San San Station: Saving the Forest One Tree at a Time

I’m pleased to report that I did not get eaten by the spider that I was sharing my bunk with me. Perched in the corner he just hung around and I came to realize that we had a mutual understanding. So as per usual we woke up and had a delicious breakfast cooked by the locals. Our entire group was broken up into group “A” and group “B”. Group “A” , which was my group, was chosen to do reforestation in the morning while the other group went manatee watching. I really didn’t know what I had signed up for.

We hopped on a boat and went back the way we had come to get to San San, about a 20 minute boat ride. Then we stopped along the river bank and docked. As we got out I realized that the land wasn’t the most solid, it was very marshy and soft. We walked along further and the muck became present. We walked through the wetland where we got a demo on how to plant a tree by the little makeshift nursery that had been established by them. And so i was handed my first tree and the planting begun. We were to go to the clearings in the grass to push the mangrove saplings into the water and cover them with the mud that had been in the hole. We repeated this process many times each as we planted 119 trees.

The sun was beating down on us with our long shirts and pants, and rubber boots on. The sweat was pouring down my face. But honestly I loved every moment of it, even when I fell in mud up to my knee. Walking back and forth getting the saplings and planting them became tiring, especially the farther we got from where we started. And not once did the men who were helping us complain. The people who plant the trees everyday are passionate and humble about the work that they do. It was inspiring and left me feeling inspired about the work that we did together, I think I speak for everyone when I say that.

Next we went to lunch, smelling fresh after my shower we then headed to nest maintenance. From there some of our group worked on making new cages to go on the top of the nest so that when the babies hatch they are contained to be counted, measured, and weighed. Myself, along with Natalia, JoAnna, and Torey then filled in holes outside that had been exhumed already. Then we also discarded dirtied sand from nests as well. You would really be surprised by how many jobs it takes to save a sea turtle, there is so much involved. But it really is all worth it. While cleaning the sand a miracle happened. Baby sea turtles started to hatch right out of the ground. One after the other they started their new journey. It was an honor and a great joy to witness such a miracle. Seeing creatures, endangered ones, begin the rest of their lives hoping that it is a prosperous one is a wonderful experience.