I am now 5+ weeks complete in my 7 week placement, and boy! did the time pass fast!

febrero 22, 2012

I am now 5+ weeks complete in my 7 week placement, and boy! did the time pass fast!

I've continued doing work in the garden, but the rains don't seem to like my work and have been trying hard to undo all I've done. My radishes came up, but are having a hard time producing anything because their roots keep getting exposed by soil erosion caused by heavy rains. Other plants never grew at all, or were drowned by the rains. Very disappointing. Luckily my zuchinni and cucumbers are doing very well, along with the watermelon - seems squash-type plants like rain and heat! I've started more plants in the nursery, trying to get them strong enough to plant in the ground, and hopefully will get them transplanted in the next week before I leave.

Other than the garden, I've also helped Marcelo a bit with reforestation - taking baby plants from one area of the forest and moving them to places where they have a better chance of growing, as well as planting some endemic trees (balsamo specifically) in the nursery to hopefully take root so that they can plant them when they're strong enough. Some university students from Quito and San Vicente were also here for a week helping out, and with their help we were able to do some trail maintenance - fixing stairs that were missing, and adding stairs where needed on the trail.

I took one morning to hike the sendero slowly, taking pictures and enjoying the birdlife. It's amazing how fast things grow during the wet season, and parts of the trail were almost over-grown, so we needed to do some clearing. The views were amazing, and though the bugs were biting, it was worth the time. Glad I wore my boots though! Definity wouldn't want to do the trail with sandals at this time of year!

Outside the sendero I've been spending time doing bird watching around the house - there's a lot to see! A group of Pacific Parrotlets passes through at least once a day, squaking away. We have kept tabs on the Hornero nest next to the hammock area of the house and were happy to see the first baby appear a few days ago! Down at the large Ceibo tree, near the main entrance, there's a community of Yellow-rumped Caciques, as well as other birds nests including a one-coloured Becard, a fasciated wren, and another hornero. We also have seen multiple saffron finches, which is interesting because according to the bird book we have, they are not supposed to be found North of Guayaquil.

Carnaval is being celebrated right now, and it's neat to see how the city comes alive. There's concerts every day and night from Saturday through Tuesday, and Saturday was the parade. The Reserve participated in the planning of the parade, and we walked in amongt the Reinas with our banner. This week is also the celebration for the Eco-city status of Bahia (23 Feb) and we are holding an open house involving pictures and information on the reserve and sustainable practices. Definitely a fun time to be here!