Climate Action Puerto Rico Project #34901

Enable an encounter with a rare Pterocarpus Forest

by PHA Pterocarpus Forest, Inc.

Project Report | Aug 6, 2024
Major Announcement: Publication of the New Forest

By Ing. Gabriel Espasas | President, PHA Pterocarpus Forest, Inc.

We are thrilled to announce the publication of the Catalogue of Pterocarpus Forest Organisms, an updated inventory of the plants, trees, animals, fungi, and other organisms that call the Pterocarpus Forest home. This catalog is now accessible through iNaturalist (link above), allowing you to search species by group. Our researchers have already completed the first group, which includes over 70 species of fungi.

In the coming months, we will focus on cataloging the remaining species of the 224 flora, fauna and fungi identified in the Forest’s 51-acres. We’ll keep you informed as we complete each group.

The 2010 preliminary inventory included only 44 species of flora and 52 species of fauna. That initial inventory, created during the establishment of the Palmas del Mar Homeowners’ Association Conservation Easement with the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust, omitted smaller plants, fungi, and many invertebrate species.

We want to acknowledge the hard work and perseverance of Drs. Ivelisse Irizarry and Rita Cáceres-Charneco, of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico - Metropolitan campus, and the University of Puerto Rico, Cayey campus, respectively, and the dozens of student researchers who joined them on the Forest floor and in the trees, for making this publication possible.

The creation of the Forest Inventory Project is also due to the generous support and encouragement received from friends and donors like you. We want to express our heartfelt thanks once more – you’ve made this achievement possible!

Other Forest Activities and Plans

New QR Code-Based Virtual Tour

We are excited to announce the upcoming installation of a new 19-stop interpretative signage program along the Forest boardwalk. Using QR codes, visitors can access audio-visual content about the Forest’s fascinating features. This QR code tour will replace the outdated “Forest Tour” app.

Support the Forest with ATH Móvil and Venmo

The Pterocarpus Forest will soon be accessible via Puerto Rico’s popular platform for nonprofit philanthropy, ATH Móvil Donate. We are also taking preliminary steps to add Venmo. These platforms will enable on-site and online visitors from Puerto Rico and the mainland U.S. to easily support our project.

Social Media Engagement

We are revitalizing our popular “Did you know…?” (“¿Sabía usted…?”) posts from 2020. Starting in the next few weeks, we will share updated and new weekly posts featuring interesting facts, new photos, videos, and illustrations about the Forest.

Forest Educational and Conservation Activities

Stay updated on our educational and conservation efforts by joining our community of over 7,200 followers on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PterocarpusPR/) and 3,450 on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/pterocarpuspr/). If you haven’t already, follow us to stay informed!

Expansion of the Boardwalk

The Forest Board recently reaffirmed its commitment to expanding the Forest's 3/4-mile elevated boardwalk. The expanded walkway will reach a stream alongside the swamp forest, allowing visitors to experience more of the Forest’s natural beauty.

* * *

Our commitment to using the Forest as a living classroom for environmental education, passive recreation, and scientific research remains steadfast. Your support makes this possible, and we thank you for your continued generosity.

Thank you for being a vital part of our community and supporting the Pterocarpus Forest!

Sample Catalogue Entry: Sailfin Catfish (Plecos)

Fungi of the Pterocarpus (page 1 of 3)

Scan this sample, new Forest QR-Coded Stop!

2017 "Sabia usted....?" series - to be updated!

Links:

Permalink

Jan 19, 2023
Moving on to the Growing Learning about the Forest Project

By Roberto Soto Acosta | Project Consultant

Get ready for "A Night in the Forest" 2023!

As of November 29, 2022, GivingTuesday, the new Friends of the Forest project has become Growing Learning about a rare Tropical Ecosystem.[1] (Forest Growing Learning Project)

Our main focus will be the first inventory in over a decade of the Pterocarpus Forest’s flora, fauna and fungi and on securing financial support with which to carry out the project. The resultant "catalogue" will update and expand upon the Conservation Easement Supplemental Baseline Documentation Report carried out by the Fideicomiso de Conservación de Puerto Rico in December 2010.

The revised document will be colorful, bilingual, more comprehensive and on-line, providing user-friendly detailed descriptions of the natural features of the Forest, including discoveries and observations of new species over the past 13 years, including some that might be attributable to Hurricanes María and Irma in 2017. It is noteworthy that for years we’ve touted that the Forest is home to 96 species of flora and fauna, while recent, preliminary studies have already identified 167 species!

The estimated cost of the inventory and online publication is $12,500, of which we’ve raised nearly $3,000 ($750 on GlobalGiving), enough to begin the inventory component. We'll need additional support to turn the inventory results into the online catalogue.

The publication of the Forest Inventory catalogue will be a major element of our 10^th anniversary celebration. It will have been a decade since the March 2013 signing of the Conservation Easement that established the Pterocarpus Forest as a nature reserve in Palmas del Mar open to the public, and on which day it opened.

This upcoming milestone in the Forest’s history provides us with the opportunity to launch a number of other important initiatives to sustain and enhance appreciation for the Pterocarpus ecosystem, for present and future generations. We want to share three of these with you here. And we welcome both your ideas and support.

Other anniversary activities will include:

The extension of the currently ¾ mile, elevated boardwalk to new areas within the Forest.
The first annual update to the content and enabling technology of the Forest Tour App.
The first-ever "Night in the Forest”, an educational nighttime tour of the Forest, a chance to discover another, darker and enchanting face of the woodland swamp.

The Friends of the Bosque (PHA Pterocarpus Forest, Inc.) are looking forward to another 10 years of successful forest conservation, education, passive recreation, and invaluable scientific discoveries. We hope you will visit the Forest soon, physically or virtually, and see for yourself the impact of your support!

[1]As noted in our past twoactivity reports, we have achieved the programmatic goal for this project, the Forest Tour App, so that we will be formally deactivating the Enable an encounter with a rare Pterocarpus Forest project on GlobalGiving.

Working toward a new Forest Inventory catalogue

Links:

Permalink

Sep 5, 2022
Moving on Toward our Next Decade!

By Antonio Maldonado | Secretary, Board of Directors

NOTE: As noted in our last report, we have achieved the programmatic goal for this project, the Forest Tour App, so that we will be formally deactivating this project. We’ll be starting a new GlobalGiving project in the fall, and you will be among the first to learn about our new initiative.

Next March we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Pterocarpus Forest nature reserve in Palmas del Mar.

The Friends are taking the opportunity of this upcoming milestone in the Forest’s history to launch a number of important initiatives in order to sustain the appreciation and existence of the Pterocarpus ecosystem, for present and future generations. We want to share these with you, our friends and neighbors, and all lovers of nature and welcome your ideas and support.

Over the next couple of years, with the help of our current benefactors and new friends of this unique ecosystem and ecotourist attraction we will:

Update the Palmas del Mar Conservation Easement Supplemental Baseline Documentation Report carried out by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust in December 2010. The new, online report will contain an updated inventory of the Forest’s flora, fauna and fungi, reflecting discoveries and observations in the past 12 years, including changes attributable to the Category 5 Hurricane María.

Update the Forest Tour App. The update will reflect changes in the ecosystem since the App content was created 2 years ago and include missing facts and data on "seasonal" changes within the Forest. Evidence of such “seasonal” changes include the appearance and disappearance fungi and mushrooms, increases and decreases in water levels and the incursion of native turtles from the nearby pond.

Broaden our fundraising initiatives. Securing funding for the Forest’s education programming and long-term conservation management is a task that falls upon the Friends of the Forest. Among our initiatives for 2022-2025 are:

Opening the Bosque's Online Store where hats, water bottles and other items for personal use, educational materials, and gifts will be available for purchase while supporting the Forest.

The first-ever "Night in the Forest” benefit event, planned for November 2022, will consist of a nighttime tour of the Forest and a chance to discover another, darker but equally beautiful and enchanting side of this unique ecosystem.

Melodies of Love concerts. After the hiatus forced upon us by Hurricane Maria and Covid, we will resume the annual Melodies of Love concerts in February 2024.

We will also be participating for the 4th consecutive year in #GivingTuesday, this year falls on November 29, 2022.

The Pterocarpus Forest Conservation & Education Fund. We are creation an endowment fund through which the Bosque's educational and community-oriented initiatives and emergency financial needs will be supported in

The Friends of the Bosque are looking forward to another 10 years of successful forest conservation, education, passive recreation, and invaluable scientific discoveries. We hope you will visit the Forest soon, physically or virtually, and realize the importance of supporting this unique Pterocarpus Forest. Thank you for being part of our success!

Getting ready for "A Night in the Forest"!

Links:

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.