World Environment Day, June 5, was celebrated in various ways around Jalisco.
At the Phil Weigand Guachimontones Interpretive Center, judging took place for a photographic competition. Participants had been asked to submit pictures taken in any of Jalisco’s wetlands, particularly in the state’s 13 Ramsar sites. In keeping with the times, the categories for submission were: 1. Photos taken with a digital camera and 2. Shots taken with a mobile device (such as a Smartphone or iPad). A grand total of 53 images were received, according to naturalist Manfred Meiners, who was in charge of the judging committee. First prize in category 1, a Urrea Tablet, went to Iván Israel Jiménez Estrada for his photo titled “El Barrio,” showing a bird-filled tree at Lago de Los Poetas, near Puerto Vallarta. The winner for best photo taken with a mobile device was Vanessa Huizar.
Before the awarding of prizes, a large crowd of environmentally oriented visitors to the center was treated to workshops and presentations by several speakers, including this author, who gave a slide show on “Why Jalisco has so much Biodiversity.” This was followed by the screening of “Gira La Tierra por un Bosque Más” (The Earth Rejoices When a New Forest is Born), a documentary directed by Manfred Meiners and J. Claudio Orozco. The film, which is subtitled in English, is entirely narrated by campesinos living in the Río Ayuquila Basin. They relate their battles to preserve and rejuvenate their local forests, their horrendous experiences with commercial pesticides and how they eventually adopted ecologically sound techniques for farming. According to co-director Meiners, this film will soon be screened in Ajijic.
Saturday, June 7 saw simultaneous tree-planting and trash-collecting activities at Presa de La Vega Park (near the dam) and along nearby sections of Las Vias Verdes, cycling and hiking trails laid down along many of Jalisco’s no-longer-serviceable railroad tracks. The trees planted were endemic species such as Guamuchiles and Rosa Morada trees. Volunteers, including many children, also painted over the graffiti disfiguring a building next to La Vega Dam.
On Sunday, June 8, a large crowd showed up at San Miguel Cuyutlán for combination hikes and trash pickups on Cerro Viejo, Jalisco’s second highest peak (2,960 meters). Some chose to hike all the way to the top of the mountain (an 11-kilometer round trip) while others – especially families with small children –chose “the short and easy route,” an eight-kilometer walk along a newly completed Sendero Interpretativo or Self-Guided Trail. Both groups were provided with bags for picking up trash along the way.
The large turnouts during these three days of events suggest that environmental concerns are playing an increasingly larger role in the lives of Tapatíos.