World Bird Festival Activities in the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest 2011

October 2011

On October 30, 2011 activities celebrating the World Bird Festival of Birdlife International were held in Cerro Blanco Protected Forest.  The objective was to educate the general public, specifically the young visitors, about the importance of protecting birds. The event included practical and artisitic activities like: drawing contests, banner design contests, photography exhibits on birds of Cerro Blanco, educational talks, and hikes on the trails to observe the birds.



International Tourism Fair

September 2011

Through the Direction of Tourism in the municipality of Guayaquil, the Pro-Bosque Foundation was invited to participate in FITE 2011 that took place on the 22-25 of September in the Convention Centre of Guayaquil. The Pro-Bosque Foundation participated with exhibits and guides on hand to promote visits to Cerro Blanco.

Latest photo of the jaguar in Cerro Blanco

July 2011
July 25, 2911. With cameras traps were located in different points where it is presumed to be frequented by jaguars. Success was achieved and the latest photos along with those dating from 2008 confirm that at least two jaguars roam the forests of Cerro Blanco and adjacent forest remnants. A landowner has also confirmed the sighting of a female jaguar with two cubs in Cerro Blanco. This is a good sign and shows the conservation efforts of the Pro-Forest Foundation are paying off.

Visit to Rio Muchacho Organic Farm / The Nursery Planet Drum Foundation

June 2011

A group made up of the Director, nursery workers, rangers, and technical staff of the Foundation visited the Rio Muchacho Organic Farm located in the province of Manabi. The objective of this visit was to learn the experience and technical methods of the application of permacultura as well as other practices such as recycling and the optimization and generation of alternative energy. The Farm is an excellent example of the relation between nature and resources, and we thank Nicola Mears and Dario Proaño for making this visit possible.  In addition we visited the tree nursery of the Planet Drum Foundation in Bahia de Caraquez.

Tree nursery of the Planet Drum Foundation

World Environmental Day

June 2011

To celebrate World Environmental Day, a group of students from a high school in Guayaquil came to the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest to plant trees.  As part of a program organized by the Environmental Unit of the Ecuadorian National Police.

The Guayas Provincial Government, through its Direction of the Environment, organized an Environmental Fair. The Pro-Forest Foundation participated with an exposition of our projects in a stand on the Malecon of the city of Guayaquil. Our stand was very popular and in addition to learning about our work to conserve and restore Ecuadorian Dry Tropical Forest. We promoted visits to the Cerro Blanco Protected Forest.

Birth of a Blue and Yellow Macaw

May 2011

A Blue and Yellow macaws chick Ara ararauna was born in the Wildlife Rescue Centre of the Pro-Forest Foundation.   Once found in the lowland forests of western Ecuador, the species is now restricted to Varzea forest and swampy areas within mainland forest in the Amazon region of Ecuador.  This is the first macaw born in our wildlife reserve center and represents an important milestone in our efforts to bolster the population of them.  

Search for Great Green macaw nest

March 2011
As part of the project 0925159 “Conservation of the Great Green Macaw” funded by The Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, field visits were made to find active nests of the Great Green Macaw in the Cordillera Chongón Colonche.

Various visits were made. In July, a trip was made to the farm of Mr. Felipe Quimi, who had indicated the constant activity of a pair of great macaw close to his property although without any sightings. Then in August it was reported that there was an active nest in the Hacienda Piguabe, a site which had a nest in 2009. Unfortunately, no nest was found during 2011 of this critically endangered species in Ecuador.

Search for Great Green macaw nest