By Robin Van Loon | Executive Director
Dear friends,
What if everyone in the world realized that the best way to celebrate this season was to plant Christmas trees? With the close of one year and the coming of another, it's a wonderful time to reflect on where we've been and where we're going, who we've been and who we're becoming. Thanks to your support, Camino Verde has had an extraordinarily fruitful 2013, and we're looking forward to all that 2014 will bring. When you plan your holiday giving, we're grateful for your consideration as a worthy project to support. In fact, we're now less than $3,000 away from our total funding goal on Global Giving. Help us get there. We, and the trees, thank you!
A year in review
In 2013, Camino Verde broke new ground in several areas. Here's a few of the highlights--
-In February, we planted 900 rosewood seedlings in the native community of Brillo Nuevo, Loreto, Peru in the parcels of indigenous farmers looking to establish a sustainable income from tree crops. (Photo 1, below.) This brought the total number we planted in the first quarter of 2013 to 2,100 trees.
-In April we inaugurated our new buildings at the Camino Verde reforestation center. From the ground up, these new lodgings for visitors, volunteers, and staff are at the vanguard of sustainable architecture for the rainforest (Photo 2, below). Thanks for making our new home so sturdy! (And come visit.)
-In June we completed work on our tree nursery, which now allows us to propagate 2500 tree seedlings a year. (Photo 3.)
-In November, with the first rains of the season we planted another 750 trees, our final tree planting of the calendar year. These 750 trees represent a half dozen of the Amazon's most endangered, over-exploited trees. Thanks to Carpe Diem Education for once again supporting our work in the world with volunteer visits and carbon offsetting donations!
What comes next?
In 2014, Camino Verde will ally with a diverse range of individuals and organizations to help transform our reforestation center into a world-class model farm of tropical agroforestry and sustainable agriculture. Here are a few of the pieces of the puzzle to look forward to...
--Gorka Atxuara from the Basque country in Spain is an expert in bio-fertilizers. Think compost tea: rich plant nutrient formulas that include abundant beneficial micro-organisms. In 2014, Gorka will help Camino Verde set up a small production facility for use in our tree nursery.
--Biochar! You may have noticed that we have another project on Global Giving, found here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/turning-carbon-footprints-into-healthy-soils/ In 2014 we're gearing up to implement this vital technology on our farm. Check out the link to find out more.
--Allies from Earth University and the University of Guelph are helping us to implement solar power, biogas digestion, and other amazing green technologies on our farm. With their help, we are aiming to become a living example of what's possible for our neighbors and farmer partners.
--And, of course, more planting trees!
Once again, we're grateful for your support in 2013. Thanks for helping us to plant a greener world, one tree at a time.
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