FISH GUARDIANS

Project Summary

As part of our school’s environmental project, we read the story "The River Cries No More" by Verónica Abente and retold it using ScratchJr. This experience led us to wonder how much our classmates knew about the condition of our rivers and the fish that live in them. To explore this, we created a survey on the topic, which was completed by our second and third grade students. After analyzing the results, we decided to design informational cards to share with the school community as part of an awareness campaign aimed at promoting the care and protection of our rivers and native fish.

Why did you do this project?

We became aware of how polluted our rivers are and realized that many people may not know that some of the fish we eat every day can also be contaminated. We believed that if people had more information about this issue, they would be more likely to take better care of our rivers. We also felt that using technology to present this information in an interactive way could motivate students to learn more about these topics.

How did you make your project or solve this problem?

As part of its annual projects, our school incorporates environmental themes as a key component of its educational approach. In response to the complex issue of river pollution in Paraguay, this project aims to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the habitat of native fish by learning about the diverse species that inhabit our rivers. Through this initiative, we hope to foster environmental awareness from an early age and encourage a deeper sense of responsibility toward nature. The project presented here is part of a broader interdisciplinary study on water that we are currently developing in class.

What did you find out?

After analyzing the survey results and deciding to create informational cards, our teacher suggested using Mind+, which connects to a RFID card reader via a Micro:bit board. Each fish species was assigned its own card. We designed the visual content, while a group of 11th-grade students collaborated with us on the technical setup and connections. The next step is to share the project with the wider community.

Why do your results matter?

Through the book The River Cries No More and a visit from technical staff at the Ministerio del Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible (MADES), we developed a deeper understanding of river pollution in Paraguay and the challenges faced by the fish that live in these waters. We asked many questions, and the experts helped us find answers. Together, we reflected on what we, as children, could do to help address this issue. On the technical side, we explored block-based programming with ScratchJr and Mind+, experimented with the Micro:bit, and met with the students supporting us in Python programming for these microcontrollers so we could explain exactly what we wanted our project to do.

What could you do next?

One of the main strengths of this project is its scalability. The technology we use allows us to continuously improve both the software and the hardware, giving the project the potential to evolve into a fully functional tool for educational or exhibition purposes. In the short term, it is also easy to create and add new information cards for other fish species as needed. As mentioned earlier, the next step is to introduce the project to the student community.

References

First, we would like to thank CEI for making projects like this possible, where the concept of Tikkun Olam—repairing the world—comes to life by placing technology at the service of a more conscious and responsible society.

 We are especially grateful to VA, whose story inspired this project from the very beginning. We also thank teachers MM and AB for leading the technology component of the project with dedication and creativity. In particular, we would like to recognize AK, MB, and LG for generously giving their time and supporting us with the Python programming. We also thank teacher PS, who leads the school’s water project and supported us in developing the survey.

-E Finally, we are grateful for the visit from officials of MADES, who helped us better understand the challenges facing our rivers and native fish, and who generously took the time to answer all of our questions.