Open, Aware, and Humble Enough to Listen

July 30, 2014

Denise G.

Weather - foggy morning gave way to a beautiful afternoon

Diego's oil talk left us with a great deal to think about and many of us had feelings of helplessnessor discouragement   when we considered the magnitude of the problem.  We acknowledge the potential economic gains of oil extraction here in Ecuador, but can't help but feel that the short term benefits do not outweigh the negative consequences  of environmental destruction.  We spent a good part of the morning discussing threats to conservation in a broad sense.  It seems that well intended policies designed to support development often have unanticipated  outcomes.  We ended our conversation by discussing the scale at which conservation efforts can occur ranging from individual choice and behavior to intentionally coordinated efforts and we read the "Earth Charter" generated by the United Nations in 2004 out loud.

our copy of the Earth Charter

The Earth Charter was beautiful and inspirational, but there is a part of me that feels like it is very idealistic.  Where, when, and how can it be implemented on a global scale?

We spend the morning discussing our final fall project.  I was really impressed by the students' willingness to engage in the process and they came up with a fantastic range of ideas.  I am definitely looking forward to seeing what they produce.

After spending so much time inside, many of us were eager to get outside and hike.  We chose a long and relatively new trail known as Parahuaco.  Parahuaco means Saki Monkey and our experiences on the trail, in some ways, provide a great snapshot of our time in the rainforest as a whole!

We experienced challenging,  "over the boot" moments when someone slipped in knee deep mud.

perfectly camouflaged

There were thorns, and spider webs, and painful conga ant stings, but the forest also gave us moments of joy - a perfect gentle breeze, a flat path past enormous and beautiful trees, the surprising pattern of a snail shell, a frog that blends in perfectly with the leaf litter.

These simple things are the constant and seemingly limitless gifts of the rainforest and I know I will always be grateful that I have had the chance to experience it all.

Our day was rounded out by a lecture from Lissy Coley from the University of Utah.  Inga (the plant she and her research team focuses on).

Lissy Coley and her team

We had a wonderful introduction to plant defenses against herbivores and we learned a little about how to identify

Characteristics to help identify Ingas:
-no terminal leaf
-Ingas sometimes have leafy wings
-they have nectaries that promote ant defense of the plant

I guess I could sum this day up by saying that our experiences in the rainforest have many lessons to offer.  We just have to be open, aware, and humble enough to listen.

Denise G.