Yaruqui Reforestation Project

Today we participated in another minga (community work project), this time at a reforestation project in the town of Yaruqui (about an hour outside of Quito). The program really prioritizes reciprocity and giving back to the communities that are supporting us, so we'll be doing projects like this throughout the semester.  About 4 years old, the reforestation project in Yaruqui is working to restore forests to land that was razed for use as cattle pastureland (like much of the forests in Ecuador and Latin America in general). Another aspect of the program that I'm really pleased with is that we all have to conduct "sustainability projects" in an effort to make our semester carbon neutral.  Today, one of the groups worked to survey all the trees at Yaruqui and determine the total carbon sequestered per tree (and per tree-planting person). I'm serving as coordinator for all of the sustainability projects, and I'm excited about what's in the works: carbon sequestration through Yaruqui, the expansion of the rooftop garden and rain catchment system on top of our school's roof in Quito, the development of an urban farming education program with our homestay families, the expansion of composting at our school, and the creation of a comprehensive sustainability policy for the whole of SIT (it's hard to believe they don't already have one). So we're keeping busy and learning lots in Quito! Check out my online photo album for more pictures of Intag and Yaruqui: https://picasaweb.google.com/erinroseod Thanks for reading!