Community Conservation of Monarch Forest in Mexico

The end of the year is almost here and as everyone prepares for the holidays the monarchs arrived in Mexico, to the delight of the local communities. Right on the Day of the Dead, monarchs started flying about and settling in the oyamel trees!

September, October, and November were busy months for several communities in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. One hundred and fifty eight people participated in seven workshops which resulted in the construction of 10 fuel-efficient stoves, one cistern and the establishment of ten tree nurseries.

Doña Graciela, from the Senguio ejido proudly showed us her stove and told us, “I am so grateful for my new stove. Knowing that I’m not harming the forest so much, makes my “tortillas” taste much better!”

MBF is also thankful and our success - manifested in the joy our recipients feel - would not be possible without you! ¡Gracias!

Thank you and warmest wishes for this holiday season! 

Our summer reforestation was wonderful!  Joined by 151 women, men and children from Crescencio Morales, Donaciano Ojeda and Nicolas Romero indigenous communities, this summer we planted 23,400 trees in 20 hectares! It is impressive to witness the enthusiasm felt by parents, teachers and children that participate in the tree planting. The kids were especially eager and expressed their joy unabashedly. One little girl said it best, “I am so happy that we are planting trees for the monarchs! That way they’ll keep on coming back to visit us every winter!”

During June, July and August we also carried out six workshops in the States of Mexico and Michoacan: two to train seventy-four women and fifty-two men in reforestation techniques, and four to construct cisterns with the participation of twenty-one women and eight men. During this period, the communities built thirty-five fuel-efficient stoves, one cistern to be used by a family and another for the community.

The forest is ready to receive the monarchs this coming fall! With your support and the help of local communities we are making sure the monarchs keep migrating back south.

YOUR contributions ARE making a difference! 

The first semester of the year is usually a busy planning season for Alternare. However, although the local communities are preparing for the upcoming 2017 summer reforestation they have also been participating in the various workshops held by Alternare. During March, April, and May, six workshops were held in Carpinteros, Donaciano Ojeda, Donato Guerra, Jesus de Nazareno, Tuxpan and San Miguel Chichimequillas indigenous communities. A total of 33 women and 41 men participated, resulting in the construction of two cisterns, the establishment of one tree nursery, and the building of seven fuel-efficient stoves, 5 for the communities and 2 for individual families.

A total of 23,400 trees are ready to be planted in approximately 20 hectares. Reforestation will take place in Curungueo, Carpinteros, Donaciano Ojeda, Crescencio Morales and Nicolas Romero indigenous communities and is planned for the beginning of July, during the rainy season to make sure the trees have enough water. The communities have all asked for and agreed with the reforestation, ensuring their collective participation in the process. Environmental education is a key component of Alternare and MBF so most of the trees for the reforestation come from school nurseries. This allows the team to engage children in the entire tree planting experience from beginning to end.

As one of the teachers told us, “The nurseries are an excellent opportunity to discuss the importance of taking care of natural resources with the children, especially the forest where they live”.

As monarchs head north, MBF, Alternare and the local communities will be more than ready to receive them when they come back to Mexico!

All of us, together, will continue doing everything we can to conserve the special and unique migration of the monarch butterflies.

THANK YOU for being a part of our team!

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Monarchs are starting to head back north and our partner Alternare and the local communities are preparing for the year ahead. This winter the monarch population diminished by 27% compared to last year which is prompting us to redouble our efforts to help them!

The last month of 2106 and January and February, 2017 were mostly dedicated to planning our projects for 2017. However, we did carry out four workshops with the participation of 28 women and 15 men from the Manzanillos, Nicolas Romero, and Francisco Serrato indigenous communities. There were two workshops to build cisterns, and two on tree planting techniques. They resulted in the construction of two cisterns and three fuel-efficient stoves and one school tree nursery. Trees in nurseries need to be nurtured and 20,906 trees were looked after on 23 school and community nurseries.

Community cisterns are helping us manage the water supply by capturing rain water and distribute it among the individuals that live in the community. Communities are becoming self-sufficient, empowered and have embraced conservation and land stewardship, not only for the monarchs but for their own well-being. As one workshop participant told us: “we have sufficient water but it is distributed poorly. And to solve this problem we have considered the construction of a cistern to capture water. That would bring water to the community in the months when it is scarce.”

As one of our partners in conservation, you are joining thousands of people across North America actively doing something to support the monarchs and we are very grateful.

THANK YOU for being a part of these inspiring initiatives!

Reports are sent to donors every three months but if you do not wish to receive them click on the unsubscribe link in this email or login to your GlobalGiving account and change your email preferences.

Monarchs arrived in Mexico and we are waiting for the colonies to settle to assess the populations. In the meantime, our local partner Alternare continued with their ongoing workshops.

During the last trimester of the year, 6 workshops were held with the participation of 46 women and 86 men from the Crescencio Morales, Curungueo, San Cristóbal and Francisco Serrato indigenous communities. There were 4 workshops to build cisterns, 1 on reforestation and another one on tree planting. They resulted in the construction of 27 cisterns, 3 fuel-efficient stoves and one school tree nursery.

The cisterns have a large capacity to hold rainwater which is used to water vegetable gardens and provide drinking water to communities. Thanks to the cisterns and their fuel-efficient stoves, families can cook and enjoy their meals with potable water. A family eating tortillas and drinking clean water told us, “This is fantastic! We can make our tortillas using less fuel and get a glass of water right here in the community. The food seems tastier now. Thank you!"

 Stay tuned for our upcoming winter newsletter where you will be able to read more details about all our projects.

 THANK YOU for being a part of these inspiring initiatives!

Reports are sent to donors every three months but if you do not wish to receive them click on the unsubscribe link in this email or login to your GlobalGiving account and change your email preferences.