By bbuck92
In Valparaiso, a city comprised of homes built on the hills surrounding an industrial port, there is a disconnect between its youthful inhabitants and the ocean. The Valpo Surf Project (VSP) was in part inspired by that disconnect and the need to repair it. VSP explains it’s founding as thus, “Although most see the ocean everyday of their lives, many of the city’s youth have never had the opportunity to experience the Pacific Ocean and Chile’s beaches. We wanted to create a way that Valparaiso’s disconnected youth could learn to engage with and protect the local marine environment. The resulting idea evolved into the Valpo Surf Project, a community organization that engages its young participants with the surrounding marine environment through weekly surf outings and focus on fostering three distinct components: personal character development, environmental consciousness, and English language education.” The program works with children ages 7-16 from various organizations within Valparaiso, including the neighborhood organization of Cerro Mariposa and SENAME.
A month ago, The Valpo Surf Project (VSP) took the English class students from Cerro Mariposa on a regular surf trip to La Boca in Con Con. When the students arrived we performed the VSP duty of filling a bag full of trash each before going out to surf, teaching the value of environmental stewardship. After a group refresher lesson, with general eagerness and excitement, we took the water on a perfectly small day for beginners. Although it is the Chilean winter everyone jumped into the waves without hesitation. All except one student who readily admitted some trepidation on his first day on a board. With encouragement we entered the water and began the slow process of gaining confidence in the waves. The student lacked simple understanding of the process of nature at the beach break such as when to expect a wave to break and how to paddle in current. This student exemplified one of the reasons for which the Valpo Surf Project was created. As a resident of the coastal city of Valpo, a city with an industrial port and few places to swim in waves, there can be a disconnect with the ocean so close by. The Valpo Surf Project was in part inspired by that disconnect and the need to repair it.
After a few waves, some encouragement, and alot of fear, this student was able to catch his first wave and attempt to stand up. Though only briefly, this students fear converted in pure enjoyment of this new challenging environment. Out of this experience I intend to research the factors contributing to the students, and others, understanding of the ocean as a place of nature.
It was quite clear to me that the student’s understanding of the ocean was quite different from my own at his age. Whereas I could scarcely be called out of the water for dinner, this student displayed considerable fear on a very calm day at the beach. This has prompted me to look for information on perceptions of the natural environment. In the instance of Valpo and this particular student the geography and isolation from such raw natural forces will guide my research. Additionally, as my experience with the student suggests, I am interested in the processes which change another person’s perspective on the environment. This particularly interests me as it coincides with the environmental stewardship pillar of the Valpo Surf Project. This leads me to ask such initial questions such as, What makes people care about the environment? More specifically I want to investigate if environmental stewardship can be taught. In the case of the Valpo student, how does direct experience of the ocean effect, or create a sense of belonging in the natural environment?
Often the rhetoric for environmental protection employs a moral high ground, assuming that such care for the environment is simply “good” and the opposition “bad”. I hope to deconstruct this simplification and provide a nuanced argument for the necessity of “stewardship” as a duty providing a service. This introduces a new term of environmental citizenship to my investigation, a term I hope to explore both ethically and politically. I will also deconstruct the idea of environmental citizenship as a post-cosmopolitan mindset, ideally defining such action as a necessary step toward global citizenship, not just a luxury of the “developed North” in the asymmetrical system of globalization. Ultimately I hope to develop an understanding of both environmental stewardship and citizenry while exploring a way to develop an educational path which helps students to learn be active contributors to the “greening” of their environment.
The first month of investigation has consisted of research of the various terms of the project, especially nature, environmental stewardship, and environmental citizenship. With these terms more nailed down and carefully framed for my particular investigation, I will move on to the testing of the application of these terms. Both the Valpo Surf Project and my academic investigations will guide and inspire the search for understanding of these terms and questions.