More Field Work!

Today I got a chance to get out into the field and finally do a bit of research that is much more interesting than sitting behind a computer searching for pertinent articles. I went out to Americana to interview Katia Gotardi the director of the Environmental Education program from the Cosórcio Intermunicap das Bacias dos Rios Piracicaba, Capivari e Jundaí. Americana is a city located about an hour away from Campinas. The layout of the city looks typical of the region here with many buildings topping out at about 15 stories or so, giving it the impression of a larger city than you’d think for a city of 180,000 people. Here’s a unique bit of Americana history. Apparently Americana gets it’s name because the town is the sight where Americans from the South moved after having lost the Civil War. But I wasn’t here for the interesting history of the town. In my meeting with Katia, I learned more in the 2 hours talking with her about how water resources are management than I’ve learned in the last 3 weeks reading various articles and websites. She gave me books, pamphlets, dvd’s, stickers, magnets...more information than I know what to do with. I couldn’t help but get drawn into all these materials (many of which she also happened to co-author) and be amazed at how many resources there seems to be available dealing with environmental education and specific to the region’s water resources. Of course I still had some questions such as how does this information get distributed and the more intriguing question of how to ensure that all segments of society are involved. Unfortunately my head was spinning from all the information I had just received so I wasn’t able to formulate these questions until after I had already left her office. Fortunately Katia has offered to answer any questions I have by email so I should get my answers soon enough.