Click here for a whole bunch of fun images, with an international body of students from Penn State, York, who came through Globalworks to spend a few days helping in a grand overhaul of our workshop and wood storage. All these great images are by Penn State York chaperone, Judith Owen, and Globalworks Team Leader, Ava Murphey. Thank you all for a really wonderful time.
Freddy Dempster (Chief Engineer of Biosphere 2) joined us at Las Casas de la Selva during this period as well and made an inspiring Biosphere 2 presentation. Thank you to Magha Garcia for the fine food, Andrés Rúa, Ricardo Valle, for crew leadership and to Alfredo Lopez for being the random element help.
19th January 2017: First planning meeting at Las Casas de la Selva about our next collaborative habitat restoration project, working with endemic and endangered Eugenia haematocarpa (Myrtaceae) on private lands in the Sierra de Cayey, and the vicinity of the Carite Commonwealth Forest.
This project is a collaboration between US Fish and Wildlife Service and Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources (PRDNER).
The tree we will be working with is Eugenia haematocarpa (uvillo), known only from the Caribbean National Forest in the Luquillo Mountains and on private property adjacent to the Carite Commonwealth Forest in the Sierra de Cayey. The Caribbean National Forest in the Luquillo Mountains has six distinct populations consisting of 119 individuals and the Carite population consists of 15 individuals.
L-R: Omar A. Monsegur Rivera, Rossana Vidal, José A. Sustache, Andrés Rúa, Ramón C. Rivera, Nilda Jiménez, Iván Llerandi Román
Students from Biola University, California, spent three days with us, and with them we started the BIG project of 2017. In preparation for The Bridge and Road Building Project, we cleared the lower trail of much undergrowth and built a small shed for protection of equipment and supplies whilst building the bridge. Thank you everyone for your hard work and great enthusiasm, we really enjoyed your company here at Las Casas de la Selva. Thanks to volunteer Juan Reyes, and to Magha Garcia for her wonderful food.
Big thanks to volunteer Juan Francisco Reyes Martinez, CA, who spent 3 weeks living with us, helping out with all projects and with the Biola University student group
This bridge and road building project is only possible through a generous grant from the Salomon Family Foundation, (Pat and Julio), and donations from Roland Pesch, (USA), Mark and Vanessa Evans, (UK), and Starrlight Augustine, (Norway). Please contact 3t if you are able to help with projects in person, in kind, or financially.
Everyone who has ever been to Las Casas de la Selva, Sustainable Forestry project in Puerto Rico knows how important it is for us to access our forest. Several years ago, we lost our main bridge completely after the impact of two hurricanes and many tropical storms. We would like to build a new bridge, and access road, but we really need your help. Here’s a tee designed by 3t, that looks great, is reasonably priced, and will help us raise funds. 3t and Andrés are grateful for all you can do. Buy one for yourself (and one for a friend) as a Christmas or holiday gift, and we will work to make this bridge and road manifest together. Thank you!
Bridge/Road Building Project-Las Casas de la Selva
Mahoe, Hibiscus elatus, from our 30 year old tree plantations. These slabs were harvested in May, 2016, this year and were milled in August. We have had torrential rains for most of this year and keeping the shop and drying shed maintained is keeping us busy. Hence we are letting our woodworkers know that they can order wood that is not fully air-dried. Most woodworkers – we have learnt – like to continue to dry or season tropical hardwoods at their own pace in their local climate. The lowest moisture content we can achieve is 16% when we do dry it for 9 months to a year. The mahoe wood shown here varies between 20 and 30% moisture content. Please note well, that it is wise to dry it slowly in your area, which means leaving it wrapped in plastic and monitoring the further drying for at least two months.
All measurements are in inches, and all the pieces are BIGGER than stated for pricing. All ends are anchorsealed. All pieces include sapwood, and we do not include so much of that in the measurements. Where a board tapers, we make an average of the width. The photos show both sides of each board (eg: A1 and A2 are both sides of the same board).
Many of you already know our mahoe and are familiar with it. We have not planed any of this wood, so you are seeing the rough sawn surface, and some pieces (EFGH) were hosed with water. You will notice that there are dark streaks in some pieces, and they all have the delightful purple and bluey tones that mahoe is so famous for.
Please ask us if you have any questions, we are here to help. Please include in your email to 3t@ eyeontherainforest.org : 1) The NAME of the slab: 2) Your shipping address. 3) Your shipping preference for a quote: USPS Priority (4-6 days) or USPS Retail Ground (12-14 days) .
Secure payments through Paypal.
Buying our wood and products is the best way to support our sustainable forestry enterprise in Puerto Rico. Thank you for your support, it is highly appreciated. More about Mahoe Hardwood
Debbie Jacobs, 2nd from left, is leading a team of top animal trainers, from USA and Canada, traveling in Puerto Rico and Vieques to train animals, and their people, all over the island. Our dogs, Negralora, Nogal, Cenizo, Kailash the cat, as well as the chickens, all got a fair share of attention and training. The team are visiting dog shelters all over Puerto Rico and Vieques, in November 2016, offering free training to to provide pet owners, rescue groups, and shelter staff, information about the most effective and humane ways to train animals, and helping to get dogs into loving homes as soon as possible.
Working with horses and dogs the group demonstrated that – force, fear, intimidation, and pain, are not necessary in order to help our pets learn how to be happy and safe companions. The trip also offered trainers the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills by supporting each other in their efforts to refine their training skills. The group visited and stayed in San Juan, Las Casas de la Selva, Carite Forest, as well as the island of Vieques.
The Dog Trainer’s Collaborative, (a group of professional dog and animal trainers)
Andres gave a cooking class showing the team how to prepare a very popular ‘Jibaro’ dish, Guineítos en escabeche, (pickled green bananas).
Wanda and Ricardo from Habit-Arte in Guayama popped in for a visit.
Thanks to Reinaldo Rivera Ortiz, above, Director of Citizen Help of Patillas, and the staff of the school, especially Juan Carlos.
Contacto Verde is a program created by the Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources to facilitate the participation of students at all levels to visit and engage with places of ecological value in Puerto Rico; to encourage experiences with nature, as a complement to environmental education and as a tool to promote the strengthening of cognitive skills and student learning.
La Ley Núm. 36 de 23 de marzo de 2015 crea el programa de gestión ambiental Contacto Verde, adscrito al Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico y a ser desarrollado en coordinación con el Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. Esta ley también ordena crear un comité de coordinación y establecer sus funciones, facultades y deberes con el propósito de garantizar la participación de los estudiantes de todos los niveles del sistema educativo en talleres y actividades de visitas a lugares de valor ecológico en Puerto Rico, para fomentar las experiencias de contacto con la naturaleza como complemento para las gestiones de educación ambiental y como herramienta para propender al fortalecimiento de las destrezas cognoscitivas y de aprendizaje del estudiantado. El programa también busca fomentar la participación familiar en actividades ambientales, desarrollar la sensibilidad ambiental y el desarrollo integral de nuestros niños y jóvenes.
These seven intrepid women from North Bay, Ontario, Canada are traveling through Puerto Rico, this October, as part of training to become Field leaders in expeditions. They stayed at Las Casas de la Selva and helped out for two days on manual labor tasks of clearing trails. Subjected to torrential rains, these ladies kept their smiles and energy high, and helped accomplish many tasks at hand.
Mackenzie Kerr said about this trip in advance: “We are a group of seven students in the Outdoor Adventure Naturalist program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley. We are raising money to get us to Puerto Rico and assess the current economic crisis they are facing. We will be using the money to help support local volunteer and ecotourism businesses and better understand how members of the community are faring.”
Mackenzie’s remarks from Ontario, after the trip to explore Puerto Rico:
“Myself, and team of Outdoor Adventure Naturalist felt enlightened and welcomed during our stay in Puerto Rico. Various individuals were willing to discuss environmental and economical concerns regarding the outdoor industry. We found ourselves emerged in various ecosystems through our time on the island. We were able to see caves, kayak, hike various trails, visit the national parks, volunteer and explore all that the natural environment of Puerto Rico had to offer. We found ourselves at the Eye on the Rainforest for a nights stay. We were very intrigued by the project and learning about how it functioned. We were welcomed with open arms. Our team found ourselves, regrouping and finding relaxation from our stay. As we reflect on our trip in its entirety it is safe to say we learned about the ecology that exists on the island. But we also learned about the fantastic people and outdoor adventure that it has to offer.”
Estos son estudiantes de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Mayagüez, participando en el curso de Silvicultura AGRO4010 del Departamento de Ciencias Agro-ambientales. Pasamos el dia en plantaciones de Caoba y Majó bajo la lluvia torrencial e intensas discusiones que tuvimos en el campo. Gracias al Prof. Oscar J. Abelleira Martínez, por organizar este pasadia para los estudiantes quien estuvo presente aún cuando su esposa se encontraba en el hospital a punto de tener su bebe! Jennifer M. Rivera San Antonio, Asistente del Profesor y Estudiante graduada del Programa de Horticultura de UPRM dirigió el grupo.
La pasamos super bien con todos ustedes. These are students from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, participating in the Silviculture AGRO4010 course from the Department of Agro-environmental Sciences. The day was spent in the plantations of mahogany and mahoe, and through torrential rain, intense discussions kept us warm in the field. Thanks to Professor Oscar J. Abelleira Martínez, for organizing this field trip, to benefit his students, even as his wife was in hospital ready to deliver a baby! Oscar’s assistant Jennifer M. Rivera San Antonio, Graduate Student in the Horticulture Program at UPRM led the team. We had a great time with you all. Please keep forestry high in your choice of future studies. Puerto Rico needs foresters, more than ever.
We were delighted to receive 1st and 2nd Graders (6-8 years) from Escuela Elemental Marín Bajo in Patillas who came for a few hours to get into the wonderful forest of Las Casas de la Selva! As part of the new educational initiative in Puerto Rico ‘Programa Contacto Verde, these students had an informative and inspiring time with Andrés, in the forest, and around the Las Casas de la Selva Homestead. We also welcomed Angelica Mercado and the film crew of Puertorriqueñisimo team, who interviewed Andrés and Ruth Reyes Ramos, (below right), and filmed the students in the forest.
Thanks to Reinaldo Rivera Ortiz, above, Director of Citizen Help of Patillas, and the staff of the school.
Contacto Verde is a program created by the Department of Education and the Department of Natural Resources to facilitate the participation of students at all levels to visit and engage with places of ecological value in Puerto Rico; to encourage experiences with nature, as a complement to environmental education and as a tool to promote the strengthening of cognitive skills and student learning.
La Ley Núm. 36 de 23 de marzo de 2015 crea el programa de gestión ambiental Contacto Verde, adscrito al Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico y a ser desarrollado en coordinación con el Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales. Esta ley también ordena crear un comité de coordinación y establecer sus funciones, facultades y deberes con el propósito de garantizar la participación de los estudiantes de todos los niveles del sistema educativo en talleres y actividades de visitas a lugares de valor ecológico en Puerto Rico, para fomentar las experiencias de contacto con la naturaleza como complemento para las gestiones de educación ambiental y como herramienta para propender al fortalecimiento de las destrezas cognoscitivas y de aprendizaje del estudiantado. El programa también busca fomentar la participación familiar en actividades ambientales, desarrollar la sensibilidad ambiental y el desarrollo integral de nuestros niños y jóvenes.
