Bioregional Education
November 24-December 5, 2008 Summary: Dryness forces us to water some of the most exposed sites. We did major repair work on the roof of the greenhouse. Many, many, many holes for plants were dug. And we commenced planting season with a group of university students! On Monday, Jaime and I went to the greenhouse to transplant some of the last trees that will be part […]
Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador October’s gray, overcast skies in coastal Ecuador are generally constant and cover over even sunrise and set (caida del sol or “fall of the sun”). This makes for pleasantly cool weather despite melancholy moods. It has been called “the gringo month” even though tourists are mostly absent because of the resemblance to Seattle or London (and perhaps the tendency to stare ahead […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #11 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 July 18, 2008 The topic for the week was birds. On Friday we went to observe birds at Punta Gorda. We decided to do one long day of work, instead of two days. Having gotten permission to take the day off from school, we left at 7:30 in the morning from Bahía in a rented vehicle that […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #10 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 July 9 & 11, 2008 The new theme for this week was Soil. We formed groups and began reading an analyzing the worksheets, but not before I asked the class what is soil? They answered everything we walk on, where we were seated, where we live, and that it is important because without it we couldn’t grow food. […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #9 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 July 2 & 4, 2008 This week’s theme was Marine Ecosystems and once again we were accompanied by William and Jaime from Planet Drum. I started the class by asking everyone what they think marine ecosystems are. They answered: The coast and everything in the ocean. I explained to them that the coast of Ecuador meets the […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #8 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 June 25 & 27, 2008 The theme for the week was the Estuary and its importance in the bioregion. We were accompanied by three Planet Drum volunteers: Danielle, Mica, and William. Before beginning class everyone introduced themselves. Frank gave a summary of the previous class, Flora. Then we got into a large circle and I talked a […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #7 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 June 18 & 20, 2008 The theme for this week was Flora, but the students were invited to attend a seminar called “How to make environmental impact studies.” So instead of normal class, the kids all went to the library in the Central Bank Museum. It consisted of showing the importance of these studies, understanding how we can […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #6 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 June 11 & 13, 2008 As usual we met in Bahia’s main park for class on Wednesday. The theme for the day was Land Ecosystems. We split into two groups in order to conduct a debate with questions and answers. But before we began the debate, I defined what land ecosystems are. I told them that land […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #5 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 June 4 & 6, 2008 We began class with everyone sitting in circles in the park. The work for the day was to cover the following themes: modes of transportation, education and culture, gardens, green spaces, and sustainable planning. Raisa led the group discussing modes of transportation. In this group, Jessica commented that the principle contaminants that […]
Ramon’s Weekly Report #4 Bioregionalism EducationSummer Session, 2008 May 21 & 23, 2008 Everyone arrived in the park on Wednesday afternoon, including a Planet Drum volunteer from Japan, who introduced herself as Fuki. I asked Frank for his homework. He turned in the map of the miniature bioregion of his neighborhood. He lives in San Vicente and drew trees, bird nests, his house, and everything […]