// Trip Reports  

Report name	Urbina report 2007 by Rodrigo Donso
Date submitted	Sep-07

This year four groups of students came to the footslopes of Chimborazo and stayed in Urbina's Posada La Estaciòn at 3,640m. During their visit they did community work consisting of planting native trees, manufacturing plywood signs to place on the plants and trees from the Chuquirahua's botanical garden located in the Stations grounds and putting together wire mesh protectors and installed them to safe keep the planted trees. They also level ground and built 10 protections walls with grass patches for the camping ground.

Alta Montaña is the name of the Ecuadorian Operator that manages the Posada La Estaciòn, and the mountain climbing shelters in Chimborazo who employ 13 people and were really happy to be able to work with the students. Our goals concerning our work is closely related to ecology which is why we are involved with educating the members of the surrounding communities with ecological techniques such as reforestation and the recycling of garbage.

This year we successfully planted 740 trees of the rosaseas family and from 3 different species of the Polilepys Genus, polilepys larisifolia, inccana and hirsuta.

The groups also manufactured 60 plywood signs, shaped the wood, painted patterns and wrote the family scientific and common name of each plant and tree on each.

We, the people working with Alta Montaña, and the members of the communities are very thankful to the students and guarantee you that we will guard and protect the planted trees. The students show willingness to perform their work and were enthusiastic about it.

Rodrigo Donso