Community Information Project

On August 23 and again on December 6, I was at the school from the Bela Vista Community to give a lecture and a practical class. The topic was the research I develop with Flávia Durgante on trees radial increment monitoring with dendrometers at the ATTO site. During the lecture, I explained the tree’s radial increment, the importance of growth monitoring for forest management, and the different phenological groups.

The activities were developed with around 30 students between the 6. and 9. grades. During the lecture, I explained the difference between primary and secondary growth, the importance of the secondary xylem for canopy provision and photosynthesis, and the growing differences between the phenological groups evergreen and deciduous. In the practical class, the students were divided into three groups and I showed them how dendrometer bands measure the tree’s radial growth. Then, the members of each group choose a native tree to receive a dendrometer. With the materials that I provided to them, they constructed the dendrometer for the chosen tree. The activity ended with the bands’ installation. The class goal was to demonstrate how we can follow up on the tree’s radial increment to raise awareness among the students about the topics discussed in the lecture.

However, one of the manufactured dendrometers had a problem, and because of a lack of time to solve it, was necessary to have an extra class at the end of the year to finish the activity and make the first measure of the existing bands. On that same day, Dr. Cybelli Barbosa also offered explanations and clarified doubts about the use of the mini meteorological station installed a few days before in the community.

~Priscila~

We had the great pleasure that during the ATTO workshop, the teachers and coordinators from the Uatumã river communities and the Secretary of Education of Presidente Figueiredo participated in person. During fruitful discussions, the activity plans were fixed for the rest of 2022 (support of battery collections, collection of residues contest, and water quality analyses) and 2023 (monthly activities on environmental education).

I came to inform you that earlier this week, on the 19th and 20th of September 2022, I was in the schools of the 3 communities assisted by the informal Projeto Escola.

During the activity, I gave a lecture about solid waste and water quality at the 3 schools as a way to contribute to the way these communities treat their garbage. In this activity, the problem of batteries, a type of hazardous waste that is very common in the communities of Uatumã, was specially mentioned. The activity was previously organized and prepared by Cybelli, as well as the production of a model of an alkaline battery. With this material provided, together with the previous knowledge of my professional training as an environmental engineer, I was able to give a talk to them.

I explained the functioning and composition of the batteries and the risks of different types of waste, in addition to the possibilities of adequate final disposal proposed by the communities themselves. At the end of the activity, the partner teachers proposed to the students a competition where the waste will be collected and there will be recreational activities in order to encourage the correct treatment of waste produced there.

At the same time, Cybelli and Robson Azevedo were correcting and installing the limnimetric rulers. During the execution of this activity, they shared and taught how to use level gauge equipment and some hydrological processes. There was also the active participation of Adriana Simonetti’s, who could make various interventions and support, during the class and in the installation of rulers.

~ Yago~

Amidst the Cloud Roots campaign and intensive radiosonde launch, some of us from the CloudRoots team had the opportunity to visit and participate in the ATTO Community Education project in the schools of the Uatumã communities.
Our group, composed of meteorologists, aimed to explain what meteorology studies, what the atmosphere is, basic concepts of temperature, humidity, pressure and wind, and how clouds form. Finally, we talked a little about the work that we were carrying out in the ATTO with the radiosondes. At the end of the lectures, we did some demonstrative experiments with cans, disposable cups and balloons to exemplify the performance of atmospheric pressure for the students.
On the first day, we gave two lectures to students from 5th to 9th grade in the Maracarana community. On the second day, we started the lectures in the Macacaboia community in the morning, and in the Bela Vista community in the afternoon.

~Isabella~

Last weekend, we received a visit from teachers of the nearby schools, along with a team from the Secretary of Education of the municipality of Presidente Figueiredo at ATTO.

It was a very fruitful day where everyone had the chance to get to know the project facilities and ask questions about our research. They also had the chance to climb the tall tower to the first platform to enjoy the view above the canopy.

On this occasion, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Secretary of Education to continue the work started in the neighboring schools and possibly expand to other schools in the rural area.

Everyone was very impressed with the structure of the research and is looking forward to the next activities. It is worth mentioning that our staff has spared no effort to ensure a safe and successful visit for all visitors.

~ Cybelli ~

Recently, the groups from KIT & MAUA participated in the community education project.
The team held four lectures between the 22nd and 23rd of June, two in the Macacaboia Community, one in the Bela Vista Community, and one in the Maracarana Community. During the lectures, we addressed the ATTO project in general and answered a lot of their questions. We then shared information with them about the relationship between forests, the atmosphere, the water cycle, and the carbon cycle. Finally, we presented of our new ATTO project, Hydrotraits. Our two doctoral students Hilana Hadlich and Caroline Mallmann participated in the lecture at the Maracarana school. In addition to the oral presentation, the students from Maracarana and Bela Vista carried out practical activities in the forest area, such as measuring the diameter and height of trees, collecting GPS points, and measuring the area.
Cybelli accompanied us in all the activities. She took the opportunity to deliver the river monitoring rulers to all schools and carried out practical activities with the students, teaching them how to read the rulers.
~ Flávia ~

These days, we have continued our interaction with the communities. We have been at the Macacaboia community regarding the Uatumã water level measurements. The objective was to enable the installation of further level meters with the decreasing water level. The daily monitoring of the water level has taken place very responsibly after the installation of the first level meter a few weeks ago.

First, we gave a short interactive presentation at the school for all students about the importance and the background of these new measurements as well as the important role of everyone participating in this project. Then the whole group went to the measurement site at the river to discuss the upcoming installations in the drier season, which just started. The second level meter was successfully mounted a couple of days afterward when the water decreased by more than 50 cm. The topic of scales and measurements will be included in the mathematics class in the upcoming days. All participants are very motivated.

In Bela Vista, further installations are foreseen shortly. In Maracarana a further level meter installation has also already taken place when the river level had fallen a bit.

~ Stefan ~

Recently, we had the first meetings with the communities. Even with unforeseen circumstances and bad weather, we had a very fruitful exchange with the community members.

On the occasion, the MAUA-INPA group presented their research in progress, a proposal for natural trails, in addition to talking with the community about the impacts of the Balbina’s Hydroelectric Power Plant dam on the daily life of the community.

We also presented the project for monitoring the water level of the river, and made the material available to them.

During these meetings, we also noted the different priorities and needs of each community. Therefore, we plan to put together an action plan aligned with the interests of each school.

 The most discussed topics were:

• Extreme flood levels affecting homes and plantations,
• Quality of water for general use,
• Scarcity of drinking water in schools,
• Interest in trails for educational, recreational and income generation purposes.

In addition to working on some actions focused on the demands of the communities, we also want to inform about the projects developed at ATTO, so all research groups that are interested are invited to a brief lecture at schools during the period of stay at ATTO.

~ Cybelli ~

FEBRUARY 2022

Internal online meeting about the plan and leadership for the current year.

MARCH 2022

Online meeting with the MAUA group to confirm the partnership and the collaboration with the activities.

APRIL 2022

Since last year we have been discussing the approach and how to proceed in a safe way to execute our projects in the communities. In a meeting with the Secretary of Education of Presidente Figueiredo, the teachers, and school coordinators, they selected the following topics of interest:

• Water quality
• River water level monitoring
• Solid residue disposal
• Meteorological monitoring
• Ecological trail

The water level monitoring of the Uatumã river, as part of the school project, was planned to start in 2020. But with the pandemic and lockdowns, everything was postponed.

As a start, we requested technical support from the local Superintendence of the National Hydro-meteorological Network (coordinated by ANA – National Water Agency) to install the limnimetric scales at the ATTO port. They approved it and installed the rulers this week following the national regulation.

The next step is to install the scales close to the schools, and we’re just waiting for an answer regarding the scholar calendar to confirm some talks, related to the topics above, at each school.

~ Cybelli ~

In February, we had an internal online meeting about the plan and leadership for the current year. In March, we had an online meeting with the MAUA group to confirm the partnership and collaboration with the activities.

SEPTEMBER 2021
Online meetings with teachers and local coordinators to understand the plan and the possibility to restart the activities.

OCTOBER 2021
Meeting in person with the Secretary for Education in Presidente Figueiredo, including the program coordinator as well as a couple of teachers from the Uatumã communities to establish new planning.
During the online ATTO workshop, we discussed projects that could be executed in the communities.
Meeting with the Outreach coordination at INPA for support with the local activities.

NOVEMBER 2021
Meeting in person with the Secretary of Education in the Bela Vista community to detail the plan for the next year.
Meeting, in person with the MAUA group about a partnership for the school project.
Meeting in person with the school coordinators to establish the calendar of the activities detailed in the meeting with the Secretary of Education.

FEBRUARY 2020

There was a meeting at the Secretary of Education of Presidente Figueiredo with the school’s coordination and teachers where was decided to focus first on solid waste, and develop several simultaneous activities to help the communities with alternative solutions.

MARCH 2020

All activities were paused due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global lockdowns.

APRIL 2019
Discussion about the scholar calendar for the year and how would we proceed with the activities.

MAY 2019
Formatting the Environmental Talks at the school, discussing subjects of their interest.

JUNE 2019
The subjects Water quality and Residue disposal were selected as part of the Environment Month to be developed in the class.

Early JULY 2019
Talk ‘Residue destination and recycling’ at the schools of Macacaboia and Bela Vista, with the challenge of correct destination for batteries.

Mid-JULY 2019
Talk ‘Water Quality’ at the schools of Macacaboia and Bela Vista, addressing the importance of pre-treatment for drinking water.

AUGUST 2019
Used batteries were collected from all four communities (Macacaboia, Bela Vista, São Benedito e Maracarana), and transported to Manaus for correct disposal.

SEPTEMBER 2019
Discussion with the teachers about the next steps.

We want to share with you some news about an exciting project that developed over the last few weeks. Back in November, we had some very special visitors to our site. We had invited teachers from four nearby communities along the Uatumã River to ATTO. Representatives of the Secretary of Education of Presidente Figueiredo, the municipality to which these communities belong, joined them on this visit. This was a fantastic opportunity to get to know our neighbors in the forest better, to tell them about our research, and show them the observatory. Afterward, we discussed over lunch how we can best collaborate in the future.

One of the outcomes was to arrange for our team to engage the youth in those communities. So, over the last two weeks, some of our scientists visited these local schools and presented our research. Prior, most students and residents hadn’t known much about our work and were amazed by everything they saw and heard. Some teachers have already asked about the possibility of further developing this partnership. One such option is to create school projects with an environmental focus associated with our research at ATTO. Additionally, we had a visit from the coordinator of the Sustainable Development Reserve Uatumã. He was impressed with the project and would like to expand the interaction with the other schools in the reserve.

We are very excited about this development. And we hope these visits will not only serve as a way to inform the whole community about our work but also spark curiosity for science among the children.

AUGUST 2018

In August 2018 one member of our staff asked if it was possible for a scientist to go to the community to clarify some doubts about the ATTO project. And the first contact was established, with a few people: scientists and technicians visiting the nearby community.

SEPTEMBER 2018

The first contact with the schools began in September 2018. During this period, we asked for their vision of the project. Available staff and researchers joined the meetings in the communities of Bela Vista and Macacaboia.

OCTOBER 2018

In October we visited the communities of São Benedito and Maracarana, talking about the project with local leaders and teachers. Based on this first impression, the ATTO Information Project was conceived and approved by the coordination.