Project Launch:

The community of Nuevo Imperial in Peru is two hours south of the capital city of Lima and 10 miles inland from the ocean on the dry temperate coastline. The River Cañete passes directly South of Nuevo Imperial and empties into the ocean. As it passes it provides irrigation for agriculture and a continuous supply of water, contaminated as it may be, for consumption. More than 50% of the people in Nuevo Imperial work on farms and many also raise livestock. In 2011, World Connect's Kids to Kids Program supported Eco-Efficient Education, a project designed to motivate kids and professors to take responsibility for the environmental management of their schools. Five local schools participated in a campaign called "Escuelas Eco-Eficientes" (Eco-Efficient Schools) in which they worked to promote environmental awareness and conservation. Each school created an environmental committee formed by various members of the school and community that were in charge of guiding this effort. Their first step was to write a plan of action to make the school more eco-efficient after which they executed their plan, focusing on specific environmental themes each month.