Eco-Ecuador

Collaboration for a Long-Term Sustainable City

Catholic University Revegetation Check-in

By Clay Plager-Unger | May 12, 2016

As the dry season sets in and precipitate becomes increasing sparse, students from the Catholic University on their own initiative, cleared around trees they had planted with Planet Drum in years past. They dug holes around the trees for water, and have been watering them regularly so that they continue to thrive. In the aftermath of the earthquake, any kind of new growth and regeneration […]

Greenhouse Update May 2016

By Clay Plager-Unger | May 11, 2016

After the collapse of the greenhouse, and having every single tree fall over from the earthquake, the situation has been somewhat stabilized. The collapsed greenhouse material was removed and burned. Trees were righted. And we already have visitors coming looking for trees. There are several thousand trees that are ready to be delivered, although obviously interest in receiving trees is notably lower due much more […]

CNEL Tree Distribution

By Clay Plager-Unger | May 11, 2016

Electrical engineer Harold Rivandiniera from the National Electric Company (CNEL), organized a native fruit tree donation event at the Planet Drum greenhouse with CNEL contractors from around the Manabí province to receive trees for their ongoing Árbol Eléctrico (Electric Tree) campaign. Planet Drum has been providing CNEL with the trees for their community based tree planting campaign and since 2013 thousands of trees have been […]

Water Filter Delivery

By Clay Plager-Unger | April 30, 2016

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 […]

Greenhouse Workshop with GSE Volunteers

By Clay Plager-Unger | April 4, 2016

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 […]

Revegetation with Catholic University Students

By Clay Plager-Unger | March 28, 2016

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 […]

María Auxiliaria – La cruz Tree Delivery

By Clay Plager-Unger | March 25, 2016

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 Native Planet Donation

By Clay Plager-Unger | March 22, 2016

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.

Bellavista Tree Giveaway

By Clay Plager-Unger | March 8, 2016

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, […]

Ramada Rescue

By Clay Plager-Unger | March 3, 2016

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 […]