Story

Cerro Blanco is a part of Bird Life international and is considered an important area because of its several bird species that are critically endangered and rely on its environment.  For those that do not know him, Eric Horstman, my boss, is extremely passionate about nature and its protection.  

“I have personally noticed his love for birds. He often attends international conferences, and has developed quiet a name for himself through several different international networking events.” -Tania Rios, supervisor at Cerro Blanco

Yellow tailed Oriole 

Two years ago, Eric received a message from a woman named Jane Johnson. She was in the process of completing a children’s book about a Grey Cheeked Parakeet that they owned named Tangerine. He was happy to help Jane Johnson with anything that she needed to know about the bird. After a few months of emailing back and forth, Jane and her husband Clifford Johnson finally decided to visit Cerro Blanco to see the colorful tropical bird in their natural habitat. They instantly fell in love with the location, and it helped them publish their book Tangerine: (Life as a bird) at the end of 2010.

The book is about a Grey Cheeked Parakeet named Tangerine. Jane and Clifford have owned one for over 6 years now. And this social little bird is full of personality, and loves people. Their bird in particular is an explorer; he loves to stand on shoulders while they are in the garden, and also loves interacting with other animals.

“When a friend was visiting us, he looked at Tangerine and said “Oh! You got a bird from Ecuador!” And Jane and I both looked at each other thinking the same thing. (Actually this bird is from our pet store.)” -Cliff Johnson

After their friends visit, they began to researching a bit more information about their little Parakeet friend. By doing this, they learned that his species comes from both Ecuador and Northwest Peru. They also learned that his species was endangered, and that it's environment, Dry Tropical Forest, stood on small hills made of limestone. Being the basic ingredient to the cement, many companies look to extract the limestone which in turn destroys the environment.

The Johnsons decided to write a book together about the Grey Cheek and their endangered natural habitat in the dry tropical forests in Ecuador.

“We learned that Tangerine had a story. The book practically wrote itself once we learned that story.” – Jane Johnson

When you come to Cerro Blanco, these wonderfully social birds are one of the first that you hear. If you follow your ears, there is probably a flock of them nearby, and their bright colours make them easy to see once you spot them.

Cerro Blanco rehabilitates many injured animals and releases them back into their natural habitats through their Animal rescue center. The environmental police also drop off animals at Cerro Blanco that have been confiscated from illegal vendors, or kept as pets when they are a protected species.

The book does a great job informing readers about the endangered environment that is in turn diminishing the existence of the beautiful little birds. In the back of the book, and on the website of the book , there is a link to a campaign page that has been set up on the World Land Trust-US website  through this website you can make a tax deductable donation to support the work of Cerro Blanco and help contribute to their animal rescue centre, that rehabilitates and protects many animals from illegal sale in the black market.

"It's amazing how much impact people like Jane and Clifford can have. They did it out of sheer generosity, just because they believed in what we do here at Pro Bosque. I wish I could have more supporters like them. This is far more than just a donation, its helping us advocate for what we believe in, and that's the protection of the forest above all." - Eric Horstman

This past week, Jane and Clifford were back.

 “After visiting Cerro Blanco last year, we fell in love with it. We saw so many animals and birds that it just blew us away. We promised ourselves we would return, and now here we are.” with an infectious smile on her face, Jane Johnson.

Their last book successfully raised awareness about the situation of the animal species and its endangered environment. This in turn increased the donation rates received by Land Trust – US which owns part of Cerro Blanco.

This year they wanted to do more, they were planning to write a second book, however this time, raise even more awareness.

“This book will not only be about the forest, it will also be about the animals and the community that lives around this forest too.”- Cliff Johnson

Puerto Hondo Community Entrance

I didn’t know much about their new book, only that the main character was going to be a little girl from the community, that it would be for an older age category and that there would be more animals, and more nature as well.

My job was to be their in-country hostess, since Eric was going to be occupied with other engagements. Some of my jobs included picking them up at the airport at 1am, help plan their 4 day stay in great detail, and finally introduce them to the kids of the community of Puerto Hondo that I have been working with.

Side note: Tania taught me a children’s song about animals, named (the animal dance) and you guessed it, it involves dancing and imitating the animals. The plan was to teach the kids the song so they could present it to Jane and Clifford when they arrive.

When I went to make the official announcement of the visitors that had yet to come, many of the kids remembered me as the tall lady that did the bird game with them. They instantly started asking enthusiastically “Are we playing the bird game today? Are we going to Cerro Blanco again?”. It took a little while to settle them down, and when I finally got the attention, I let them know that Jane and Clifford will be visiting them later on during the week from New York City. When asked why, I simply answered “Because you guys are special, in fact so special, that they want to write a book about you!” Their reaction was a mix of (WOW) and (OOOOOOOOOOH!) it was priceless. I then proceeded to do the animal dance and song. They laughed at me, and I felt my face getting hot, but I still smiled big and finished the entire song (8 minutes long)

The group of kids  Puerto Hondo

I visited the school 2 more times after that. The second visit a few of the kids knew the words, and a few only knew the dances. I told them to teach each other at recess, and bribed them with some candy at my next visit if they all learned it. On my third visit, they knew it better than I did! The candy trick works every time.   


[Video below is of the children singing the song for Jane and Clifford like we practiced. Please turn down sound.]

When Jane and Clifford arrived at Cerro Blanco, I went to get the kids in a taxi, and brought them to the forest.

 It was truly an honor to meet them both. From day one, we instantly connected. We shared a love of nature, and seemed to have very similar sense of humors. They were also very kind with me when I asked my many questions for this blog post. 

One of the things I wrote in my note pad was this: “They took the time to learn about their bird’s story, and when they learned it was a tragedy, they got up and did something about it.”

Here are some of the things that we did:

We went on a hike

Jane and Clifford with the group of kids

Learned new things too . . . 

we also played the bird game

We then dropped the kids off at school after a few more dynamic activities. The following day, Tania and I went to the "mountain side" of Cerro blanco. There, you can find the reforestation sites and lots of wild life. We also encountered the park rangers receiving training on how to climb large trees. Luckily enough, we got to try as well.

The tree that was chosen

Clifford went up

Tania went up

Tania Jane and I

And so did I

We had a fantastic time getting to know each during all of the activities. Jane compared me to a younger version of herself; she also loved to write, loved nature, played sports, travelled a lot, and smiled a lot too. We constantly laughed together, and were filled with the same wonder when we encountered different animals and birds during our hikes and excursions. When it was time for them to go, they left me with a gift. 

The necklace is from a women’s group in Nepal, all proceeds go to their children’s education. 

I was very thankful for their kindness, and to have met such wonderful people. It was very sad to see them leave. I must admit that I even shed a tear; I know it sounds a little crazy, but I truly felt I connected with Jane and Clifford. They assured me that it wasn’t a goodbye, simply a see you later, and told me that they enjoy visiting the Niagara area. They told me they would love to pay me a visit as long as I promised them great hikes. I agreed, and gave them both long tight hugs.

I learned so many things from Cliff and Jane. When we went on hikes every bird that we saw was admired, every tree and flower that we crossed was smelled, and touched; I learned how to appreciate nature in a more spiritual way.  In addition I learned that if you keep doing what you are passionate about in life, you will lead a life full of joy and gratitude. I also learned that wonder, is not something that fades with time. Age doesn’t have to dim people down; it can even brighten them up. When I’m older, I will be happy to have even half of their positive energy, great health and sense of humor that Jane and Clifford have. They were truly fantastic people to have met, I can’t help but smile just thinking about them. This must have been my best week at work so far.