Early December was the culmination of the Sixth Phase of funding from the United Nations Development Fund for Small Grants Programme. On December 5th a conference was held to mark its completion. One year after receiving funding, projects from the Estuario Río Chone, La Segua, and Cordillera del Bálsamo Biocorridor gave presentations about what they had accomplished during the year. I was chosen to present about […]
Tree production at the greenhouse continues to progress smoothly. After having collected, prepared and planted seeds, there are lots of seedlings germinating in the elevated seedbeds. We had a load of 2,100 used plastic bottles to repurpose as tree planters delivered to the greenhouse. Volunteers helped to organize trees, mix soil, cut the tops off bottles, and fill them with soil for transplanting. We transplanted approximately […]
I bumped into an old friend, Acurio, who lives in the San Roque neighborhood on the hillside above Bahía. He planted some Planet Drum trees at his house about ten years ago and asked if he could have some more. I offered to take a batch of trees to his neighborhood and to plant trees with him and his neighbors. A few days later, with the […]
Our friend Yocasta reached out to me again about planting more trees with community residents, this time with the Caran neighborhood, which is located in Leonidas Plaza. At first only a few residents came out to help us for tree planting, but little by little more and more showed up. Some helped dig holes and plant trees, others offered advice. A few took trees to […]
To increase tree production capacity, we built a fourth elevated seedbed at the greenhouse. Planet Drum volunteers Mary Lou, Camile, Julia, Emile and Dirk all helped with the construction. Bamboo pieces were cut to length, and some were split in half lengthwise. Holes were dug in the ground for the supporting posts. The bottom of elevated seedbed is made of split pieces of bamboo laid side […]
We took a weekend excursion to camp out at the Punta Gorda Nature Reserve, which is owned by long time friend and environmental collaborator Ramon ‘Moncho’ Cedeno. Ramon has built a cabin and campsite on a hillside overlooking the Pacific Ocean surrounded by isolated and relatively intact Dry Tropical Forest. The reserve is located in the middle of the Cordillera del Balsamo Biological Corridor and […]
An old acquaintance from San Vicente had been in touch with Orlando about planting trees in his neighborhood. Despite being a very impoverished area, most of the residents had beautiful gardens with lots of trees, plants, and flowers. They were very excited about receiving trees. We arrived with a group five volunteers and delivered 100 native fruit producing trees. After meeting with the residents and planting […]
We visited the Algarrobos School in Canoa to finish planting the second elevated seedbed with the sixth graders and assist with the garden projects at the school. The sixth graders had brought in mandarina [mandarin], naranja [orange], limon [lime], papaya and other seeds from home for planting at school. We mixed the soil in the elevated bed and planted the seeds with the students. Afterwards […]
At Yocasta’s suggestion, we delivered a batch of 40 native fruit-producing trees to a local community housing project in Leonidas Plaza, Ciudadela Maria Enrique Orrantia, that was built for earthquake refugees. There was a barren hillside in the middle of the community that was an ideal location for revegetation. Additionally, residents took trees to plant in their patios and backyards. Approximately thirty local residents including a […]
In Bioregional Education news, we paid a visit to the Algarrobos School in Canoa to check in on the students, their gardens, and the elevated seedbeds that we had constructed there. Planet Drum volunteers assisted the students in creating a new garden space at the school and fixing up the older spaces that they are using. We helped the fifth graders make signs and plant seeds for […]