To view the photo-rich magazine version, click here.

Originally appears in the Fall 2021 issue.

By Charlie Espinosa

When Sarah duPont, founder of the Amazon Aid Foundation, visited Madre de Dios, Peru in 2010, many of the lush forests and healthy rivers she had come to know were gone. Large swaths of barren desert and contaminated mining pools covered what was previously the largest contiguous rainforest on the planet. Driven by the rising price of gold, immigrants from the Andes migrated by the thousands looking for better opportunities for their families. In the process, they cleared over 120,000 football fields of rainforest and dumped more than 3,000 tons of mercury into waterways. 

To Sarah, this was not a local problem but a global one. Demand for gold for jewelry and technology from countries like the United States was fueling ecocide, not to mention human rights abuses. What’s more, the Amazon’s trees and the water cycle play a crucial role in stabilizing global weather patterns. To tackle such a complex issue, Sarah looked to education.

The first step was to raise awareness for global audiences about the impacts of gold mining on the Amazon. Inspired by the power of films like Blood Diamond to foster change, Sarah produced and co-directed River of Gold, a documentary of a clandestine journey bearing witness to the apocalyptic destruction of the rainforest in pursuit of illegally mined gold. Illustrating the beauty of the Amazon as well as the damage, the film intersperses water colored animations of the Amazon’s incredible ecology with suspenseful, war-like scenes of the devastation wreaked by illegal mining. 

But simply raising awareness wasn’t enough. A generation of young leaders with a diverse toolkit of skills and a compassionate, interdisciplinary perspective was needed. To make this happen, Amazon Aid partnered with Journeys in Film to produce a curriculum guide for grades 6–12, so that classes viewing River of Gold can better understand the crisis as well as learn about the science of the Amazon and how they can protect it. The curriculum is based on the belief that film is an effective way to reach a media-centric youth and help them make a positive impact in an increasingly interdependent world.

There are 11 lessons in the River of Gold Curriculum, each conforming to different common core standards and spanning subjects as diverse as Geography, Environmental Science, Biology, Computer Science, Economics, English Language Arts, Anthropology, World History, Photography, Social Studies, and Community Service Learning. This interdisciplinary approach not only provides the tools to understand gold mining in the Amazon, but it also helps reach students who have different learning modalities (perception, memory, and sensation) and interests.

Educators can download the full curriculum for free at https://amazonaid.org/in-the-classroom/. The curriculum can be used with Amazon Aid’s media assets and the documentary River of Gold. Below is a sampling of some important activities and issues included in the Curriculum:

Watersheds and the hydrological cycle: a hands-on approach

Learning about hydrology and watersheds is the perfect way to teach students about the unique wonder of the Amazon basin, while also connecting learning to their local environment. Early lessons introduce students to the Amazon’s hydrological cycle and geography, as well as their local watersheds, through fun, hands-on activities.

The curriculum begins with a call for research on the hydrological cycle and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, with an emphasis on the important roles of trees and how deforestation affects the cycle. Students experience these concepts firsthand through two experiments. The first is a hands-on growing experiment using pea / radish seeds to measure how the amount of vegetation affects condensation; this activity simulates the effects of deforestation in the Amazon. The second is a laboratory experiment that demonstrates how aquatic organisms are affected when excessive organic material enters bodies of water due to deforestation.

The following lesson teaches students about the nature of watersheds and the impact the Amazon River basin, the largest watershed on Earth, has on global water systems. Among the activities in this lesson, one involves coloring and labeling an Amazon River Watershed map, which includes the source of the Amazon River, the course of the Amazon River, arrows to indicate the flow of the river, the MOUTH or DELTA, and where they empty. Then students consider how human activity along the Amazon River affects the river itself and how it might affect the global ecosystem, including the impact of mercury contamination from gold mining.

In the process of understanding the Amazon watershed, students learn about the watershed in their own backyard. In which watershed do they live? How do businesses, governments, and human activities affect this watershed? These questions should encourage students to connect more intimately with a place in a different part of the world while beginning to think about the ways in which they affect their own environment. 

People and industry in the Amazon: role-playing and a “culture collage” 

With a focus on Indigenous communities affected by deforestation and resource extraction, students research and discuss the complex relationship between Indigenous Amazonia and modern South America. Activities adopt both a social-science and creative approach. Students write a research report on the emerging threats to uncontacted peoples and offer policy suggestions. Then they create a “culture collage” of each Indigenous tribe covered, using magazines, printed images from the internet, markers, and other creative materials.

Using River of Gold as a discussion point, later lessons allow for deeper explorations of gold mining as well as other extractive industries in the Amazon, particularly those of oil and gas. Students write creative narratives from the viewpoints of individuals in the region and hold a panel discussion to represent a variety of perspectives. To enrich their understanding of gold and its roles in modern society, students also learn about the uses of gold for monetary purposes, decoration, and technology, all of which create demand. Among the activities, one involves creating a “Values Word Map,” which invites students to reflect on their own values and how their personal choices affect the environment.

Becoming an environmental activist: using technology and art to build a better future

To encourage active rather than passive viewers, the curriculum emphasizes ways to use technology to make a difference. In one lesson, students learn to actively monitor changes in the Amazon through satellite photography. This includes a research assignment wherein students use Google Earth to track deforestation in the Amazon over time.

Next, the course delves more deeply into the process of advocacy. Students learn the meaning of the term “awareness campaign” and discuss several examples to understand how contemporary issues are being addressed and to learn what is effective. Then they develop an “Awareness-raising Plan,” brainstorming ways to improve the methods of famous environmental activists and characters featured in River of Gold.

Once students grasp the basic methods of activism, the curriculum zooms in on smartphone photography and local engagement. Students learn to become photojournalists, spotlighting an important environmental issue in their own neighborhood. They create a slideshow of eight to ten photos and provide unbiased captions on each slide. Each student presents their slideshow in class and receives peer feedback, with which, the teacher emphasizes, will make them better photographers and historical witnesses.

Teachers can encourage students wishing to continue activism beyond the classroom to become an Amazon Aid Youth Activist. Youth Activists have access to a diverse toolkit of educational and creative actions, such as how to engage their social media accounts with Amazon content and how to perform the Anthem for the Amazon, a stunning call to action sung by 500 children from around the world. 

The many faces of change

Very few teachers will use all the lessons in this guide — to do so would take up most of a quarter in a typical class. Rather, you can choose the lessons that best support your own curricular goals and the needs of your students. Also, because the River of Gold Curriculum spans various arts and sciences, team teaching with a colleague in another discipline is a great way to reinforce the messages of the film and show students that a topic can be studied effectively through different lenses.

No single solution can mitigate the destructive cycle of gold mining and other global environmental problems. If we have global leaders who are culturally sensitive, knowledgeable, compassionate, and media-savvy, we can create change where it’s needed most — in the classroom, newsroom, courtroom, marketplace, capitol, and many other centers. The River of Gold Curriculum provides an opportunity for students to not only learn about one of the most incredible biomes on Earth, but also what it takes to save it.

Both the documentary River of Gold and the River of Gold Curriculum are available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. To learn more about how to engage students, go to our activate page.

Resources

River of Gold Curriculum – https://amazonaid.org/in-the-classroom/

Amazon Aid Media Assets – https://amazonaid.org/amazon-aid-media/

Amazon Aid Youth Activists – https://amazonaid.org/youth-activists/

Anthem for the Amazon – https://amazonaid.org/anthem-for-the-amazon/

Artists for the Amazon – https://amazonaid.org/artists-for-the-amazon-2/

Amazon Aid Activation – https://amazonaid.org/activate/

Amazon Aid Website – https://amazonaid.org

For questions, contact info@amazonaid.org.

Charlie Espinosa began his career as an English teacher in Chile, which he remembers fondly as one of the most rewarding periods of his life. He currently works with the Amazon Aid Foundation and the non-profit Pure Earth in writing, research, and project management to reduce the negative impacts of gold mining on the Amazon. Through this work, Charlie has traveled to Peru to assist with reforestation and learn firsthand about the challenges and marvels of the Amazon basin. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, hiking, and playing soccer.

Endnote

Kmusser, “Amazon basin,” Wikipedia, last modified June 5, 2013, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Amazonriverbasin_basemap.png.