Nuestros proyectos
In healing our land we heal ourselves. Aprendiendo para guiar por el ejemplo, Este es el camino para cambiar el mundo
Habitat destruction is the main cause of species loss worldwide. But it does not stop there. These losses impact humanity as well. Some areas of the world are so degraded that crops will not grow, water does not stay on the land and life is hard in these areas. By healing the land we not only benefit ecosystems but also all that need healthy ecosystems to survive, ourselves included. Thanks to science of restoration ecology we have the tools and knowledge that enables us to repair and recreate damaged ecosystems.
When traveling in Thailand over twenty years ago, they had cut large areas of rainforest in the north. People much further away even noticed the difference as the rains stopped. People in the cut areas experienced drought and famine. The land became dry like a desert and the soil blew away. The same thing happened in the area I lived in the 1930s. Farmers cleared all of the land and then it got dry and a dust bowl happened. The sand did not hold the moisture and the topsoil blew away. Some trees can still be seen with their roots on stilts as a metre of soil was blow away from their roots. In my area in Canada they made concerted efforts to return the trees and now there is over 30% forest cover, high biodiversity and the area is highly productive agriculturally. So we know it can be done but there is so much to still to do! Please support the efforts of Planet Healers!
Project 1. Carbon Sequestration
By helping us restore degraded land together we will increase biodiversity, combat climate change, restore the water cycle and help to alleviating poverty.
Tropical trees grow fast! One hectare will sequester 500 tons of carbon.
It’s time to give something back.
Thank you.
Project 2. Earth Connection
Our first project will be in association with Earth Connection Center for Eco-education and Leadership. Their 111 acre property is a former ranch and is highly degraded with mostly thorny pioneer tree species. We will be planting to restore the site to a more diverse tropical forest.
Project 3. Nursery and Outreach
The funds raised will be used to:
- Purchase land to ensure that the restored habitat will be conserved in perpetuity,
- Create a nursery to grow the plants for our projects: shade cloth, posts, irrigation, pots, coconut fiber, seed collection and processing equipment,
- Grow and buy a diversity of native tropical trees,
- Give local people a fair wage to plant the trees and manage the land,
- Train local people to grow their own trees and do habitat restoration,
- Help other groups get funding for their projects.
We are just starting out and need your support to get things rolling. We plan to be able to restore hundreds of acres of tropical forest each year as our project gets rolling.
Project 4. Research
Regenerative systems go beyond just staying the course as in a sustainable approach. In this model we regenerate the Earth with every action. “Wastewater” becomes a resource that grows plants. It is not just a closed loop but a feedback loop that generates better soils with every year. If waste is not usable in this way it is replaced with something that is.
Facilitate the transition to a regenerative economy.
Establish world-class infrastructure for conducting quality scientific research of social relevance.
Generate collaboration that energizes investment in science, technology and innovation.
Generation, Attraction and Retention of Talent.
Knowledge Generation.
Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Transfer.
Demonstrate, trial and model
We are connecting with local and international universities and students to conduct innovative research:
Potential Research Projects
1. Carbon Sequestration
Each tree species - allometrics
Entire community
Over time
With different treatments – biochar, manure, none, soil fungi
2. Change in restored forest with management activities
Biomass
pH and soil chemistry
3. Biodiversity Studies
Baseline inventories
Insects, Arachnida
Soil organisms
Change over time and with restoration techniques
Cenote ecosystem
Forest ecosystem
4. Ecological Restoration Techniques
Management techniques
Reforestation techniques
5. Nursery propagation techniques for native trees
Simple fast and easy
Need full diversity not just the valued species for ecosystem resilience
6. Food Forest
Production techniques
Species mix, light levels, trophic levels
7. Behavioral Studies
Birds, mammals, insects
Habitat utilization
Changes in behaviour
8. Water Quality
Cenote ecosystem
9. Permaculture vs conventional agriculture
Planting techniques
Alternative disease and insect control
Productivity comparisons
10. Biomimicry - using nature as a model for innovation
11. Eco-building techniques
12. Alternative energy
13. Materials Recycling – Plastics, Metal
14. Poverty alleviation
15. Microloans and small business development
16. Efficient stoves
17. Eco-design
18. Eco-alternatives to conventional materials
19. We need to create or test a household sized biochar stove that:
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Uses less wood or agricultural waste so that less trees are cut,
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Produces low emissions to reduce lung problems in the local villages,
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Produces carbon as a byproduct to create biochar for soil enhancement and carbon recapture,
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Has to be inexpensive and easy to build out of local materials,
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Has to be better than what the villagers currently use to be implemented.