Caldera students receive support to be part of sustainable competition in Sweden

In an emotional ceremony, a symbolic check for $10 million was presented to two students of the Manuel Blanco Encalada High School, through a public-private partnership between the Municipality of Caldera and Compañía Minera del Pacífico - CMP. The students Nicolás Sierralta and Ferdy Hernández, together with their teacher Sergio Julio, developed since 2018 the project called "Use of human hair filters in artisanal fishing vessels to capture hydrocarbon residues in bilge maneuvers, 2nd stage", with which they will participate in the "Junior Water Prize" competition in Stockholm, known as the Junior Nobel of Water. To achieve this objective, the scientific team of the educational establishment required great economic support to pay for the trip and stay in Stockholm, which was made possible thanks to the collaboration agreement that the municipality has with the company CMP. "We are really happy to support them. This is absolutely linked to our way of understanding the relationship with the community. It points directly to two of the most relevant aspects of our strategy, which are sustainability and integration and shared growth with the territories. This project also presents a practical solution to a problem, with means at hand and reinforcing recycling and reusing waste to create a new idea and product," emphasized Patrick McNab, Sustainability Manager of CMP. Currently, the world is seeking to combat climate change, and this international award that encourages young people's interest in water and environmental issues, is an instance that allowed LMBE students to develop a project that seeks to contribute to the ecosystem, capturing the hydrocarbons present on the coast of Caldera, with the use of human hair filters (provided by hairdressers) in artisanal fishing boats. "We are very proud and happy that Nicolás and Ferdy can represent us as a country in an international award. We wish them every success. Today they are the pride not only of public education at a national level, but also a very special pride because they are making a contribution to climate change. And most importantly, today a range of cultural opportunities opens up for them, representing us in Sweden", emphasized our Mayor Brunilda González. In this way, a municipal management, through our Mayoress and the Honorable Municipal Council, together with Compañía Minera del Pacífico, allowed the wish of two students from Caldera to become a reality, who said that "we feel happy, because it gives us an impressive relief to know that we have the support of Caldera, it is a very comforting feeling. I would like to thank all the people who were involved, because without them the trip would not have been possible. Thank you very much for the ceremony and the funding". The money will finance lodging, food and internal transfers to the trips to Sweden and Mexico, among other expenses.