As part of BIO-PLATEAUX, pilot “water classes” (educational activities to discover water element) were conducted with the help of the association “Canopée des Sciences” in French Guiana, in Saint Georges de l'Oyapock and Cayenne in May and June 2021. Due to the sanitary conditions in Suriname and the State of Amapa in Brazil, the realization of awareness activities (Albina and Oiapoque) has been postponed to a later date.
The concept of “water class” allows young people to learn more about this vital resource, which is omnipresent in the Guiana Shield. The goal is to make them aware of important notions such as water cycle and river basin, of the amazing aquatic biodiversity, but also of the numerous uses and the pollution and risks (flooding in particular).
A series of scientific animations was prepared by animators of the association “Canopée des Sciences”. Young people could understand by observing, drawing or making models. The students were able to see their river basin "from the sky" through virtual reality headsets, manipulate scale models of the water cycle, take water samples around their school and then analyze them under the microscope. The students could meet with a professional of drinking water and sanitation services in french Guiana.
Through the preparation of these pilot water classes, french association worked together with a teacher and an association from the State of Amapa in Brazil and Suriname. Logbooks and posters of the transboundary river basins were developed for teachers and students in French, English and Portuguese.
“Canopée des Sciences” produced a series of photographs and a film, available here.