We hulled quite a few seeds this week.

March 21st to 27th, 2005

Hello Peter,

The new Bioregional Education Manager Kristen Lansdale’s visit went quite well. First she met with Renée and me to talk about how to get started with the education program and where to find resources. She also helped us plant trees at Inter-Americano Colegio, transplant seedlings at the greenhouse, and wash and cut plastic bottles from the university’s cafeteria. Her father helped out a bit too and took some digital photographs which he plans to send to us. Renée took them both on a tour of our revegetation sites. We got to know Kristen’s grandparents too, as we all went out for dinner at El Buen Sabor, where we ate on your last night here, followed by ice cream at Tropi-Helado.  

We hulled quite a few seeds this week, and labeled and dated the containers. We also got some new ones, cascol, from our walk with the community in Bella Vista barrio. We went there in order to get a sense of their plans for reforestation and offer some advice. Victor and Juan from that community also worked with us this week.

We cleared vegetation from El Bosque en Medio de Las Ruinas, the “wild park” in Maria Auxiliadora barrio, and relined trails with bricks and other debris from houses ruined by the earthquake. I gave Elva a quick visit on the way back down, and she says the Eco-Amigo kids have been asking her when they’re going to work with us again!  We also brought a big sack of waste paper from our office over to the Arte Papel group for recycling.

As far as my impressions of Cerro Seco Reserva near Bella Vista, I remarked to Marcelo how small the trees looked for being so old, and he said that they grow quite slowly in the dry tropical forest. It was interesting to see cactus mixed in with the forest, and to observe how the trees we are planting will look when they are grown. The vegetation was quite green and abundant, and I’m sure it will look completely different in the dry season. Since a lot of animals, especially birds, are reproducing at this time of year, Cerro Seco is closed to the general public for a few months.

I spent the Easter weekend in the highlands around Quito, and Renée went to Quito in order to meet a friend. 

More later, Heather