Ambition

When are you going to start working?¨ I must have heard that question about 50 times already from absolutely everybody. My answer is usually ¨Why?... Jealous?¨;)

People think I am on a long vacation since I haven't mentioned work. I wish.

The truth is, I have in fact started working, but not in the way that the other interns have. Some of my fellow colleagues from the Niagara College, CIDA funded internship program began working almost immediately after their arrival. However, I have officially been here for 4 weeks, and my first full month has been an orientation period like no other.

"If you like your job, then it's hardly work at all. In fact, you would do it for free if this world didn't require you to have money." - Lisa Unger 

In my first blog post entitled Passion I spoke a bit about Cerro Blanco, but since then I have learned much more. I now know that the protected forest of "Cerro Blanco" is one of the very few remaining dry tropical forest reserves in the world. With less than 3% of this type of ecosystem left on the planet, many animals that are reliant on it are extremely endangered. It contains more than 850 plants of which 500 are endemic (unique to that area), 54 mammal species, 213 bird species and 19 of them are critically endangered. The Great Green Macaw parrot is one of them, and the organization has chosen it as a mascot is. These big beautiful birds are very specific about the kind of tree they nest in for several reasons including one of their main sources of food, a fruit that grows on it. 

Great Green Macaw

One of the Pro-Bosque (pro-forest) foundation’s main goals is to raise awareness on the importance of the forest, not only to tourists, but also to the local community of Puerto Hondo that lives about 1km away from the area. They reach out to the community through several different projects including their eco-adventure club for the children, edible garden installation projects for several families, and different workshops and job opportunities within Cerro Blanco.

 Cerro Blanco Eco-Lodge

Cerro Blanco has several different nature trails varying in length and difficulty. It also has a visitors center, a picnic area, a camping area equipped with wooden tables, chairs, grills and restrooms. They hold most of their large events right outside in an amphitheater seating 200 people, where they hold informative and interpretive workshops and presentations. To help deal with the forest fires that happen a bit to often, Cerro Blanco has a nursery on property where arborists grow several endemic species and re-plant them within the burned parts of the forests for restoration purposes. They also have an animal rescue center, a bird Aviary, an Eco-Lodge, and a butterfly/hummingbird garden.

The employees at the Pro-Bosque foundation are extremely passionate about the Cerro Blanco protected forest. So passionate for that matter, that before allowing me to dive-in head first with activities, workshops and “new ideas”, they wanted me to fully understand what the forest was about. I spent the full first two weeks getting guided tours through the trails of Cerro Blanco, learning about everything they do, and helping out in the aviary, rescue center and nursery. I could have easily read a book about everything that they did, but they really wanted me to develop a personal connection with my new natural environment; and their mission was most definitely accomplished. I’ve always been a fan of nature, and found peace and serenity within the fresh air, songs of birds, and the wonderful aromas of the bright coloured flowers. During my orientation I was fortunate enough to see many animals and I even encountered a Tarantula on my path.

Day 3 hike photo

Geronemo and I after a 5 hr hike

Isn't it beautiful

After the orientation period ended, I had a meeting with my Boss Eric Horseman, to discuss where my interests lie, and exactly what I would be doing. Before the trip I was willing to do what I was told, however given the freedom to do what moves me is much better than anything that I expected. I named a long list of different things including the following:

•   Empowering workshops for the women of Puerto Hondo
•   Environmental club activities with the children
•   Basic English classes for the personnel
•   Make new dynamic advertisements and awareness ads for their next university tour
•   Create different campaigns to help teach about the environment and promote Cerro Blanco
•   Use my technical skills to develop a web network for both Pro-Bosque and Puerto Hondo
•   Write proposals to help better their butterfly gardens, and help create more edible gardens for the Puerto Hondo families, and I even mentioned a very optimistic "community garden" 
• Promote the ¨slow food¨ movement in the City of Guayaquil
•   And much more things along those lines

I was told that my list was ambitious, which is perfect because that’s the kind of person I am.  Being busy is nothing new to me, with a bit of dedication, focus and optimism, anything can be done. I most definitely have a lot of work to do, and cannot wait to begin! I really appreciate the freedom I have to create my own schedule as well. My goal is to make my mark during my short stay here in Ecuador, and that can only be done with my drive to succeed. Keep your fingers crossed for me please!