Eco-Ecuador Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation Project
The Dry Tropical Vegetation of Bahia De Caraquez coastal bioregion is both specific and barely extant. The Project began as an effort to stabilize hillsides (which had recently become mudslides) by replanting a combination of indigenous trees, shrubs and grasses. Working with local people as well as international volunteers, the various project managers have each left their mark on the Eco-Ecuador Project. This page is a compilation of who they are and were and a links to their Reports.
September 24-28, 2007 Summary: The last week with only a couple volunteers; soon more will be arriving and the house will fill up again for the first time in over two months. The routine of watering continued and other projects are mixed in to keep things interesting. It’s almost October and the trees planted in February and March are doing very well. There’s been a less […]
September 17-21, 2007 On Monday we got a ride into El Toro and watered the revegetation site, then walked back out to the main road and caught the bus to the greenhouse. At the greenhouse the plants were watered and some weeding was done. More Guachapeli seeds were collected from full-sized trees nearby that are dropping seed pods. Tuesday we were back at the El Toro […]
September 10-14, 2007 The week started off with going bottle hunting in Leonidas Plaza. Judy joined Patrick and me as we scoured the suburb of Bahia picking up empty three-liter plasticsoda bottles. We talked to some fishermen about the possibility of using old nets to cover young trees to protect them from insects and animals during the dry season. As it turns out, the fishermen […]
September 3-7, 2007 On Monday we watered Maria Dolores and Don Pepe. Some neighborhood kids came out to help us carry the water at Maria Dolores. From there to the greenhouse where we watered and turned the compost. In the morning on Tuesday we watered La Cruz and then caught the bus to the greenhouse to do some general cleaning up. Some benches were built […]
August 27-31, 2007 Summary: This week was still somewhat low on staff and it was a bit of a struggle to cover the watering of the sites, but we were able to take care of them, and even had some time to work in the greenhouse. On Monday compost was picked up from our friend Don Luis Dueñas and taken to the greenhouse, where we […]
August 20-24, 2007 Summary: This was another week with only one volunteer, and thankfully plenty of help from our Ecuadorian friends, and even a little rain to make the watering possible. Since Brian left last Friday, there was only me and Lindsey left. On Monday we went to the greenhouse to check in on things, watered the plants and seed beds, turned compost and did some […]
August 13-17, 2007 Summary: This week was exclusively about the core Planet Drum group, me, Brian and Lindsey. We watered all of the reforestation sites as usual and continued planting seeds and upkeep in the greenhouse. Monday we watered and weeded at the greenhouse, and also dug up a new seed bed and mixed soil for it. Then one of the other new seed beds was […]
July 30-August 3, 2007 This week we lucked out by finding some extra hands around town to pitch in with the work, since our numbers have dwindled to one volunteer. Simply keeping up with watering the planted sites proves to be a challenge. Fortunately some travelers came out to help the cause for a couple days. On Monday, Brian and I went to the greenhouse […]
July 23-27, 2007 This week we were down to one volunteer. Fortunately, Brian is a hard worker because as usual there’s a lot to get done. On Monday we went to the greenhouse, watered, dumped off compost, weeded and checked on the plants. From there we walked over to Maria Dolores and Don Pepe to do some watering. With only two people it took two […]
July 16-20, 2007 Summary: As volunteers continue to depart from Planet Drum, the rest of the family keeps the work going. We are planting seeds like crazy to build up the arsenal of trees for next year’s reforestation sites. Dry season weather persists with many overcast days and breezes that could be described as “cool.” There was another field trip this week, to a community called Los Caras, named […]