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Boletin Audubon
October 2007
Newsletter Archives
The Newsletter of Sociedad Audubon de México, A.C.
October 13, 9 am--Hike to Boca de Cañada (read
more >)
October 16, 4 pm--Don Patterson, director of ecologia for San Miguel
(read more >)
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Hike to Boca de Canada
Here is one view of the magnificent hike to Boca de la Canada that Audubon held on October 13, a view that also includes many of the lucky people who hiked through that beautiful canyon. Stay in touch via this website and Atencion to learn about the next hike sponsored by Audubon. (Of course, if you belong to Audubon, you'll be sure to hear about all our events early enough to sign up, through e-mail.)
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AUDUBON HOSTS WATER AWARENESS TALK
AT VILLA JACARANDA
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Are you curious about the long term water supply for San Miguel?
The Audubon Society is hosting an informative presentation by Don Patterson, one of the officials concerned about water for the city of San Miguel and its environs. Don is Director of Ecology & the Environment for San Miguel and would like to share his long term water strategy with us. To learn more, including how you can help, come to the Audubon presentation on Tuesday October 16, 4pm at the Villa Jacaranda. Don will present an overview of the city's water problems and what is being done to solve them.
Some of the complex issues he deals with "require
immediate action," he says. Such as the fact that 6,000
children are currently drinking contaminated water in this
municipality. |
Others are more long-range but equally crucial and must
be dealt with soon. For example, Patterson says, our aquifer is
predicted to have trouble supplying water to the community within twenty
years. When the aquifer (a limited supply of 25,000 year old water) is
no longer viable, then San Miguel will have to rely on surface water.
And "if we're going to be drinking lake water, we need to clean it
up."
Don told us that the city government is working with scientists at the University of Queretaro on a study, to be completed later this month, on diagnostic analyses of the watershed in Los Picachos (one of the important parts of San Miguel's watershed). Next year they will be working on analyses and plans for other areas. "We have to rehabilitate the watershed so that we will have the purest water possible," he says.
One way of thinking about Patterson's focus is what he terms
"bio-hydraulic corridors", (a phrase that he uses to include surface and ground water systems as well as their flora and fauna). He is also working on "rainwater harvesting", with Ecosystemscience Foundation, in the communities with the worst contaminates. These are manmade systems for collecting, filtering, storing and distributing rainwater. "For every liter we harvest from rain," he says, "one less liter is taken from the aquifer." And of course, rainwater has no arsenic or fluoride to contaminate children's diets and rot their teeth. The city is also looking into filters that can remove contaminants from water.
Two years ago, San Miguel signed an agreement with the United Nations, to become one of 100 green cities. "We're starting from scratch here", he said. "San Miguel is only one percent green--the international norm is nine percent." But they're working on it; a master plan for a green corridor including Parque Landeta is coming up soon.
The city does get some funding for this work from the state and the federal government, but Mayor Correa has also created a Green Fund, which includes contributions from real estate developers in the community. All fines and fees, including your automobile emissions fee, go into the green fund.
Audubon is planning to help Patterson and San Miguel to achieve the water goals that are so essential for the town's future. Obviously our goals of improved education and habitat restoration coincide with those of the municipality. Audubon's slogan; "We're not just for the birds" tells our story.
Patterson, who recognizes Audubon as one of the larger NGOs in town, says, "If you have the good name of Audubon on a document, it helps."
He himself says of Audubon, "I look at you and I see an army."
To hear and see a man who's making a difference in San Miguel, come to the Villa Jacaranda on Tuesday, October 16, 4pm. Audubon members enjoy free admission. Guests pay 50 pesos each. Membership will be available at the door for $300pesos.
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AT LAST! A BIRD BOOK WILL SOON TAKE FLIGHT
As a bird watcher, an environmentalist or just an appreciator of nature, you wouldn’t be the first person to wish there were a field guide to the birds of San Miguel—and to be disappointed when you found it didn’t exist. Your time is coming! Audubon is at work right now on a field guide to our abundant,
beautiful local birds. The guide will follow the style of
Flores Silvestres de San Miguel de Allende, the wonderfully successful and useful field guide to our local wildflowers that appeared in 2006—sized to fit in a pocket, with full-color pictures and brief descriptions of each bird (and a ruler on the back). We’re hoping to have it available some time this year.
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