Report #1 “Outreach to students about Composting” Report #2 “Tours and Planting with Students” Report #3 “Vermicomposting” Report #4 “Escuela Rotaria Story” (“Rotary School Story”) Report #5 (Supplemental Report) Report #1 October 5, 2002 Kristen Ford and Chris HaasPlanet Drum Volunteers It has been one week since Peter and Judy’s departure to Guayaquil. I figured that today would be a great time to send my […]
Since late September the Eco-Ecuador Project has been collaborating with the Catholic University on a new course at their campus at Kilometro Ocho, where the Planet Drum greenhouse is located. The course introduces university students to bioregional concepts and principles and includes a hands-on component at the greenhouse with dry tropical revegetation practices. There are about twenty students in the class and it meets Wednesdays […]
Bioregional education workshops at the Planet Drum greenhouse teach the importance of forest conservation and practical information about how to restore this threatened ecosystem. Participants engage in hands on activities related to tree production and revegetation. In recent months, Planet Drum hosted workshops at the greenhouse for school groups from Los Algarrobos School (Canoa) and the Eloy Alfaro School (Bahía). Planet Drum has worked with […]
In recent months, there has been a noticeable increase in youth volunteering in the region. Many of them are involved in environmental work, often tree planting, which means that sooner or later they find out about Planet Drum’s revegetation project and want to participate. One group, Fuerza Equitativa Juvenil de San Vicente (Equitable Youth Force of San Vicente), is a loosely knit group of young adults who volunteer […]
There is a new ecological club in town, Bahía Eco-Club, which connects youth volunteers, local students and international volunteers on environmental projects, such as tree-planting. Planet Drum has been assisting them with technical advice, volunteers, and trees. In cooperation with the Eloy Alfaro school in Bahía de Caráquez, they are implementing a new greenhouse operation and recycling center, utilizing an area of the school which […]
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 booths and materials. Additionally, lectures were held on various themes […]
Last September, we planted fruit tree seeds that students from the Algarrobos School in Canoa had brought from home in the elevated seedbeds at the school. Since then, many of the seeds germinated and have grown into seedlings ready for transplanting. The volunteers and I took a trip to the school with supplies to transplant the seedlings out of the seedbeds and into recycled plastic cups. Students […]
We visited the Algarrobos School in Canoa to finish planting the second elevated seedbed with the sixth graders and assist with the garden projects at the school. The sixth graders had brought in mandarina [mandarin], naranja [orange], limon [lime], papaya and other seeds from home for planting at school. We mixed the soil in the elevated bed and planted the seeds with the students. Afterwards […]
In Bioregional Education news, we paid a visit to the Algarrobos School in Canoa to check in on the students, their gardens, and the elevated seedbeds that we had constructed there. Planet Drum volunteers assisted the students in creating a new garden space at the school and fixing up the older spaces that they are using. We helped the fifth graders make signs and plant seeds for […]
Long-time friends of Planet Drum, Gina and her four children along with Clay, Margarita, Sol, and Luna spent the morning at the greenhouse learning about compost production, seed collection and preparation, as well as tree-planting techniques. The kids got their hands dirty mixing a fresh batch of soil (compost, dirt, and rice hulls. Then they filled bottles with prepared soil, and transplanted seedlings from the seedbeds […]