Guardians of the Water: A Young Leader’s Story from Juluchuca
Lilia is a student at Community Telebachillerato 193, Juluchuca campus, and an active volunteer in ReSiMar’s Water Node projects: Citizen Science and Guardianes del Agua. She has shown both strong interest and skill in monitoring water quality, working confidently in the field and in the community laboratory.
As part of a school project, Lilia created a short documentary (above) that captures our community-based water quality monitoring efforts. In the film, she explains that we measure water quality using three key parameters:
Biological parameters – We assess the presence of coliform bacteria and certain macroinvertebrate taxa, which serve as indirect indicators of overall water health.
Landscape parameters – We assign numerical values to the level of degradation in the gallery forest. Here, long-term empirical knowledge of local species and environmental changes is essential.
Physico-chemical parameters – These are evaluated both in the field and in the community laboratory, located at the high school. This familiar setting helps students feel confident and actively engaged in the scientific process.
The short film was built using photos and video footage captured by Lilia’s classmates and a teacher from the Telebachillerato. While the final interview and visual material reflect a collaborative effort, Lilia is the intellectual and creative force behind the project. She led the editing, direction, and narrative content throughout the film.
Although the documentary fulfills an academic requirement, it also reflects Lilia’s genuine passion for leading initiatives that promote the conservation of the aquatic ecosystem within her own micro-watershed in Guerrero—a place she calls home. We are especially proud of Lilia’ efforts due to them being completely self-initiated, the documentary reflects the power of giving youth the agency to protect their natural spaces.
At ReSiMar, we strive to foster a sense of belonging, intellectual ownership, and curiosity about nature, while encouraging respect and protection for the places we share. Liliana’s film represents one of many meaningful steps toward strengthening community engagement and safeguarding Mexico’s ecosystems for future generations.
Liliana in the center with the ReSiMar Node Leaders
