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TCS Students Add Species to the Lalo Loor Dry Forest List

A weeklong stay on Ecuador's Pacific coast was the latest adventure for the Tropical Conservation Semester (TCS) program. At the Lalo Loor Dry Forest the winter rains had just begun, and the forest was bursting with life: new green leaves, innumerable caterpillars, and quite a few frogs and snakes were active at night. In fact, program participants added at least 2 species to the reserve's list of reptiles and amphibians! A Turnip-tailed Gecko (Thecadactylus rapicauda) was spotted climbing a tree near the biological station; we found a unique-looking tree frog (Trachycephalus jordani) on the same night with an odd "helmet," actually a large patch atop its head where the skin is literally fused with the skull bones. We also had excellent views of a gorgeous Snail-eating Snake (Dipsas gracilis), so named because they can dislocate their long jawbone and inch it around the curve of a snail shell, until they snag the snail on the lower fangs and pull it out. Work on the fauna and flora of this unique transitional forest continues to reveal new finds!

Andean Condors Greet Tropical Conservation Semester Students

The 2010 Tropical Conservation Semester is underway! Undergraduate students took off from Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina and California, and landed in the high Andes of Ecuador to attend Ceiba's annual study-abroad program. With backgrounds ranging from biology to Latin American studies to political science to engineering, we have quite a diverse group this year. After two weeks in Quito, taking intensive spanish and terrestrial ecology classes, we journeyed to the slopes of the towering, glaciated Antisana Volcano (5750 m), where we were lucky enough to see three Andean Condors! This rare giant -- the largest flying land bird in the western hemisphere -- is regarded as near-threatened due to habitat loss and hunting, so we considered ourselves very fortunate. Next up, an extended trip to Ecuador's western coast, the Lalo Loor Dry Forest, and an excursion to a mangrove restoration project. For more information about the Tropical Conservation Semester, please visit the program homepage.

Tropical Forest FunkRaiser 2009 - Dance your Tail Off!

Calling all funky monkeys!  Ceiba's second annual Tropical Forest Funkraiser will swing into action on November 12.  Digging up support for tropical forest protection, the event will feature funk acts -- The Gomers, Chafo and WADOMA, the West African Dance of Madison -- an auction of bananas (and other great items), incredible photographs from South America, and tons of tail-waggin' fun!  Held at the High Noon Saloon on the near east side of Madison, Wisconsin, the FunkRaiser will be a night that shakes the trees, with music and dance for all ages.  Details are over on the main funkraiser homepage.

UW Madison Study Abroad Fair 2009

The Study Abroad Fair at the University of Wisconsin will provide students with comprehensive information about all overseas programs offered by the Office of International Academic Programs. This year the event will be held in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union, on September 9, from 4:00 to 7:00. Ceiba will have staff and students at the event to offer stories and details about both our summer course and semester program. Come, marvel at all the incredible sights the world has to offer, and see where Ceiba can take you in Ecuador!

Ceiba on Madison's WORT Radio Station

Ceiba directors Joe E. Meisel and Catherine Woodward were interviewed on the July 30 episode of Perpetual Notion Machine, a program on Madison's own WORT radio station (FM 89.9). The half-hour show, airing at 7:00 pm, offers listeners stories about science and technology. Joe and Catherine were invited to discuss Ceiba's recent move to the city of Madison, the foundation's ongoing conservation projects in Ecuador, and our study abroad programs offered through the University of Wisconsin. If you missed the on-air broadcast, you can use your browser instead of a radio and listen to the show online.

Ceiba partners with Ecuadorian Environment Ministry to implement the Forest Partners Program, "Socio Bosque".

Posted 4/20/09. In January 2009, the Ceiba Foundation signed a memorandum of understanding with Ecuador's Ministry of Environment to implement a pioneering new program that rewards landowners for conserving their forest. The program, called Socio Bosque in Spanish, or the Forest Partners program, is part of Ecuador's efforts to reduce deforestation and protect ecosystem services. The government is calling on local non-profit organizations working in rural areas throughout the country, where native forest still remains, to implement the program. Ceiba, with its history of promoting conservation in the northern Manabi province (see the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve) was selected as the organization to to sign up landowners in this region along Ecuador's Pacific coast. Our efforts there aim to protect more than 10,000 hectares of threatened tropical deciduous forest.

Hook-billed Kite found at Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve

On a recent visit to the Lalo Loor Dry Forest, students from the 2009 Tropical Conservation Semester saw a bird not previously counted in inventories at the reserve. Christine Mertens was the first to spot a pair of Hook-billed Kites perched in a tree over the stream. These handsome birds, with gray and tan barring on the chest and strong white tail bands, have a patchy distribution and nomadic habits, and previously were unknown in the reserve. Their sharply pointed, downward-curving bills are adapted for eating their primary food source, snails. Recently the countryside around the reserve has experienced an increase in snails, thanks to the collapse of an ill-advised escargot project: according to local rumor, the snail "farm" failed to find backers in France, and the owners dumped thousands of adult snails along the roadside; several years later their populations are soaring. Perhaps the Kites have arrived to take advantage of these introduced, and unwanted, pests!

2009 Tropical Conservation Semester is Underway

Twenty four students from Wisconsin and around the US arrived in Ecuador to begin the 2009 Tropical Conservation Semester.  A unique collaboration between Ceiba, the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and the Universidad San Francisco de Quito, this program provides students with intensive field study of key terrestrial and marine ecosystems of the tropics, and hands-on involvement in ongoing conservation programs.  The group just returned from the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, where a very rainy weekend was thoroughly enjoyed!  You can keep track of some of the TCS program activities on Ceiba's blog, El Pueblo.

Tropical Forest FunkRaiser - Dance your Socks Off!

Save this date!  Ceiba's second annual Tropical Forest Funkraiser will blast off December 18.  Raising money for tropical forest protection, the event will feature funk bands -- Mama Digdown's Brass Band, Chafo and WADOMA, the West African Dance of Madison -- as well as contests, great tropical photographs, and tons of foot-stompin' fun!  Held at the High Noon Saloon on the near east side of Madison, Wisconsin (Ceiba's new home), the FunkRaiser should provide a great evening of music and dance to all ages.  Details are over on the main funkraiser homepage.

Ceiba Foundation Moves to Wisconsin

In a reflection of our deeping ties with the University of Wisconsin, and of our strong connections to the forward-thinking community of Madison, the Ceiba Foundation moved its main office to Wisconsin in November 2008!  Our new office is located at 1202 E. Williamson Street, in the Social Justice Center, right in the heart of Madison's east side. If you live in Madison, consider contacting Ceiba to ask about volunteering to help our tropical conservation projects, all without leaving the state!  [Press Release]

Andes to Amazon Summer Course Ends With a Bang - An Anaconda!

The latest trip to the Amazon jungle turned out to be a great one for this year's Andes to Amazon students. After nearly two weeks in the rainforest, we were treated to a fantastic look at a Tapir, the largest mammal in South American, swimming across the Tiputini River just downstream of our canoe! And as if that weren't enough, on the final day we were lucky enough to see, curled up on a pile of logs, the most enormous Anaconda I have ever seen!  An absolutely gigantic creature, perhaps over 15 feet long (!), and quietly digesting a couple of very large items that bulged out like hay bales.  See one of our students looking at the serpent with unrepressed glee, in our photo gallery.

Rufous-necked Wood-Rail Observed at Lalo Loor Reserve

Recent bird survey work at the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve turned up an unexpected and exciting discovery. A definitive identification was made of a family of Rufous-necked Wood-Rails (Aramides axillaris), inhabiting the reforestation plot just behind the new EcoCenter. This attractive, chicken-sized bird is known only from the marshes around Guayaquil, far to the south, and from a solitary record in Esmeraldas province; thus, the sighting at Lalo Loor represents the first record of the species in all of Manabí province, and only the third record in the country outside of the Guayaquil! Rated by the IUCN Red List of endangered species as "lower concern," this species has suffered declines throughout its range due to habitat loss. We are delighted to report the existince of (and reproduction by) this thrilling species within the reserve. For more information, please consult our bird species list, or come visit the reserve and see for yourself!

El Pueblo, Ceiba's online community, open to visitors

The Ceiba family consists of many people who all share a keen interest in protecting the environment: current and former students, visitors to our reserves, volunteers, colleagues and donors, and many more. To help connect this diverse group of people, we have created an online community website called El Pueblo. Visitors can post messages about their travel experiences, pass petitions and send news items around, and discuss topics of interest to all. The site also includes a photo gallery area where registered users can post pictures from their travels, show families back home what they've seen on their Ceiba course, or entice other users to new and exciting tropical destinations. Please visit El Pueblo, register if you like, and enjoy being part of our Ceiba family.

The Tropical Conservation Semester Completes Spring 2007 Semester

In January of 2007, Ceiba inaugurated the Tropical Conservation Semester.  This unique semester-abroad program, a collaboration between the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), the University of Wisconsin, and Ceiba, brings undergraduate students to Ecuador for a truly unparalleled experience.  We begin in Quito, where students receive intensive Spanish language classes on the USFQ campus while living with host families in Quito.  From there, we head to the cloud forest and high mountains of the Andes, before descending into the Amazon rainforest for a three-week adventure at USFQ's Tiputini Biodiversity Station.  After returning to (and drying out in!) Quito for a week, we are off again.  This time, we explore the wild Pacific coast, visiting Ceiba's dry forest reserve, the Bosque Seco Lalo Loor.  Soon we are winging to the world-famous Galapagos Islands, which the program tours by boat (not bad for schoolwork, eh?), visiting all the major islands, both on dry land and beneath the waves.  Finally we settle at USFQ's GAIAS station, where students conduct marine research projects and live with host families for two weeks, learning first hand what life on the Galapagos is really like.  The end of the semester offers students a unique opportunity to intern with a local conservation or research organization of their choice.  In 2007students studied fishery effects on hammerhead sharks, tracked rainforest monkeys for behavioral, and helped Ceiba establish environmental education and guide training programs in two communities near the Lalo Loor reserve.  In 2007 we saw an Andean Condor, climbed a volcano, nearly got stepped on by a tapir, established a new relationship with the Peace Corps, and created a brand-new orchid reserve in the Eastern Andes!  Who knows what might happen next year!

Conservation Philosophy Published in Orchid Journal Selbyana

Ceiba has long believed that conservation of private lands can play an important role in country-wide habitat protection programs. We believe that private lands conservation can be particularly important in the highlands of the Andes, where few large reserves exist and extreme rates of endemism indicate very small forests can harbor surprising numbers of unique species. Ceiba presented an outline of this rationale to the 2004 IOCC conference (see below), and was invited to publish a more extensive treatment of the topic in the conference proceedings. Focusing initially on our involvement with the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, Ceiba's officers Joe Meisel and Catherine Woodward expanded on our discussion of significance of endemism rates, a review of legal mechanisms underpinning private conservation, and the value of helping local landowners retain control of their forest. .The resulting paper was just published in the presitigious orchid journal, Selbyana (volume 26 (1,2), pages 49-57) in 2005. For a complete text of the article, please visit Selbyana's website, or contact Ceiba.

Ceiba Presents Conservation Work at IOCC 2004

Catherine Woodward, current president of Ceiba, spoke about the value of private lands for orchid conservation, using the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve as an example. Her talk highlighted how orchid species often occupy narrow geographic ranges and thus can often be well protected even on private landholdings, outside of large parks and reserves. The accompanying paper was published in the Proceedings of the International Orchid Conservation Congress (Selbyana 26 (1,2): 49-57) in 2005.

Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve

In early 2004, the Ceiba Foundation for Tropical Conservation established of the Lalo Loor Dry Forest Reserve (Bosque Seco Lalo Loor), located along the coast of Ecuador in the province of Manabí.  The new reserve is Ceiba's second in Ecuador, protects some of the last remaining tropical seasonally deciduous forest found in the country, a habitat type that has been so severely deforested in the past that only some 2% of the original extent remains.  We are excited to take the lead in protecting this valuable habitat, home to an astonishing number of threatened species such as the Red-masked Parokeet, Gray-backed Hawk, Little Woodstar and more.  We encourage you to support our efforts in the dry forest by visiting the reserve, volunteering your time and energy, or making a donation to Ceiba.

El Pahuma and Ceiba win award at Quito Orchid Show

An international orchid show as held at the Centro Cultural in the Catholic University in Quito from February 6 - 8, 2004. Hundreds of orchid enthusiasts from around the world attended the event. With the support of Ceiba, a joint exhibit was created with with the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve and art students from the Colegio Fernandez Madrid highschool. The display was an artistic rendition of cloud forest diversity, including a mural painted by faculty and students of the CFM art department. Ceiba's president, Catherine Woodward, organized the design and set up of the display, which won the award for "Most Artistic Display" by the show's judges.

 

UPDATE ARCHIVES

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Chicago Fundraiser with World Parks

Ceiba has been asked to join a conservation alliance between World Parks (USA), the Jocotoco Foundation (Ecuador) and Nature & Culture International (Ecuador). All four organizations are dedicated to conserving the incredible biodiversity found in the forests of Ecuador, with distinct but complementary missions. Jocotoco concentrates on endangered bird species, NCI is focused on the very dry forests of southern Ecuador, while Ceiba continues to work in the highland cloud forests and in the deciduous coastal lowlands. World Parks, in an effort to bring these groups together, organized a superb fundraiser held November 12, 2003 in Chicago. For more information, or to make a donation, please contact Ceiba.

Ceiba on Orchid Conservation in the Tropics

Ceiba was invited to speak to members of the San Diego County Orchid Society about orchid conservation in the tropics.  The presentation was made at the Society's annual meeting in Balboa Park, San Diego, on June 3, 2003.  The Society has long been a supporter of our orchid conservation projects:  they provided funding for the installation of the botanical garden at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, and supported the first orchid inventory in the reserve which discovered nearly 300 species (10% of all Ecuador orchids!).  Currently, the Society is supporting our efforts to promote protection of private lands in the tropics through the implementation of conservation easements.  Ceiba's vice-president, Joe E. Meisel, spoke to the Society's members about the threats that face orchids and their habitat in the tropics, and our efforts to protect these fantastic plants at the El Pahuma reserve.

Students See Anaconda on Tiputini River

The Tiputini River in amazonian Ecuador continues to provide some of the most memorable wildlife experiences for Ceiba's tropical ecology field course.  In recent years, our students have seen a rare Harpy Eagle, a tapir, and even a tamandua (tropical anteater) swimming across the muddy river.  This year topped all others when we found a large Anaconda sunning itself on a pile of logs wedged in the river.  We managed to obtain fabulous looks at this creature, pulling to within a few yards of it before it slithered heavily into the water.  But not before staring everyone down and flicking its tongue at us.  You can read about all our adventures in the 2002 course report, complete with photos and many other stories of wildlife we found.  General information about our field courses is also available.  And look out for the addition of several new courses this coming year!

Nature Center Opens at El Pahuma Orchid Reserve

A brand new Nature Center has opened at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve!  Begun in February 2001, construction of the attractive two story wooden building was completed January 2002.  Thanks to the support of the American Orchid Society and numerous private donors, the Center now serves as an educational facility for visitors to El Pahuma.  Currently on display is an exhibit designed by Ceiba staff on the ecology and of the reserve's cloud forest.  Large colorful panels provide information on the animals that use the forest, some of the characteristic plants such as bromeliads, and the important role played by mountain forests in producing a steady supply of fresh water for the region's many streams.  A grand opening of the Information Center as well as the Orchid Botanical Garden (see below) is planned for early 2003, and will be announced on this website.

2002 Field Course Awards Two Scholarships

Participants in Ceiba's 2002 tropical ecology field course will share their experiences with two Ecuadorian students, supported this year by our scholarship fund.  "Tropical Ecosystems:  Andes to Amazon," our annual course in Ecuador, takes students to the chilly heights of the Andes, the dry Pacific coast, steep montane forests in the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, and of course to the virgin rainforest of the Amazon basin.  The course offers participants the chance to enjoy the incredible diversity of Ecuadorian habitats, and observe first-hand the abundant wildlife found at each site.  Beginning several years ago, Ceiba established a scholarship fund to support the enrollment of students from Ecuador, to allow them to visit some of the remote parts of their own country, and to share these experiences with the other students on the course.  In 2002, thanks to private donations, we are able to offer full scholarships to two Ecuadorian students, whose qualifications and knowledge we expect to be a great benefit for everyone.  If you approve of offering scholarships to local students, and you would like to support our scholarship fund, please make a donation to Ceiba.

Spectacled Bear and Cub Seen at El Pahuma!

A Spectacled Bear (Tremarctos ornatus) adult and one cub were recently seen in the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve!  A tourist visitor to the reserve in July 2001 observed a large bear and a cub near the base of the reserve's largest waterfall, Chunguyaku.  Bears have been recorded in the reserve since late 1999, when an adult was observed feasting on bromeliads along the Sendero de los Yumbos by Ceiba's orchid inventory intern, Philip Myers.  In 2000, a reserve staff member reported sighting a female bear and two cubs crossing the Rio Pichan on the reserve's northern boundary, and several visitors have seen the bear in 2000 and 2001 near the upper elevation research cabin in the reserve (fittingly named the Bear's Den).  The occurrence of the Spectacled Bear (also called Andean Bear, Oso Andino and Oso de Anteojos), an endangered species (CITES "VU-A2bc" 1999), lends new urgency to the long-term protection of the forest at El Pahuma and the surrounding region.  Ceiba is currently campaigning for public support to fund a full-time guard for the reserve, since illegal hunting severely threatens the bear's survival.

2001 Tropical Ecology Course Sights Tapir

Ceiba's 2001 field course in tropical ecology concluded in Quito on August 2, and the students enjoyed themselves tremendously.  We all had an excellent course during which we visited and studied cloud forest, dry forest, paramo and lowland rain forest in the upper Amazon basin. This year we saw 9 species of monkeys at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station, 3 species of macaws, a swimming anteater, and even sighted a tapir foraging on the banks of the Tiputini River!  We had a great group of students, including representatives from Holland, Ecuador and Canada.  Two Ecuadorian students were offered full scholarships to attend the course, supported by Ceiba donors.  In 2002, we again are supporting two Ecuadorian students on full scholarships.  For more details on last year's course, you can read the full 2001 Course Report.

Orchid Displays Bloom in Botanical Garden

Three years of hard work are paying off as the orchid blooms begin to fill the Botanical Garden at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve!  The garden was planned by Monica de Navarro, an expert garden designer and previous president of the Quito Orchid Society.  Employees of El Pahuma, Ceiba volunteers, local student groups, and a Ceiba intern from Quail Botanical Gardens have all helped shape the garden, which this year looks better than ever.  All trails and major displays have been completed, and now the task at hand is finding enough space for all the orchids we want to install!  Although creation of the garden will be a continual process, the garden display will officially open to the public in January 2003, in concert with the grand opening of the visitor information center (see above).  Ceiba currently is recruiting volunteers with orchid care and general gardening experience to help with tending plants, garden maintenance, placing signs on all plants, further plant installations, etc. 

Ceiba Creates South America's Second-ever Conservation Easement at El Pahuma

Conservation Easements have long been a legal mechanism with built-in tax incentives for conserving private lands in the United States.  Only recently has this mechanism been applied in Latin America, though not without some creative modifications.  The first Conservation Easement in Latin America was established by CEDARENA in Costa Rica in 1998 with the assistance of The Nature Conservancy.  In July 1999, the first-ever conservation easement in South America was formed for two properties owned by two separate non-profit organizations.  Soon, Ceiba will sign a conservation easement with the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve, the second ever in South America and the first to involve an individual  landowner.  This easement represents the first success in Ceiba's recently planned Private Lands Conservation Initiative, focusing initially in Ecuador.  This agreement will help to ensure the long-term protection of the cloud forest ecosystem at El Pahuma by creating a set of guidelines prohibiting deforestation, hunting and other destructive activities.  In exchange for agreeing to these legally binding limitations, the landowner will receive technical and financial assistance in managing the reserve from Ceiba.  In addition, Ceiba will monitor activities in the reserve on an annual basis to ensure that the forests are adequately protected.  Ceiba wishes to acknowledge the legal assistance of the Centro Ecuatoriano de Derechos Ambientales (CEDA) and the generous financial support of the San Diego County Orchid Society in making this conservation easement possible.

Computer Grants Awarded to Ecuadorian Environmental Law Center (CEDA)

The Centro Ecuatoriano de Derecho Ambiental (CEDA - Ecuadorian Center of Environmental Rights) became the first recipient of an award from Ceiba's computer equipment grants program.  CEDA received a Gateway computer system in January, that will be used to manage the library catalog for their public environmental law library.

Ceiba Representatives Participate in National Land Trust Rally and the Congreso Interamericano de Conservación Privada 

Catherine Woodward, Vice-President of Ceiba, and Alejandro Trillo, former coordinator of the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve project, presented the work of Ceiba in establishing the first private Conservation Easement in Ecuador at the El Pahuma Orchid Reserve.  The Land Trust Rally, sponsored by the Land Trust Alliance, is an annual event that recently has begun to put more emphasis on initiatives for conserving private lands outside U.S. borders.  This year the conference, held in Snowmass, Colorado, was attended by more than 2000 people from over 150 organizations.  The Congreso Interamericano de Conservación Privada, organized by CEDARENA focused on Latin American land conservation initiatives and represented the second annual forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences. Over 50 representatives from 14 Latin American countries and the U.S. came to Costa Rica, to participate.