Planting Trees by Alex Christensen

Last Friday was our first planting trip in San Pedro de la Paz. Each student from the United States was paired with a group of students from Colegio Concepciòn San Pedro. Luckily, the weather was beautiful and rain free. Within in an hour and a half, 50 native trees were in the ground! It was amazing to see the kids having fun while simultaneously learning about the environment all around them.

The next planting trip will be this Friday in Dichato. This city was severly damaged in a tsunami and this planting trip will hopefully help in the restoration of the area. It will be great to see these trees put to good use.

This week, I had the chance to meet with several faculty at local universities. There seem to be many people in Concepción who are doing research in Oceanography. It was great to learn about their research programs around the country and the outreach they are doing in the community.

These last few days are full of many sad goodbyes and I prepare to return to the United States. Living in Concepciòn has been a great experience. My host family has done such a great job making me feel like part of their family. I am incredibly greatful for their hospitality. Our last adventure together was in Lota on a tour of a local mine. There is nothing quite like crawling through dark tunnels to bring people together.