By Por Jorge Andrade and Antonieta Valenzuela

Through a joint effort between the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and Terra Peninsular, the Temporary Employment Program (PET) started on Monday, August 22 in San Quintín Bay.

This program aims to restore 8 miles of interpretive trails, including the restoration of informative signs and interpretive stations, as well as garbage collection; this program currently provides temporary employment to 120 people from the communities La Chorera and Chapala.

The interpretive trails are an ecotourism activity where visitors walk through paths that connect informative signs with the purpose of learning about the environment, in this case, to learn about the unique natural features of San Quintín Bay.

In addition to the signs, the interpretive stations of Terra Peninsular, La Ola and Mirador Valle Volcánico, are part of these trails.

This restoration seeks to provide clean and accessible paths for both locals and visitors so they visit San Quintín Bay and learn about the ecological importance of the bay and its feature, that way they also learn to respect the flora and fauna of the area.

Although the main objective of this program is the restoration of interpretive trails, the residents of both Chapala and La Chorera decided to separate all the trash they collect at the interpretive trails and send it to a recycling plant.

This proves that the social awareness actions in the communities are working, the residents showed interest in participating in the Temporary Employment Program and also, they had the initiative to recycle the trash.

The Temporary Employment Program of the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) is included in two programs of Terra Peninsular: Adaptive Habitat Management and Social Awareness and Participation.