Saturday, June 16th is Earth Day in Nicaragua. Why they celebrate it on a different day than the rest of the world is beyond me but regardless I am very happy that we here in Nicaragua have a day to celebrate our Earth mother...

In honor of this celebration we at Los Congos are beginning the planting of 25,000 native species of trees and plants. In addition we are breaking ground on our extensive organic garden areas and perma-culture stations on this date as well. As a compliment to our organic farming and reforestation efforts we will also begin the difficult and time consuming task of building "check dams' to slow water run-off in areas that have suffered from the past years of poor land handling. These check dams will not only prevent further erosion but will provide additional stabilization to these areas. Further stabilization efforts will be had in the creation of terraced areas and the planting of Vetiver grass, which we have acquired 9000 shoots of. The Vetiver grass forms a root system that is comparable to an underground network of rebar, it is a non-invasive, non-spreading grass which is used all over the world and is known as one of the best forms of natural erosion prevention. (Google "vetiver grass" for complete details)

Our resident horticulture and organics expert, Chistopher Shanks, finally gets to show off his hard work and planning efforts! I do not want to make light of the others who have been instrumental in these accomplshments either - Carlos Medal, Jonathan Belcher, Ramon Nonnato and our entire "in the field" crew all deserve a hand for their extreme hard work and dedication to these programs. If not for the extremely good attitude, unwavering work ethic and dedication of this team we would not be beginning this program as early as we have. Thanks men, we all appreciate your efforts.

The celebration will kick off at 930AM at the Mirador in Diria. On hand will be many Nicaraguan dignitaries, all facets of the national press as well as many volunteers and concerned residents who are welcoming this addition to Laguna de Apoyo. This is a big day for Laguna, SA and Los Congos and we are very happy to be giving the Earth the gift of life and a healthier environment to boot. This is only the beginning of our reforestation and stabilization effort here at Laguna de Apoyo and we look forward to the thousands of hours of hard work and planning we have in the decades to come.

If you are in Nicaragua please come and see us on June 16th in Diria or any time in our Granada offices, we would love to see you. Take care.