Gregory Ewin from Pantanal Center For Education Research, Brazil Talks to RCAAN on Nov. 8th

On November 8, 2012 Gregory Ewin a student at U of M, talked to Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North about The Pantanal Center For Education Research in Brazil

Gregory Ewing talked to The Rotary Club of Ann Arbor North on November 8, 2012. Gregory is an engineering senior at the University of Michigan. Greg has been involved with the Pantanal Partnership in Brazil since his freshman year.

The Pantanal (Literally "the swamp") is the world's largest flood plain, stretching across Brazil. Bolivia and Paraguay. It is home to hundreds of plant and animal species, including the world's largest rodent. The economic drives are the fishing and cattle industries and eco-tourism. The people who live in the Pantanal are in a political limbo; no state wants to take care of them.

The Pantanal Partnership began when a U-M student visited the region as an eco-tourist and returned with fellow students to engage the local residents to improve their surroundings while maintaining their ancestral homes.

In 2010, the partnership built a research center. In 2011, the group built a bio-digester to turn cattle waste products into methane gas. That year, the team also installed bio-sand filters at the research center, producing clean drinking water.

Last year, the group was able to expand the bio-sand filter program to other schools and to use the project to teach biology, chemistry, and English. When the children saw mico-organisms under a microscope, they began to grasp the idea of particles in the water that were to small to be seen by the eye. Until then, they had no understanding of the necessity for clean water.

The U-M students also worked on a water tower, which enabled a wi-fi connection so that Pantanal residents can access medical help.

Some students are even learning how to play the stringed instruments that a Rotary Club had provided for their school, now that they have a music teacher from the University of Michigan. They can now play the "Hail to the Victors" on Violin.

Learn More About Pantanal Center For Education and Research By Following Link:http://www.pantanalcer.org/