Climate Action! Support Nature Reserve in Colombia

Dear donors and supporters,

Thanks to your generous support and the collaboration of our ally IdeaWild (USA), we have strengthened our conservation work in the Xieti and La Hondura Canyon Nature Reserves with the arrival of a new Vortex Diamondback HD telescope and Magnus tripod—check this blog post for more details.

This equipment immediately improved our ability to monitor wildlife and habitat conditions, support environmental education, and engage rural schools in hands-on learning experiences.

Within days of receiving it, we documented an exciting close observation of an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) at Lake Tota, photographed through digiscoping at about 150 meters—an inspiring moment now being incorporated into our environmental education activities. The new equipment enhances species identification, strengthens citizen-science efforts, and improves our overall understanding of ecological changes in the wetlands and Andean forest ecosystems we protect.

Your contributions make these advances possible. With each improvement in our monitoring capacity, we strengthen restoration efforts, community learning, and long-term climate action within both reserves.

Thank you for helping us protect and better understand these valuable ecosystems.

With gratitude,

Felipe Velasco
Director at Fundación Montecito

Links:

• Support our Climate Action project with a monthly donation
• Blog post related to the new scope arrival

Dear donors and supporters:

Report on Recent Advancements: Climate Action at Xieti Nature Reserve

This report highlights significant progress made in recent months (June and July 2025) within the "Climate Action! Support Nature Reserve in Colombia" project on GlobalGiving. The project focuses on creating and managing private nature reserves in Colombia, with Xieti Nature Reserve, located next to Lake Tota, being one of the key Andean sites benefiting from this initiative. The aim is to foster human-nature harmony and generate climate actions through knowledge and art.

Key Advancements (June - July 2025):

In June and July 2025, the Xieti Nature Reserve achieved important milestones by strengthening its environmental education capabilities and implementing climate actions through knowledge and art.

1. Inauguration of Taller Xieti (the Xieti Studio):

• The Taller Xieti was officially inaugurated in June 2025, establishing a permanent learning center focused on art and nature.
• Its core mission is to unite art, nature, and environmental education to foster empathy and commitment to the surrounding environment, particularly paying tribute to the Lake Tota basin.
• Juanita Arango, an illustrator and artisan passionate about art and its connection to the natural world, is in charge of the Taller Xieti. Her portfolio gives a valuable approach to her commitment to that topic.
• The Taller Xieti offers a variety of events and workshops including drawing, handicrafts, and bird illustration. It also provides training on diverse topics related to wetlands and conservation, and organizes art exhibitions for pedagogical purposes.
• This initiative was made possible with support from families, the local community, and Full Circle Labs (United Kingdom). The Taller Xieti is situated directly at the Xieti Nature Reserve.

2. Initiation of Constant Pluviosity Monitoring:

• Constant monitoring of pluviosity (rainfall) began on June 28, 2025, providing daily continuous records of precipitation at the western side of Lake Tota.
• This monitoring is conducted using a homemade pluviometer, with measurements taken by volume and converted to millimeters of rain.
• The monitoring serves a dual purpose: as an exercise in citizen science for practical use and dissemination, and as support for scientists requiring data for their research. Specifically, daily and monthly water samples are collected in collaboration with a research project on isotopic traceability and the water cycle, led by biologist (PhD candidate) Alejandra Rodríguez-Abaunza at Indiana University (USA).
• Xieti also monitors wind direction and publishes monthly climate perceptions on its Facebook page since 2019.

Contribution to Climate Action: These advancements directly contribute to the project's goal of enhancing human-nature harmony. The Taller Xieti strengthens the reserve's capacity for environmental education through art, fostering commitment to the environment. The pluviosity monitoring, conducted as citizen science and in support of academic research, provides valuable data for understanding climate patterns and supporting sustainable initiatives.

Both initiatives serve as concrete examples of climate action, aiming to improve learning by experience for locals and visitors, and ultimately leading to greater environmental awareness and positive changes. The long-term vision is for Xieti Nature Reserve to be recognized as an environmental education hub that helps create a nature-harmonious society.

Thank you for your valuable support, that helps to materialise these initiatives and maintain our motivation with this project's purpose.

With gratitude,

Felipe Velasco
Fundación Montecito

Links:

• Taller Xieti (Xieti Studio)
• Podcast version about advancements at Xieti Nature Reserve (ESP)
• Support our Climate Action project with a monthly donation