My name is Lulu, and I am so thankful to have participated in my school’s experience with the Regeneration Field Institute. I am a senior at Redwood High School in Marin County, California. I have always had so much admiration for mother nature, and–as I’ve grown up–I have become increasingly consumed by how I can support and protect her. I had heard about this trip for a few years and cannot express enough gratitude for the fact that I finally decided to take the risk and head to Los Arboleros Farms. The main projects we worked on consisted of constructing a bio-corridor, building erosion dams, planting in the beautiful syntropic agroforestry fields, and creating a bamboo gazebo in Ricaurte, our local pueblo (town). Through these projects I gained valuable and irreplaceable experiences that I will always cherish. As we worked each day, the “work” rarely felt as such, and we laughed and sang and danced our way through the inspiring and empowering experience.
The build project was the first project we worked on. With help of our amazing Ecuadorian architect Jorge, we began to construct a gazebo that would eventually bring the community of the local pueblo together. While my initial interest in this trip was the environmental piece, this project was amazing to work on. We worked with the maestros to cut, chisel, and construct a beautiful gathering spot for the community. In the bio corridor, we planted a line of trees and bushes to create an environmental highway for monkeys, birds, jungle cats, and all of the other animals affected by the fragmentation of Ecuadorian jungle. We did this project on a hillside, meaning the corridor served a second purpose: to rejuvenate the soil by preventing erosion and encouraging more percolation of rain. I had so much fun working on this project, and at the end of each day, it felt as though we had gotten a crazy amount of work done.
On one of the final days of working on the bio-corridor, we would see the group working in the ravine to build erosion prevention dams. We made these dams out of bamboo, and worked with one of our amazing teachers Kelly to design and create them. The intention is to slow down the water running through the creek bed and ravine to prevent further erosion and allow the soil to absorb more water.
The final job we worked on was planting in the syntropic field. These fields are nowhere close to any farm I’ve ever seen. They are beautiful. The banana leaves shade the plants growing beneath and the grasses provide a constant layer of mulch. Each plant works together to form a field of syntropic agroforestry, one of the coolest things I learned about at RFI. I was lucky enough to help plant one of these fields, and the work was fun and so rewarding. All the time we were working, we were having so much fun. Dancing, singing, having the most beautiful and formative conversations with one another.
Syntropic Plot #2 at Los Arboleros Farm. This system is pictured at 12 months after planting.
Everything we did was so inspiring. Each night I went to bed genuinely looking forward to waking up the next morning to the sound of loud music, laughter, and dancing. I look back in my journal and find nothing but vibrant memories and reflect on a sense of presence that I have never experienced elsewhere. Through the Regeneration Field Institute, I learned so much, felt so inspired, and was the happiest I have ever been.
