By Luiz and Binka | Project manager and story teller
Dear donors,
First of all we'd like to extend a warm welcome and a big thank you to those of you who found us on project 69025 when we had to move our project there. As you know, the move was caused by a temporary glitch with our tax designation, and the problem is now happily resolved. So Forests4Water is home at project number 22098, and we're thrilled to see you all!
And for donors who generously sent their monthly gifts to 69025, fear not, your donations will automatically be transferred over to 22098.
For this letter from the field we thought you might like to take a sneak peek behind the scenes and get the inside scoop on what goes on when we're not actually out planting trees, (often in the pouring rain!)
No, it's not that we're sitting in the sun doing nothing - we're actually just as busy as we are during the planting season. But slightly less muddy!
As the planting season draws to a close, there's a ton of stuff to be done. Nursery work continues year round - making compost, collecting seeds, propagating seedlings (different trees give seed at different times of year so there's seed collecting going on pretty much all the time.) Now's the time to check the irrigation system - last year we had a prolonged drought, and, while the seedlings in the nursery survived, some of those that we had planted didn't make it.
Meanwhile the backroom boys and girls are filling in funding applications, uploading the statistics, storing the data, and calculating the impacts - environmental and social. Our researchers are checking the camera traps and sound recordings to register the presence of apex predators in the forests. Why? To show us the health of the ecosystem. The field staff are out monitoring the reforested areas, checking on canopy cover, species composition, seedling survival rate (around 80%) and the incidence of invasive species. And project manager Luiz is planning the next season's planting which will begin when the rains set in.
None of this would be possible without the support of our funders, donors, staff, and community members. We are grateful to each one of you, and promise you that every donation makes a difference!
with love and appreciation from Luiz, the nursery staff, the field staff, and everyone at Iracambi
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