The Peruvian school that turned its classroom into an environmental and social laboratory to save the turtles
Innova Schools Pucallpa, an independent kindergarten, primary and secondary school in Pucallpa, Ucayali, Peru, is actively involving students in the protection of the environment through its Taricalovers Project, turning the classroom into an environmental and social laboratory to save the turtles. Vital to the local ecosystem for their role in maintaining the health of rivers, yet facing challenges to their survival, taricaya turtles have been classed as a vulnerable species. The loss of the species also significantly impacts food security as the turtles and their eggs form part of the native diet.
Innova Schools Pucallpa launched a student-led project that addressed the repopulation of the species by working with local biodiversity teams to collect and incubate eggs in controlled conditions with the support of local authorities. The students protect artificial nests, ensuring the development of the eggs until they hatch, and are involved in the release of the young. More than just an initiative to release turtles, the project brings learners closer to their environment, allowing them to identify and propose concrete solutions to local socio-environmental challenges and develop key skills such as empathy, teamwork, shared leadership, and complex problem solving. This adapted learning approach is nourished by the interests and processes that emerge from the students' own research, and through planning, researching, and executing, students are developing scientific competencies that empower them to design real-world sustainable solutions that have a tangible impact on their local environment. Developing skills to interpret statistical data and collect information on the species' population strengthens their critical and analytical capacity, and working with local biodiversity teams, where they learn the importance of stewardship and accountability, builds their self-confidence.
Since the project’s inception, students have incubated and released more than 500 taricayas, and achieved a hatching rate of 91%, the highest percentage recorded in the region. The project has had a significant impact on enrolment numbers. Starting with only 365 students in 2019, the school now has over 1,100, with a waiting list for available openings. Awareness-raising campaigns, driven by students, spread the benefits of conservation throughout the community, and currently, students are collaborating with over 3,500 members of local indigenous communities around actions to protect the species and tackle food security. The initiative has benefited four indigenous communities and over 2,000 families in the region.
Families are also highly involved, and for two consecutive years, the school has received the highest levels of parental satisfaction across the Innova Schools network, and the campus has a 96% staff satisfaction rate, showing that teachers are fully immersed even in a challenging context.
By embracing learning that goes beyond conventional education, the school is developing students with a genuine commitment to the sustainability of their community and the environment around them.
