Clay Plager-Unger is the former director of Planet Drum Foundation's Eco-Ecuador project.
Planet Drum friend and volunteer extraordinaire Bruce (USA), showed up on his motorcycle with two dozen Sawyer gravity-powered water filters to distribute to Earthquake refugees in the Bahía area. The filters can be installed on any water receptacle and via gravity filter the water into another container. They are perfect for turning truck (or city) water into potable drinking water and can save people money […]
A large group of GSE volunteers from northern California and a handful of students from local eco-clubs visited the Planet Drum greenhouse to participate in a tree transplanting workshop. The visitors learned about Planet Drum’s revegetation project and assisted in transplanting approximately 250 seedlings from seedbeds to bottles. Work included mixing soil, cutting and filling bottles, and transplanting trees. The group was very motivated and […]
Students from the Catholic University, where the Planet Drum greenhouse is located, joined in revegetation efforts for a morning. Trees from the greenhouse were taken to the hillside behind the University and planted under the supervision of field foreman Orlando Arias. This year the University has a new director, who has expressed interest in increasing collaboration with its students and Planet Drum’s revegetation project. So […]
After multiple requests for fruit trees from residents in the María Auxiliadora and La Cruz neighborhoods, which are located on the hillsides facing Bahía, Planet Drum came through with a truckload of trees with the specific fruit species that residents asked for, including Pechiche, Chirimoya, Guava de Vehuco, Guayaba, Cereza, Guanabano, and Tamarind. Upon arriving at both neighborhoods, the trees were scooped up by locals […]
Bahía Firefighters visited the Planet Drum greenhouse to pick up native plants as part of a community revegetation activity. Medicinal plants, grasses, and fruit trees were all donated to support their ecological endeavor. The plants were taken to a rural community near San Vicente and planted with the participation of local residents.
On Monday, Planet Drum (PD) loaded up a truck with native fruit trees (220, to be exact) to deliver to the Bellavista community. Bellavista is one of the hillside neighborhoods that surrounds Bahía de Caráquez, and PD has been planting trees there for over ten years. Many of the trees are already large with deep root systems that are helping to stabilize the precarious hillside, […]
Recent rains caused a weakened support beam of the greenhouse ramada to collapse, almost destroying the entire structure with the weight of the water-logged thatch. Orlando, Clay, and a local worker replaced 5 of the 8 bamboo supports in order to salvage the roof, which, surprisingly is still intact four and a half years after its original construction. After completing the repairs, there is hardly […]
February 23rd marked the 17th anniversary of Bahía de Caráquez Ecological City declaration. While local ecological groups (Amigos de la Ecociudad – Friends of the Ecocity) have worked tirelessly over the years to develop their various ecological programs and environmental work, support from the city government has been sporadic and mostly focused on the garbage separation program (organic, inorganic recycling, and inorganic waste). The true heroes […]
Local ecological groups from Bahía worked together on Saturday, February 20th, as part of a provincial-wide reforestation effort coordinated by CORFAM (the provincial government’s reforestation program). Representatives from the Bahía municipality, Cordillera del Bálsamo biological corridor, Cerro Seco biological reserve, Planet Drum, and students from Fanny de Baird, Interamericano high schools and the Catholic University all collaborated with Global Student Embassy to plant approximately 800 […]
There are nearly 3,000 trees of 26 different native species at the Planet Drum greenhouse that are healthy, green, and big enough to be distributed throughout the Manabí province for various revegetation efforts in coordination with regional ONG’s, Municipalities, urban and rural communities, and private landowners. Greenhouse Inventory Species:AchioteAguacateAlgarroboAlmendraBálsamoCacaoCascolCeiboCerezaChirimoyaFernan SanchezFruta de PanGuachapeliGuanabanoGuava de VehucoGuayabaJaboncilloLengua de VacaMameyMandarinaMangoMatePapayaPechicheTamarindoTierra de MonteTotal: Quantity:833375816846884538160714513463316619825455560502973 Additionally, seedbeds of Bálsamo, Guachapeli, Guayaba, […]