SchoolsEstela RomeroJanuary 23, 2021

Urgent restoraTion of forest NEAR one Monarch sanctuary"

SchoolsEstela RomeroJanuary 23, 2021

THE VISIT

The Symbolic Migration has visited today a small village, in which the elementary school has been visited for the fifth year now. Not able to occupy the school facilities yet due to the sanitary emergency, teacher Belén, the principal of the school and mothers of children participating, eager to attend our lesson of the season, “The benefits of trees”, gathered at the family business in the village, belonging to the family of Alondra, whose close-up photo of her and her mother, is at the photo gallery for all of you, an indigenous Mazahua mother and daughter moment. “Santa Cruz del Tejocote”, --the name of the small village--, is located at the back of the overwintering spots in “Sierra Chincua Sanctuary”. The Symbolic Migration has been particularly interested in bringing lessons on conservation to this areas, since they represent, say, an important belt-forest surrounding to the buffer area directly protecting the core area of the Reserve where Monarchs overwinter, which if on one side is not part of the immediate buffer area, its drastic deterioration could be indeed harming the local ecosystem and micro-climate in general of the whole region, as you can appreciate it at the corresponding photos. As Estela introduced herself with the group of children and their mothers, being immediately recognized by many of the children, Estela asked: “Just last weekend, we had real cold winter days; today, we have an extremely bright, sharp-sunny and warm day; does this feel like real winter time?” “No, no…no” –Moms and and children responded in chorus--. “When we were children, a thick layer of ice used to cover our water reservoir (“tanque”) at our home yard; we needed to wait for it to melt over the course of the day in order to use water for our home tasks” one Mom stated; “We used to have rain several times a week in winter all December, January and February; now it feels so dry all around… no rain, no ice anymore, creeks and rivers carry so little water …”, another young Mom added. “The mushroom season in the summer was so short… we collected little of every kind”, one more mother said. The lesson of the year was formally introduced and then explained as to how trees in the forest act like an umbrella and then like a sponge filtering and holding water and humidity underneath the ground for us to get all benefits on agriculture, living, and local ecosystem in general. We went over the names of our local trees in the forest and the names of the fruits of the “domestic” trees we have in our villages down at the flat ground. “Trees are the great regulators of climate conditions in our region. The more trees, the much healthier climate, water and oxygen, the more abundant animals, plants, medicine and herbs, the more humidity underground to get the best crops and harvest, the more mushrooms in the summer….”… Trees, trees and more trees, they are the base of our living in all aspects; from there life is possible or not for us. Parents and children could agree with the need of urgent restoration of forest in their area. It has been a beautiful group to work with. 12 parents were attending the presentation together with their children!. We spent more than three hours together… we just lost track of time… Moms and children were all very attentive to every statement. “We belong here; none will care of our surrounding but us locals; we want to see our grandchildren grow here and be the owners of our land in the future”; The Symbolic Migration aims through its humble contribution on Conservation, to encouraging the feeling of identity, the feeling of belonging of local families to their land, to their resources which vast richness, through reasonable use, shall promise to themselves a whole future to build up over the coming generations. Children loved to write their letters to their northern counterparts, loved to make a friend at the surprise of receiving an Ambassador Monarch representing every area, every city, every portion of land of transit along which real Monarchs pass by on their way south to México, to our Oyamel forests. Their books on trees as gift from the Monarch Butterfly Fund, two others on ancestral clothing design and commerce practice by our ancestral indigenous communities before currency would exist, and finally a fantastic poster of all species of greens we eat, most of them growing in our region and Oyamel forests, closed our great and unforgettable day together!