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Field Report #42Clay Plager-Unger
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Others went to the greenhouse to water and begin an
inventory of the plants so that sites for the upcoming planting season can
be laid out with specific locations for trees of specific species.
Weeding and bottle preparation was also accomplished.
On Friday the fence at the Nuevo Globo site was finished.
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At the greenhouse, more of the taller trees were moved to the extension to free up space. The plant inventory was completed, the results are below. And finally, more three-liter bottles were prepared with soil and baby Balsamo, Cedro, Caoba and Dormilon trees were transplanted. That afternoon we said goodbye to Darline (though she'll be rejoining us after a week) Aaron and Marcus. Happy travels! |
We are now in a bit of a lull period, waiting for more of the December folks to show up. There are only two volunteers presently. Efforts will be focused on watering this year's trees and maintenance in the greenhouse, while site preparation for next year's trees will have to be put on hold for about a week.
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Species |
# |
| Algarrobo | 258 |
| Caobo | 134 |
| Cascol | 17 |
| Cedro | 235 |
| Ceibo | 343 |
| Dormilon | 135 |
| Fernan Sanchez | 7 |
| Guachapeli | 215 |
| Guarango | 71 |
| Guasmo | 22 |
| Guayacan | 156 |
| Jaboncillo | 6 |
| Lucaena | 140 |
| Pechiche | 88 |
| Samango | 184 |
| Seca | 85 |
| Tierramonte | 34 |
| TOTAL | 2130 |
Here is the greenhouse inventory. I think we are going to have to 'sacrifice'
the Samango trees and and Lucaena because they are non-native. I
don't know how the Lucaena got in the greenhouse, it was there when I
arrived. The Samango was my mistake, I didn't learn that it is an
introduced species until somewhat recently. Also, the numbers aren't
totally up to date because we've been doing some transplanting since the
inventory was taken.
I
am planning on getting a truckload of Cedro, Balsamo(!!!), and Caoba
Clay
Summary: The sole two volunteers this week, Caroline and Nadine, held down the fort with Revegetation Foreman Jaime for the first few days while I attended a seminar at Cerro Blanco, near Guayaquil, with Bioregional Education Teacher Ramon and Marcelo Luque. Ramon came and helped out on Friday to bolster our numbers.
On Monday I took off for Guayaquil in the morning and Nadine and Jaime watered La Cruz. From there they went to the greenhouse to water plants and they also transplanted Algarrobo seedlings.
Tuesday morning the events began in Cerro Blanco. We were given a tour of the massive (and incredibly well-funded) greenhouse and heard talks about greenhouse work and reforestation efforts.
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It was all very impressive and informative. Among many other things, I learned about more native species that we could work with, germination techniques, soil quality, and times when trees drop seeds. |
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The reforestation they are doing at the Cerro Blanco reserve is proof that large-scale dry tropical forest reforestation is possible. |
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In the afternoon we took a walk into the woods. |
Meanwhile, back in Bahia, the revegetation site at Bosque en Medio de las Ruinas wild park was watered and maintenance work was done on the trails.
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Wednesday was spent touring Porto Hondo, a Mangrove reserve in the same area as Cerro Blanco. That afternoon we returned to Bahia. Jaime took Caroline and Nadine to water at El Toro. The greenhouse was also watered and Bototillo's were transplanted there. |
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At the greenhouse, Dormilon, Balsamo, Bototillo, and Pechiche seedlings were transplanted. |
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On Thursday Bosque Encantado was watered and more Bototillo were transplanted at the greenhouse. On Friday, with Ramon's help, the Don Pepe and Maria Dolores sites were watered. The plants were watered again before the weekend.
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Hasta luego,
Clay
Summary: I damaged my Meniscus while surfing in Canoa over the weekend and had to spend the week resigned to the house with a leg brace preventing me from bending my leg. Fortunately the volunteers kept up with all the work and more of them showed up this week, so now the house is full.
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On Monday the La Cruz vegetation site was watered and the plants in the greenhouse were given water as well. |
Tuesday, Bosque en Medio de las Ruinas was watered.
While there volunteers completed the trail maintenance we've been working
on. The trails are now clear and have rocks and rubble defining them and
Moyuyo-stake stairs have been repaired. Back at the house a general
cleanup was done. That evening Darline, our Belgian volunteer, returned
from her trip to Quito, accompanied by Dave, from Australia, who will be
joining us for a couple of weeks.
On Wednesday, Bosque Encantado, El Toro and the greenhouse were watered. (The fact that all of that fits into one sentence greatly understates the vast amount of work involved.)
On Thursday, the Maria Dolores and Don Pepe sites were watered. While in the area, volunteers cleared trails at the Nuevo Globo site for planting next year.
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On Friday the volunteers went to the greenhouse. The house compost was dumped off and the compost piles were turned. Plants and seedbeds were watered. |
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Samango and Lucaena trees were sacrificed in order to keep with our mission of working with only native species. Only recently was it made clear that these trees are not from this region. Instead of risking the spread of non-native species, they had to be destroyed. At least the soil and bottles will be reused for growing more native trees. |
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Saturday we welcomed the arrival of two new volunteers, Jasper and Devon from California. They will be spending the next two months with us. ˇBienvenidos!
Ciao,
Clay
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