Project Launch:

San Juan de Ondores or 'Ondores' is a small, isolated town in a national reserve in the central Andes. The population is about 500 people and they live on a dirt road at over 13,000 feet elevation, approximately 250 kilometers east of Lima. A high-Andean wetlands prairie, the nearby lake and surrounding wetlands habitat are home to a host of aquatic bird species. The thousands of livestock grazing throughout the hills and into the wetlands inflict heavy pressure on the fragile ecosystem, including soil erosion, overgrazing of native grasses, and introduction of organic material resulting in lake eutrophication. With a $482 grant from World Connect's Kids to Kids Program, the "Young Andean Arborists" project, in partnership with the entire student body of Ondores High School, their dedicated science teacher, the local Conservation Committee, the national park service, and their local Peace Corps Volunteer, took on a large-scale forestation endeavor. Each of the 60 students planted eight to ten native tree species with each of the five grades focusing on a particular area of Ondores. Each student was responsible for creating a protective fence to keep out grazing animals and winter frosts.