Casa Pueblo offers course about role of microorganisms in the forest

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Cited from endi.com The course, imparted by professors of the University of Idaho and the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez and Humacao, began yesterday and finishes Wednesday. Among their participants are 11 biology graduate students, and 19 undergraduate students in chemistry, biology and biotechnology of the UPR campuses mentioned and the Inter-American University in Aguadilla. "The coordinator of the course, Arturo Massol, microbiologist, university professor and director of the Communitarian Institute of Biodiversity and Culture of Casa Pueblo, explained that microorganisms are vital for the sustenance of the forests and the quality of their waters." The course has a scientific component, in addition to a component for the development of leadership skills, social and ethical responsibility.” Arturo Massol and his father, Alexis Massol, founder of Casa Pueblo and recipient three years ago of the Goldman prize, the most prestigious of ecology at world-wide, emphasized "the capacity of the scientists to accomplish social and cultural changes towards natural resources. When speaking of these subjects, he recalled Casa Pueblo’s experience, whose fight avoided the gold, copper and silver mining in Adjuntas, Utuado, Lares and Jayuya. Casa Pueblo also obtained that this zone, known as the forest reserve of El Bosque del Pueblo, is protected by law.” "Massol commented that during these four days, students and professors spend the night in the property Madre Isla, owned by Casa Pueblo, and take classes in the headquarters of the organization and the Washington Irving school in Adjuntas. This is the second time that Casa Pueblo organizes this kind of course, in which the professors do not receive a pay nor the students pay by the knowledge they receive."

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