Overbrook Fellows: Supporting Conservation in Latin America

2007 Fellows

Erio Curto  |  Laura Navarro Noriega  |  Julio Reyes
Luis Rivera  |  Regina Sanchez Castaneda  |  Armando Valdes-Velasquez 

Laura Navarro Noriega (México): Research and writing on the perception of bats in pre-Hispanic culture.

Bio: Laura Navarro, an educator at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, specializes in environmental education and has been director of the educational programs for the Program for the Conservation of the Bats of México, of which she is a co-founder. Her previous work includes the Environmental Restoration project at Ajusco National Park (‘93-‘94), the development of summer environmental education courses for children, as well as other projects involving musical teaching for children. At the PCMM she developed a series of bilingual stories: Marcelo, the Bat; Valentin a Special Bat; Don Sabino, the City Bat; Flowers for Lucía the Bat; and Seeds for Barbarita the Bat. Ms. Navarro was the coordinator of a series of short radio pieces, “Adventures in Flight”, and first place winner of the Second Latin American Radio Biennium of Radio in Mexico. She has taken numerous environmental education courses and gives lectures on her work at various symposia on education and conservation. In 2001 she received the Educator of the Year award from Bat Conservation International, and in 2006 she received the “Conservation Hero 2006 Award” from Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. Ms. Navarro is currently a doctoral candidate in the “Doctorado Interuniversitario de Educación Ambiental” program at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; she will graduate in 2008.