Visiting the first University located at bottom of Sanctuaries!

THE VISIT

The Symbolic Migration program has made a really special visit today: One year ago, the first University connecting the villages and towns around the “Sierra Chincua” Sanctuary and El Rosario Sanctuary has been opened. It is located right at the bottom of the “Sierra Chincua” Sanctuary lowest hillsides, at the Aporo county area. The only career choice available so far, is “Engineering on Agro-Nutritional Processes”, offering a wide spectrum of possibilities into the future for these young, promising generations. “Our “Benito Juárez” University’s main mission consists of bringing back our local families and new generations to a sustainable way of living with their own local resources, to farming getting to know the large variety of possibilities and invaluable rescuing of ancestral methods on agriculture, traditional medicine, reforestation, water supplying, and in general, taking advantage of every single source for making a living in our own homeland”, --several students stated, each telling an aspect taking turns to explain them proudly--. “This way, our parents, brothers, husbands and future children will stop migrating to our huge and crowded capital cities and even to our northern neighboring countries which causes so much suffering at families getting separated”, --a few girls in the class added--. “Which do you think are the main, basic, natural resources that provide the possibility for a sustainable living in our region?”, --Estela asked the group--. “Water sources”, “good, pristine, nutritious soil”, “convenient temperatures”, “defined scheduled seasons all over the year”, “healthy and abundant canopy for holding humidity and having abundant fauna all around…”, --students took turns in mentioning endless aspects--. “And the main source generating all this ideal conditions for a sustainable living for our families, is: T h e F o r e s t”!!!, --they all shouted in chorus--. On we went all together in reviewing the different types of forest trees and fruit trees growing in our areas around the Monarch butterfly Sanctuaries, summarizing that we have about 10 tree main species in our high mountains and over 11 delicious fruit trees on the other side at lower altitudes all over. They assured having seen during their classes, how important the “Decomposing Process” in the forest is nourishing the soil providing abundant nutrients to it. We ended up focusing on the exceptional characteristics of the Oyamel trees and students learned how unique and special our dominant Oyamel tree species is in our forests, being one of the main attraction for Monarchs due to their contribution at generating the special microclimate Monarchs need to overwinter in our high mountains at ten thousand feet altitude from November through March. We concluded how determinant it is to take immediate and effective measures at preserving our forests, since our Oyamel tree nucleus might be among the few left all over our planet, having taken for sure hundreds of thousands of years to cover our mountains. Indeed the book gift brought to the school, will be invaluable, which among other titles, the books “Arboles” and “Escucha Hablar a los Arboles”, will be the perfect illustrated and simple but effective, fun, question-answer sources to consult innumerable topics happening in the forest and with trees in general.