January 21, 2005 This week, January 17-21, we continued with our regular water maintenance of the sites and the greenhouse. Last week’s rain (although only a fraction of what is expected for this time of year) had a huge influence on the surrounding landscape. I was astonished to come back from Quito to a plush green covering where just a short time ago there was […]

Renée Portanova, Field Project Manager   January 21, 2005 This week, January 17-21, we continued with our regular water maintenance of the sites and the greenhouse. Last week’s rain (although only a fraction of what is expected for this time of year) had a huge influence on the surrounding landscape. I was astonished to come back from Quito to a plush green covering where just a […]

Renée Portanova, Volunteer  April 17, 2004   Sorry for the delay, we had some electricity problems yesterday in Bahia. Just to clarify, do you think we should continue to plant the dry-tolerant species and transfer the others into larger sacks?  Is it possible to get burlap sacks rather than plastic bags…they are biodegradable and more organic than plastic? Attached is a detailed report of our activies for this past […]

December 31, 2004 The Christmas Pageant was a huge success. The “show” started with me as the Virgen Maria (Virgin Mary) perched on top of a donkey being led around town (I kid you not when I say “around town” we paraded down Simon Bolivar until we nearly reached the beach then back up Montufar) by San Jose, played by Riccardo.  Following us was a group […]

December 17, 2004 Happy Winter Solstice. The week [Dec. 12-17] started early on Sunday, as Hanna and I headed to Guayaquil to pay a visit to Mike Morgan and the folks at Pro-Bosque Cerro Blanco.  As always Mike was very hospitable, spending the entire morning on Monday showing us around, discussing trees, seeds, restoration techniques, and offering us suggestions for our nursery.  He gave us […]

November 29, 2004 Things went really well this week [November 22-28]. We started on Monday by getting the watering done at the greenhouse and revegetation sites. While Ryan, Jaime and Brette took on the tasks independently (with a few days experience under their belts), Ric and Hanna (from Italy and Germany respectively) moved through things more slowly as I gave the spiel about the projects […]

October 22, 2004   The Planet Drum house had a wonderfully relaxing, sober time at the beach last weekend.  Without sun or alcohol (due to the mayoral election all of Ecuador sustained from serving/selling booze), we spent the majority of our time curled up on hammocks engaging in long reads and stimulating conversations. It was a nice weekend relief. Upon our return, we set out to tend to our […]

October 15, 2004   We had a great week to be ended by an even better weekend.  The Planet Drum house is heading to the beach for some recreating. I imagine that you are heading back home, finishing up your travels, as we depart for our weekend adventure.  It will be nice to have you back in the home office again. Our spurt of growth at […]

October 1, 2004  Monday: The week started off great.  We repaired the fence at Jorge Lomas.  Upon closer examination it seemed the pole snapped at the base. We replaced the pole and tightened the barbed wire.  We also added fallen vegetation around the end points to act as a further deterrent.  It is more secure now than it was originally. The plants that were nibbled are […]

September 26, 2004   This week we mainly stuck to the basics: watering, sowing seeds and maintenance.  Due to extenuating circumstances (expired visas needing renewal, illness, etc.), we were only two in the field for the majority of the week.  This lessened the opportunity for me to meet with folks regarding recruitment for the Bioregional Education Program.  All the seedbeds at the greenhouse are sown.  We […]