The year 2011 brought new challenges and developments for the GLOBE community in Peru. A group of students from the National Agrarian University-La Molina, interested in the Student Climate Research Campaign (SCRC) and the 2013 GLOBE Learning Expedition, have worked hard to disseminate the SCRC in Peru and to consolidate their knowledge and research skills. Workshops were held throughout the country in order to train students in the development of simple technologies that allow for the types of low-cost atmospheric data collection attainable by most elementary schools in Peru. For example, students build instrument shelters out of wooden fruit boxes, costing approximately 50 cents, and electric thermometers that cost only a dollar. These handmade pieces of equipment allow students to measure temperature and relative humidity. With the support of the Education, Culture, and Citizenship Division of the Ministry of Environment (MINAM), and Peru Country Coordinator Carlos Alberto Rojas Marcos, a host of activities unfolded throughout 2011.

Teachers in South Africa are utilizing the benefits of GLOBE resources in innovative ways to complement their students’ education as well as their extracurricular activities.  The effort to expand Earth science education throughout the community was recently supported through a GLOBE teacher training workshop held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 19-22 December 2011. Ms. Mokgadi Madiga, Government Point of Contact and acting GLOBE Country Coordinator, stated, “Thanks to the work of these devoted teachers who believe in connecting with the Earth through interactive science study, more schools will connect to GLOBE throughout the coming year and environmental awareness campaigns will have a wider reach in our society.”

The GLOBE Near East+North Africa (NENA) Regional Meeting took place on 9-10 February 2012 in Muscat, Oman. The 2012 regional meeting was a continuation of discussions and strategic actions initiated at the July 2011 regional meeting that took place in Washington D.C., as well as a follow-up to the extensive regional training event that occurred in October 2011. Ten countries participated in the meeting including Jordan, Oman, Pakistan, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates; connecting via telephone were Bahrain, Egypt and Lebanon. All countries noted the exemplary leadership of former GLOBE Director Dr. Andy Tasker, United Kingdom, and a moment of silence was observed.

From 23-28 January 2012, GLOBE hosted a Lower Mekong Initiative Train-the-Trainer workshop at Mae Fah Luang University in Chiang Rai, Thailand. The week-long workshop qualified 61 GLOBE trainers and two teachers from seven countries including Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand. In addition to increasing capacity in current GLOBE countries, the workshop was held in order to offer prospective countries the opportunity for GLOBE training. This event was made possible by the gracious support of the United States Embassy in Bangkok. The embassy made provisions to assure that teachers from the Lower Mekong could travel to Thailand to receive training in Atmosphere, Hydrology, Land Cover, and Soil investigation area protocols. The workshop marks a significant step towards a hopefully sustainable regional and sub-regional cooperation, initially among participating countries.