Posts

Community Outreach

By Clay Plager-Unger / June 12, 2019 / 0 Comments

Community outreach is an integral aspect of Planet Drum’s environmental program in Ecuador. In June, we were invited to participate in two regional events related to ecology. On June 5th-6th, a biodiversity conference was held at the Technical University of Manabí. Environmental organizations from Bahía and the surrounding area participated in an open house with educational […]

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Seed Collection

By Clay Plager-Unger / April 15, 2019 / 0 Comments

Recent seed collection excursions in and around Bahia have yielded Cascol, Guayaba, Tamarind, and Pechiche seeds. At the greenhouse, volunteers planted the seeds in seedbeds. They will be ready for transplanting in approximately 2-3 months.

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Greenhouse Activities

By Clay Plager-Unger / April 12, 2019 / 0 Comments

Keeping the Planet Drum greenhouse running smoothly and the trees healthy and growing well involves weeding, watering, and organizing trees. Volunteers are key to the successful production of native trees at the greenhouse!

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Transplanting Seedlings

By Clay Plager-Unger / April 9, 2019 / 0 Comments

At the Planet Drum greenhouse, volunteers work hard to produce new trees. The seedbeds had Tamarind, Guava, and Mango seedlings ready for transplanting into bottles. Soil was prepared and mixed. Bottles were cut and filled with soil. 200 Tamarind, 100 Guava and 150 Mango seedlings were transplanted into the bottles.

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Tree Planting in the Ciudadela Maria Enrique Orrantia Neighborhood

By Clay Plager-Unger / March 22, 2019 / 0 Comments

Residents in the Ciudadela Maria Enqiue Orrantia requested more native fruit trees for planting in their community. We did a tree planting campaign there 5 months ago. Guayaba, Guava, Chirimoya, Mango, Mandarin and Orange trees were delivered and over the course of several days 80 trees were planted on two sides of the neighborhood. Local […]

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Urban Hillside Revegetation in Bahía de Caráquez

By Clay Plager-Unger / February 27, 2019 / 0 Comments

Over the course of four days in February, more than 60 native fruit trees were planted on a hillside in Bahía de Caráquez. The site is located on a hill above the beach promenade which faces the Pacific Ocean. Planet Drum is collaborating with two local residents (Benigno and Ester), who maintain small gardens there […]

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Bahía Ecocity Environmental Forum

By Clay Plager-Unger / February 23, 2019 / 0 Comments

For the 20th anniversary of Bahía de Caráquez’s declaration as an Ecological City, Hugo Vaca, head of the environmental department for the city, wisely decided to host an environmental forum instead of a celebration, as has been custom in the past. Despite the lack of initiatives coordinated by the city government, many private and public […]

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Muddy Waters

By Clay Plager-Unger / February 8, 2019 / 1 Comment

Julia (USA) spent five months (September – January) interning at Planet Drum. During this time, she was very dedicated to helping with all of the various work activities. Regardless of how difficult, muddy, sticky (peeling tamarind seeds), smelly, or how many mosquitoes bit her, she had a smile. I would especially like to thank her […]

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Hillside Revegetation in El Astillero

By Clay Plager-Unger / January 30, 2019 / 0 Comments

On December 19th we began planting trees on the hillside above the Astillero neighborhood. 15 trees were planted that day. After delivering 60 more trees (15 each of Algarrobo, Ébano, Guachapelí, and Guayacán) in January, we spent 3 more days planting them, resulting in a total of 75 trees at the revegetation site. With machetes, we […]

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Volunteering Experience

By Matej Spodniak / January 26, 2019 / 0 Comments

January, 2019 I had been inspired by the book The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono, when I arrived in Bahía to participate in Planet Drum’s ecological project. So I was very excited to go out and plant a whole forest of trees. However, reality is always a bit different from what we read in books. […]

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