Every Wednesday, the EcoSwell team rises with the sun for our weekly Planting Day. The morning is usually spent planting new trees or vegetables in the various garden beds around EcoSwell. This week we decided to switch it up. Instead of traveling to our back yard, we traveled to the Primary School of Lobitos. with the hopes of planting trees and our favorite plant, vetiver!
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As we entered the school’s courtyard, we were welcomed by kids running around in their gym class. The two, pretty large, garden beds were located at the back the courtyard. They already had a few plants living there, but they looked lonely. The EcoSwell team suited up with gloves and spades and got right down to work. We lined the side and back of the beds with the vetiver, a super-grass from India known for its durability, water cleansing powers, large growth and overall environmental benefits to its surroundings. Some of the kids with growing curiosity hesitantly approached the beds, but seemed delighted with what we were doing. We had a pretty nice audience until our director, Diego, brought a big bag of fertilizer - in this case - horse manure. The faint smell was still enough to get some cringing faces from the kids. The gym class seemed like a safer bet at this moment.
By the end of the our gardening trip hands were dirty, arms were tired, and faces full of smiles; the EcoSwell team had planted 40 vetiver slips along with eight trees - 1 palo negro, 4 algarrobos, and 3 charans from EcoSwell’s own tree nursery in Lobitos. To make sure the trees would grow tall and strong, we placed wooden stakes around each tree for extra stability, and then wrapped the posts with a green mesh to protect the seedlings. These trees will grow to add beauty and shade to the school’s courtyard which will be great on the sunny days of Lobitos. We topped it all off with the usual watering and extra fertilizer. We could not be happier with our work and cannot wait to watch these plants grow over the next few months as we continuously monitor their progress. The EcoSwell team is always ready to reach out to the community with our green thumbs and ever-growing enthusiasm.
Written by Anthony Rizzi - Loyola University New Orleans - EcoSwell Intern, August 2018
@EcoSwell is a for-impact, sustainable development organization based in Lobitos, Peru. Since 2014, we have been working everyday to help coastal communities thrive in unison with nature. All the revenue generated from our SteemIt posts go directly back into our projects. If you would like to learn more, please visit our Facebook, website, and follow us on SteemIt!