Work is finally starting to pick up. I have two ecoclubs running at the grade school and the high school in town. Imagine a youth group that does a combination of outdoor trips and environmental volunteer projects. The kids are incredibly energetic and excited which is great.
Ecoclub kids on outings to hot springs and the river.
I also just got approving for funding for three school gardens to improve nutrition and teach some basic environmental education concepts like soil conservation and organic agriculture. This should be interesting considering the basil plant on my balcony lasted exactly two weeks. I was able to keep the rosemary plant alive for a month. We won't even begin to discuss the turkeys...
I am hoping to get a bigger project rolling soon as well. If all goes well I'll get a grant in the next few months to spearhead a sustainable cattle ranching project. As much as I am sure you all want to hear the fascinating details about higher protein grass species and nitrogen fixing trees I'll just summarize to say that hopefully with some simple changes to local cattle ranching practices we can seriously slow down deforestation rates in the region. Told you I would save the Amazon!
Other than work I've spent a lot of time the last few months hanging out with my new Peace Corps friends celebrating American holidays.
Happy Turkey Day!
Merry Christmas (jungle style)
And killing a ridiculous list of jungle creatures that seem to find their way into my apartment including approximately 5,672 moths, 46 grasshoppers, 15 beetles, 1 bat, 1 snake and an army of rats (still working on this one).
My bloodied floor in the aftermath of the snake battle. I won.
