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.
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, […]
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 […]
February 23rd marked the 17th anniversary of Bahía de Caráquez Ecological City declaration. While local ecological groups (Amigos de la Ecociudad – Friends of the Ecocity) have worked tirelessly over the years to develop their various ecological programs and environmental work, support from the city government has been sporadic and mostly focused on the garbage separation program (organic, inorganic recycling, and inorganic waste). The true heroes […]
Local ecological groups from Bahía worked together on Saturday, February 20th, as part of a provincial-wide reforestation effort coordinated by CORFAM (the provincial government’s reforestation program). Representatives from the Bahía municipality, Cordillera del Bálsamo biological corridor, Cerro Seco biological reserve, Planet Drum, and students from Fanny de Baird, Interamericano high schools and the Catholic University all collaborated with Global Student Embassy to plant approximately 800 […]
There are nearly 3,000 trees of 26 different native species at the Planet Drum greenhouse that are healthy, green, and big enough to be distributed throughout the Manabí province for various revegetation efforts in coordination with regional ONG’s, Municipalities, urban and rural communities, and private landowners. Greenhouse Inventory Species:AchioteAguacateAlgarroboAlmendraBálsamoCacaoCascolCeiboCerezaChirimoyaFernan SanchezFruta de PanGuachapeliGuanabanoGuava de VehucoGuayabaJaboncilloLengua de VacaMameyMandarinaMangoMatePapayaPechicheTamarindoTierra de MonteTotal: Quantity:833375816846884538160714513463316619825455560502973 Additionally, seedbeds of Bálsamo, Guachapeli, Guayaba, […]
During the second meeting in Bahía de Caráquez this year for coordinating a reforestation effort organized by the CORFAM organization (a provincial-wide reforestation initiative led by the regional government), local environmentalists discuss strategies for organizing events in Bahía de Caráquez as part of a larger civil day of ecological action which will take place on February 20th. Throughout the Manabí province, hundreds of thousands of […]
The much-hyped El Niño rains have only made a small appearance in Bahía de Caráquez thus far this rainy season (typically January-April). As of late January it has only rained hard three times, plus a handful of drizzles. Due to recent years of (severe) drought conditions, the rains have been desperately needed for the survival of forest vegetation, and the hills have turned from dusty […]
Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation Project Overview July, 2015 The Dry Tropical Forest Revegetation Project has the following long-term objectives: Ecosystem Restoration Protecting the Environment Bioregional Education During the past few months, significant progress has been made on all of these fronts. Thanks to the international volunteers who have assisted making this happen, and to the interest of local residents in conserving and restoring their surrounding […]
December 6th, 2014 – March 17th, 2015 Field Report It’s been an odd rainy season so far, drier than normal. In January it hardly rained at all, and in February it only rained towards the end of the month. Finally, now in March it’s raining a little more. As of early February, only 20% of farmers in the province had planted anything at all, which […]