Collaboration for a Long-Term Sustainable City
In July and August various seed collection expeditions have yielded seed bounties of native Dry Tropical Forest species. Pechiche seeds were collected off the ground in the El Toro watershed. Fresh Algarrobo seed pods were harvested in the Astillero neighborhood. And Ceibo seed pods were collected straight from a tree along the main road into town near the Fanca neighborhood in Leonidas Plaza.
Planet Drum maintains a satellite greenhouse operation and revegetation site in the Astillero neighbor just outside of downtown Bahía de Caráquez with cooperation from our longtime friend José María. The extremely steep and eroding revegetation site was planted with 75 trees in December, 2018 – January, 2019. Today we visited the site to monitor and water the trees that were planted. The site has maintained a […]
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 […]
Planet Drum Foundation has been invited by the Sucre County Municipality to participate in an ambitious project to improve 32 kilometers of highway between Bahía de Caráquez and San Clemente, the closest town to the south. The project plans to improve the security, cellphone reception, emergency services, and the environment over the next four years and relies on cooperation between various institutions, including the national […]
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 […]
Professional photographer Matt Timmins from Photographers without Borders joined Planet Drum’s Ecuador project in early June to document the work and provide photos and videos for promotional purposes. While Matt was here, he documented city life in Bahía de Caráquez. Together we visited the greenhouse at the Catholic University, taught bioregional education to neighborhood children in Bellavista with Planet Drum’s volunteers, planted trees at the […]
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 […]
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.
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!
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.