated and animals lose their homes.
If there was less demand for cocaine, fewer forests and trees would be threatened by coca. Please help us tell more people about cocaine consumption’s effects on Colombia’s forests!
PRODUCING COCAINE POLLUTES WATER
The cultivation of coca and its transformation into cocaine polluted water and ground soils, contaminating our planet. And if we run out of water, we will not be able to live. Don’t contaminate or waste water! People, plants and animals need fresh water to drink and stay healthy and clean!
Don’t consume cocaine. This way you will be helping to keep water clean and plentiful.
ANIMALS AND PLANTS IN DANGER
There are certain species of plants and animals that can only be found in specific places on the planet. These are known as endemic species. For example, the narrators of these lessons, Alex and Isabel, are Gorgeted Pufflegs, an endemic Colombian hummingbird species. Each year, they lose a size of their forest equal to 111 soccer fields. They are losing their home so that coca can be grown and cocaine produced!
Say no to cocaine. When you consume cocaine, you are contributing to the destruction of forests and jungles, home to many endemic species!
COCAINE HARMS PEOPLE
To process coca and obtain cocaine, it is necessary to tear off the leaves from the plant and, many times, children are forced to do this. Children that become involved in cocaine production stop going to school, can get hurt and lose sight of their dreams.
Cocaine consumption has negative physical and mental consequences. People who consume it cannot keep themselves from continuing to do so, because their body and mind begin to need it, causing this person to become addicted. Don’t consume cocaine! Think about the harm it brings to the environment, your community, your family and you!
WHAT YOU DO MATTERS
The objects you use during your life leave a mark on the earth that is known as an “ecological footprint. The things you dispose of are also a part of this footprint. This is why, the less garbage you generate, the more you contribute to the protection of the environment, making your “ecological footprint” smaller.
The production and consumption of cocaine have terrible consequences for the environment. When someone consumes cocaine his or her ecological footprint grows significantly.
Now that you know the ecological damage caused by cocaine, tell your friends and family not to consume it! What you do matters!
