Earthwatch Diaries - 2011

It's so hard to say goodbye!

Like the previous mornings, the birds’ singing in the garden wakes us. But today just feels a little different as it will be our last working day in the Atlantic Rainforest. Tomorrow morning, after a brief learning session, we will pack up and be on the way back home.

          
 
A new day begins after a “universal” breakfast - today’s cooks are from Spain and China. We had Spanish ham omelets and Chinese rice gruel.

 

Because today’s schedule is pretty tight, we are lucky enough to be allowed to take a short ride, in a car, to the starting-point of our plot research journey.

 

Our groups were mixed with Portuguese-speaking and English-speaking Fellows in order to maximize communications and cooperation across team members who are from different cultures. We believe good team work can break down language barriers and we were able to prove this. Today’s plot was located in a medium secondary forest area, which required us to climb up a muddy, steep mountain. We weighed the bee hives, measured trees’ diameter for their growth, recorded each tree’s flower and fruit status, and collected leaf litter from traps. Data we collected will be used for analyzing the relationship between rainfall and tree growth.



After a busy morning workload, we went to a town nearby called Morretes, and enjoyed a SUPER nice local traditional lunch called “Barreado” made of beef and palm flour. We also had a chance to explore the town.

 

After we got back from Morretes, each team member developed a draft sustainability action plan and presented them to the whole group.

Today ends in an unexpected, yet, impressive way: All team members received a farewell gift package from our lovely Dr. Reinaldo!

      

Here are some of his inspiring words: “Always have good thoughts, because thoughts will be transformed into your words. Always have good words, because words will be transformed into your actions. Always have good actions, because actions will be transformed into your habits. Always have good habits, because habits will be transformed into your values. Always have good values, because your values will be transformed into your own destiny.”

Good Luck, my dear friends!

                                                         Blogger: Lu Zhao

Nossa rotina agradável de paisagens belíssimas aliada a pesquisa cientifica era tudo o que esperávamos encontrar.

Hoje nosso penúltimo dia, acordamos e fomos surpreendidos com um maravilhoso café da manha feito por Alba da Espanha e Lu da China. O dia estava agradável e partimos para o nossa última atividade no campo, a trilha do Forno 10. Foi bem tranquila, mas não deixou de ser excepcionalmente linda e gratificante a coleta de dados através das medições e coleta de folhas para pesquisa. Nossa rotina agradável de paisagens belíssimas aliada a pesquisa cientifica era tudo o que esperávamos encontrar.

 
 
Após o campo fomos visitar a cidade de Morretes, saborear um prato típico da região o famoso Barreado, delicia da cozinha paranaense. Tood Bell da Austrália foi aclamado como voluntário para uma apresentação do prato no restaurante, foi muito hilário e um momento muito descontraído. Após o almoço fomos passear pela cidade e comprar alguns presentes retornamos para a última sessão: apresentar o plano de ação. Fechamos a noite com um saboroso jantar e um discurso emocionado do amigo Reinaldo.

 
 
Na sessão da noite, apresentamos nossas ideias para projetos futuros sobre sustentabilidade, foi maravilhoso que com apenas uma semana crescemos tanto e podemos dialogar de forma mais madura sobre o assunto. Terminamos o dia e agora o que só nos resta é a saudade.

A Day in the Life of an Earthwatch Fellow

Last night we could hear the rain from inside our bedrooms, but we still got up with the same enthusiasm, and it was a fabulous day. We had the best of breakfasts trying the different ways of cooking eggs from the different countries! 

 
 
At 8:15am we were ready to leave, heading towards the field work. We walked a hard way up hill towards Pantera 8 (the plot in which we had to work today) but it was worth it! On the way we had the chance to see some beautiful Toucans, and even though the monkeys were too shy to let us see them we could hear them “chatting” in the forest.

 
 
We got to work as soon as we arrived at the plot. We weighed the bee hives all together and then we divided in two groups for tree measuring and leaf litter collection. Once we had finished we had our lunch in the forest--we all were starving! And even though it rained a little during the morning, we didn't have to worry about that because the forest was acting like a big umbrella for us!

After all our work, we still had time for a little hike with the rangers who revealed to us the small secrets of the forest--there is nothing in the field that can escape their eyes and ears! Trying to not slip in the mud, we carefully started our way down the steep hill. We arrived at the Climate Centre, after 1.5 hours, for our daily rest before the learning session.

 
 

Down and Dirty

The team woke early to a grey sky for our first adventure in the rainforest. We ate the breakfast that Edson and Ellen set out for us, showered and prepared our lunch before being greeted by Robson (the principal investigator or lead scientist) and Julio (assistant investigator).

We donned on our rubber boots and grabbed our bags and headed off to the field plots. Today we split into two groups - Brazilians to the undisturbed site and non-Brazilians to the mature, disturbed site.

We hit the road, with the clouds threatening to rain, heading towards the park entrance where the park rangers were waiting. Passing through the gates, it became very clear why we wore the rubber boots: Sections of the trail saw us ankle deep in sloppy mud!

 
After about an hour of slowly wandering through the forest, checking out all the new plants and animals, we made it to our plot. Once again we split into two groups - Lu and Tommy were assigned to tree measuring with Robson and while Alba and I were assigned to empty the leaf litter collector and weigh the beehives with Barbara and Tony.

  
We finished around 1pm and ate our lunch in the forest, making sure we avoided the hungry ticks and mosquitoes.

Once we got back to our “palace” we had some free time to relax until our 5pm learning session. During tonight's session we all gave 5-minute presentations on Alcoa and its sustainability programs.

For dinner we had spaghetti and sat around the fire eating S’mores and telling popular stories and legends from each of our countries.

                                                             Blogger: Todd Bell

Objective: Climate Change Research

The third team of Alcoa Earthwatch Fellows is a diverse group from Brazil, Spain, China, Australia and the United States, with a single objective to help in climate change research.

 
From left to right in front: Lu Zhao (China); Alba Garcia (Spain); Ellen Acioli (Brazil) and Viviane Pena (Brazil). Left to right back: Todd Bell (Australia); Reinaldo Zago (Brazil); Edson Souza (Brazil) and Tommy Rogers (USA).

É uma ótima oportunidade de conhecermos a cultura de cada local e fazermos novas amizades. No dia 18 foi o momento das apresentações e de conhecer um pouco o trabalha que faremos nos próximos dias. Iniciamos o primeiro dia no programa Earthwatch com a dupla Reinaldo e Viviane providenciando o café da manhã para os outros participantes.

 
The team having their first breakfast together.

Em seguida o grupo caminhou em torno de 4 km até a estação meteorológica do programa. No escritório de pesquisa conhecemos o monitoramento dos dados climáticos e aproveitamos para almoçar na sede do escritório.

 

The team being trained on the lab activities.

Depois fomos ao laboratório de pesquisa onde o grupo foi separado em duplas com o objetivo de identificar dentre as amostras de serapilheira a espécie de folhas e sua correlação com as outras espécies, separamos ainda sementes, flores e galhos. Algo bem diferente de tudo que já trabalhamos até hoje. Retornamos através de uma caminhada para participar de uma sessão: “Nosso Planeta sob pressão”. Mas, antes houve tempo para conversar um pouco mais com o time.

Climate Change in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil

Day 1 (our arrival) and Day 2 were filled with rapid fire instructions and lots of cultural exchange.

Since there are four English-speaking participants (from the USA, Australia, Spain and China) and four Portuguese-speaking participants from Brazil, introductions were made and information was presented in both languages. This dual-language approach was helpful because it allowed for comparison between the languages for both groups and made it easier to begin to understand each other.

In true Alcoa tradition, much time was devoted to safety discussions. Most participants have not spent a lot of time in the great outdoors, especially in the Brazilian rainforest, so this review of possibly dangerous elements was appreciated by everyone.

 

Day 2 began with more discussion of the worldwide problem of climate change and helped everyone to better understand each other’s reasons for coming on this expedition and the need for our participation in it. Everyone then hiked to the Regional Climate Center so we could understand the importance of this facility. After a pleasant bag lunch under the screened pavilion at the Climate Center, we continued hiking to the Earthwatch laboratory where we helped with our first scientific work.

 
 
We sorted and bagged dried leaf litter, gathered by prior teams, from the study plots in the forest. We were instructed in organization of the plots, in how to use the calipers for measurement, and were introduced to some of the tree species we would be measuring and counting on some of the 1 hectare plots. (A hectare is 100 meters X 100 meters--a little over 2 acres.) The day was sunny and warm and gave many opportunities for photographing the environment and the participants.

 

Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow when we will hike in to the study plots and gather data. Rain is expected for the next 3 days. We will work if the rain is not too extreme, which could make trekking too hazardous.

Fast Facts: 
-Fence posts and utility poles are made of concrete since wood would rot in the wet conditions.
-They have Coca Cola in Brazil but no Dr. Pepper.
-There seems to be no peanut butter but I have had local candy with that flavor. People from all lands want comfort and security.
-My pedometer registered 11,748 steps today for a yield of 5.19 miles. Tomorrow should be much more.

                    Blogger: Tommy Rogers

Primeiro Dia Da Expedição

Hoje era o dia mais aguardado, pois teríamos o primeiro dia de campo. Logo após o café da manhã a equipe foi dividida em dois grupos: brasileiros e estrangeiros que seguiriam trilhas diferentes.

 
 
Nosso grupo seguiu a trilha do Pinheiro e andamos aproximadamente 1.500 metros por dentro de uma floresta primária. Assim que chegamos ao ponto principal recebemos as orientações em como medir as árvores e realizar a coleta de serrapilheira nos pontos identificados. Além de ter convivido com várias espécies de árvores e pássaros foi interessante saber como o inventário foi feito há três anos e como a floresta se preserva sem a interferência humana. Apesar de o trabalho ser repetitivo e simples entendemos que a coleta de dados se não for feita de forma correta influencia o resultado de uma pesquisa. Durante a sessão de aprendizagem, foi interessante compartilhar o conhecimento dos colegas em relação ao assunto Alcoa e Sustentabilidade, assim aprendemos um pouco mais com a visão de cada um e fechamos o dia com chave de um ouro em uma roda de conversa agradável ao redor da fogueira curtindo marshmellows com chocolate.

 

Expedition 3: Rio Cachoeira Natural Reserve, Brazil - September 18-23

Journey to Brazil

The Brazil expedition takes place at the Regional Climate Center in Rio Cachoeira Natural Reserve. The reserve is situated in the Guaraqueçaba Environmental Protection Area (EPA), which comprises over three hundred thousand hectares of the best preserved, continuous Atlantic Forest. The area includes estuaries, islands, mangroves, coastal resting woodlands, lowland forests, moist montane forests and upper montane forests. The nearest town of Antonina is 26 km from the Regional Climate Center.

The Rio Cachoeira Reserve is in a rural and isolated area. This reserve harbors 810 identified species of plants, 407 species of birds, 61 species of fish and several species of mammals. Some of these mammals are threatened by extinction, including the otter, ocelot and jaguar. Endangered plant species include the palm Euterpe edulis, a keystone forest species whose populations are decreasing due to over-harvesting.

The Brazil team will make an important contribution to the data collection at the Regional Climate Center. The field research entails a methodical effort that requires intense repetitive labor to collect data needed for scientific analysis. They will learn about the field techniques required to generate this important information and will work collaboratively as a team in the field to gather data for the research project.

Meet the Fellows

 
Name: Todd Bell
Country: Australia
Alcoa Branch: WA Mining – Huntly Minesite
Job Title: Mine Environmental Scientist

I am looking forward to meeting and sharing experiences with the other Alcoa Earthwatch Fellows. There is a good mix of people on my team, so it will be good to learn more about what sustainability means to them and find out more about their countries. I want to learn more about sustainability and the effects of climate change, so I can share the knowledge with my family, friends and co-workers. Hopefully, the new skills and information I gain from my expedition will encourage others to become more sustainable at work and at home.


 
Name: Tommy Rogers
Country: USA
Alcoa Branch: Alcoa Architectural Products, Eastman, GA USA
Job Title: ABS and Quality Processes Coordinator

I am looking forward to the expedition experience. Since it has been quite hot in Georgia, USA (close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit) I am excited to be traveling to a rainforest with late winter temperatures. I can hardly wait to get my feet on the ground and see new plants, animals and terrain. Tree harvesting is at an all time high in the southeastern USA. It’s most disturbing to see century old cypress swamps being clear cut, knowing that a large percentage of these trees will be ground up and used for garden mulch. I’m thankful to Earthwatch and Alcoa Foundation for this learning opportunity centered on sustainability.


 
Name: Alba García Patallo
Country: Spain
Alcoa Branch: Europe Primary Aluminum
Job Title: Shipping Factor

It’s a huge privilege to participate in the Earthwatch fellowship. I expect this expedition to be a very enriching personal and professional experience. I hope to learn a lot about environmental issues and, above all, how to prevent and help solve them. I've always loved nature and I think this project is a great opportunity to really get in touch with it. I also believe that all of us are responsible for taking care of the environment.


 
Name: Lu Zhao
Country: China
Alcoa Branch: Alcoa Asia Pacific
Job Title: Project Manager, Corporate Development

This Earthwatch Fellowship is a unique and meaningful program that will enhance me both professionally and personally. Environmental excellence is one of our company’s highest priorities. I want to learn how to reduce negative impacts on the environment during production processes and in my daily life. I am also looking forward to knowing more about sustainability through field work. I look forward to sharing interesting stories that will inspire more friends to love our Earth. It is exciting that the program will be held in Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest. I believe this will make me more globally-oriented.

 
Name: Ellen Acioli
Country: Brazil
Alcoa Branch: Juruti Mine
Job Title: Environment Control Analyst

I have always been interested in living in harmony with the environment. That is why I majored in biology. I want to learn more about sustainable practices, climate change and forests, which will enhance my academic knowledge. I hope to better understand Alcoa’s sustainability practices and evaluate what can be done to develop sustainable practices in my local community.


 
Name: Reinaldo Augusto Zago
Country: Brazil
Alcoa Branch: Santo André Utinga
Job Title: Medical Worker

This expedition will plant the seeds of sustainability in all of our lives. It will be our responsibility to use our skills to turn those seeds into trees that bear fruit. The expedition will be the cornerstone of many sustainability projects for us, our workplaces, and the communities in which we live.

 
Name: Viviane Nahon Penna
Country: Brazil
Alcoa Branch: Juruti
Job Title: Sustainability Analyst

Participating in this program will certainly enhance my skills and my understanding of social and environmental issues. It will allow me to engage in these issues more deeply and enable me to share my learning with my coworkers and my community.

 
Name: Edson dos Santos de Souza
Country: Brazil
Alcoa Branch: Sorocaba - Sao Paulo
Job Title: Toolmaker

I am very happy to be chosen as an Earthwatch Fellow. I want to learn more about sustainability to be a multiplier of knowledge about preserving the environment. I hope to learn more about different people and cultures, which will help me to grow as a human being. Despite not working in the environmental area, I feel responsible for knowing about sustainability. I am very proud to have the opportunity to participate in this grand project. I know that the road is long and what I will learn in these days is only the beginning of this journey. I hope to contribute to the project and be worthy of the trust placed in me by Alcoa, my coworkers and family. I'm sure the Alcoa Earthwatch Fellowship will change my life forever.