In 2000, a “cloud forest” was unexpectedly discovered in a remote area of western Jalisco at around 1,600 meters altitude (one mile high).
The forest is filled with maple trees that have grown alongside giant ferns continuously for two million years. Today, it is known as the Bosque de Maple de Talpa. Walking through this luxuriant, steamy, hidden jungle is a truly unforgettable experience.
So could it be possible to turn a parcel of land degraded by logging and agave planting into a vibrant cloud forest just like the Bosque de Maple?
That’s exactly what Mexican architect Leónides Guadarrama hoped to do four years ago, when he put a 9.2-hectare tract of land into the hands of an organization called Revive (Biodiversity Nursery Network).
The land, known as El Zapotal, is located in Teocelo about 60 kilometers northwest of the coastal city of Veracruz, and was “in poor shape, nearly treeless, and badly eroded,” Revive Director Aníbal Ramírez told me in an interview.
Looking at the land in the way “a doctor reviews a patient,” Ramírez said the project began by studying its topography and orientation, the sunlight it received, its plants and soil, and its water flow.
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