Orchid
Habitat Restoration and Preservation
Restoration
in the Orchid and Botanical Garden of Puyo, Ecuador
photos and text by Matt
Bare and Omar TelloThe Jardìn Botànico las Orquìdeas is a small botanical reserve located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, on the outskirts of the growing city of Puyo. The reserve was founded 30 years ago by an Ecuadorian family, and has been restored from a denuded pasture to a healthy secondary forest, complete with more than 250 species of orchids from Ecuadorian cloud forest and rainforest. Recently the number of birds and mammals such as monkeys, sloths, guatusas, and anteaters visiting the reserve has significantly increased; however, the reserve is too small to provide a permanent habitat.
Neighboring land to the orchid reserve, a potential corridor between the reserve and the lower Rio Puyo watershed, is currently for sale. The land
is 25 hectares (61.78 acres) for $250,000 US dollars
(Ecuador's currency is the US dollar). Currently looking for
$125,000.00 in donations with the rest to come in matching funds. The
land is owned by one family
and currently used for agriculture, and if not purchased soon, the
owner has plans to subdivide into housing lots. The danger of the land
going to housing will increase as the road bordering the land is going
to be paved in the next year or two, which will most likely increase
the
demand and/or raise the price.
| Anguloa virginalis |
The Orchid and Botanical Garden is interested in purchasing the land outright or in some kind of partnership purchase with the local government, another NGO, or private donor(s). The Jardìn Botànico Las Orquìdeas would then assume the work of restoring the land to forest, applying techniques and lessons learned from the past 30 years of restoration. This new land presents a once in a lifetime opportunity to capitalize on a generation`s worth of ecological restoration, and provide crucial habitat for generations to come.
You can read more about their restoration work at Jardìn Botànico las Orquìdeas website and the JBLO OCC webpage.
To donate:
Jardìn Botànico Las Orquìdeas Donation Page
The following are photos showing the neighbor's land adjacent to the reserve. You can see a clear delineation between the forest of the reserve and the agricultural land.
Please donate and help us purchase and restore this piece of land.
To donate:
Jardìn Botànico Las Orquìdeas Donation Page