| Jardin Botanico y Arboreto de Alta Cima |
| Recent News The first week of May, 2008 will see a visit by the Curator of Orchids from the Denver Botanical gardens to work with our staff and revamp the orchid collection-- details and photos will be posted in mid-May. See you then! |
| El Jardin Botanico y Arboreta de Alta Cima is pleased to announce they have received a grant from the Investing in Nature Program (a venture between HSBC and BGCI). This grant will fund salaries and research projects for local citizens dedicated to the protection, preservation, and promotion of El Cielo's endangered plant species. Progress will be posted on this page during the coming year. |
| Cruz Ortiz, a GIS Technician for the City of Los Angeles, began a GPS training program with Eduardo Padrone, Arboretum Manger, which will be expanded to include three additional personnel by 2007 |
| Meanwhile, back at the ranch... Johnson Bridgwater, General Director, met with M.C. Jorge Luis Mora López and M.C. Antonio Guerra Pérez from Instituto de Ecología y Alimentos, Autónomos Universidad de Tamaulipas, to discuss collaboration on an endangered species workshop to be offered in May. |
*Four new orchid records have been made for El Cielo, including Cranichis subumbellata (see photo below), a
CITES-II listed species which will be reported to various organizations. The other new species include Prescottia
stachyodes (Sw.) Lindl., Malaxis brachystachys (Rchb. f.) Kuntze; and Schieedella crenulata (L. O. Williams)
Espejo y López Ferrari.
*The new trail system has been installed (see below) and will connect the orchid wall with the fern collection and
pass through the butterfly garden. It is composed of native river rock and looks beautiful.
*Full color masterplans are on display at La Fe for visitors to see what the new arboretum and the expanded
botanical garden will look like.
| Eusabia Berrones, Gardens Manager, and Eduardo Padrone, Arboretum Manager, (with a little help from Eduardo's daughters!) completed a workshop on creating herbarium specimens given by Bruce Hoagland and Amy Buthod from the University of Oklahoma |
| Some highlights from our spring 2006 activities... |
| The two plan sheets shown to the left and to the right show the first phases of the arboretum and the botanical garden. |
| As of September of 2007, the garden is happy to share news that it has finally come full circle with its program to establish a working herbarium in Alta Cima in conjunction with the Institute for Food and Ecology at the University of Tamaulipas as well as the University of Oklahoma in the USA. Thanks to the generosity of the Investing in Nature grant program for Mexico, sponsored by BGCI and HSBC Bank, we were able to purchase and set up all the supplies needed to begin creating and storing herbarium specimens, and we were able to bring in several experts for a series of workshops in which the local garden workers were trained in the production of herbarium specimens. And in October of 2007, we will receive our first shipment of laminated herbarium specimens to be used for various educational programs right here in Alta Cima! All field collections made in El Cielo through the garden will produce three sets of specimens-- voucher specimens will be placed on file in Ciudad Victoria at the AUT Institute's herbarium, at the Robert Bebb Herbarium at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma, USA, and the third set will be permanently laminated and kept on file right here in Alta Cima in our new herbarium cabinet. A second major component of last year's grant from BGCI and HSBC Bank, that of a database to track all known plant species recorded in the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, is also up and running. We are currently working on various elements in this database, but working copies are now available upon request (send an email to: johnsonbridgwater@sbcglobal.net). This database will eventually link Alta Cima, the Institute for Food and Ecology at AUT, and the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma USA as representatives at these institutions begin work in earnest to document a complete floristic inventory of the Reserve with special emphasis on monitoring and tracking known endangered species found within El Cielo's borders. We continue to work through various aspects of our educational program to determine the most useful ways to enlighten the public about El Cielo's unique plant world. Plans for bilingual tours are on hold as we struggle with the enormity of this goal. However, bilingual signage dedicated to the wonder and joy of Mexico's amazing orchid realm is being installed in October of 2007 in our first phase of passive garden education. Thanks to Orchid Conservation International for a grant that has helped fund this signage. We have also been busy at the arboretum as Eduardo continues his hard work heading up the men's cooperative as they install the first phase at the arboretum. In addition to twenty species of trees and shrubs, they also built a rather large and impressive cistern to supply water for the project! Lastly, Eduardo has also been participating in orchid field work as he undergoes training in the collection of data needed to create a long-term management plan for El Cielo's endangerd orchid species. Again, thanks to Orchid Conservation International. |
| November 2007: We are now posting a wealth of photos highlighting activities, both old and new in the Jardin Botanico y Arboreto de Alta Cima, as well as El Cielo in general. To take a look at them, please visit: El Cielo FLICKR site |
| October, 2007: We are excited to announce the installation of our first batch of new permanent educational signs. These first three signs relate to orchid issues, and were funded by a grant from Orchid Conservation International. (Visit here to see the new signs in the garden.) |