Chaco Expedition Part 1: by JP Brouard

The Chaco spans from eastern Bolivia, through the northern half of Paraguay, to the northern parts of Argentina. It is a harsh environment, but in this land there are many unique species that call it home. Paraguay has some of the best tracts of this habitat left in the world, but it is disappearing at an alarming rate. PLT’s mission is to save threatened environments, we have been very successful at Laguna Blanca, but this expedition was the start of our journey towards this goal in the Chaco. 15/09/13 The preparations for our expedition to Chaco Lodge began in the afternoon. The lodge is based next to a great salt lake in the Dry Chaco of northern Paraguay. Joe gave the team an introductory presentation about the area and the activities that we as a team needed to achieve. Then the packing began. Buckets, check. Moth light, check. Bedding, check. Food, check. The list went on and on. Eventually our silver 4x4 ‘Wingle’ was packed to perfection, and we were set to go. 16/09/13 We were up at dawn, and left for the nearby town of Santa Rosa. We had arranged that Becca and I would catch the bus to make it more comfortable for the journey ahead. The car team (Karina, Joe, Mike and Anna) had to collect a few items in Conception, so it all worked out well, and we all met up in the Chaco town of Filadelphia. A quick meal at the excellent local Chinese restaurant and we were on our way to the lodge. Well that’s what we thought. A few small navigational errors saw us driving around in circles and we only arrived at the Lodge in the early hours of the morning. We did manage to see a Crab-eating Fox and South American Racoon, but we were exhausted and needed to sleep. We unpacked the car quickly into the small bungalow where the girls had their room. Joe, Mike and I were camping so we put up our tent near the house. An abandoned second house was not far away, which in some respects seemed scary, but I was sure it would be full of animal life and worth searching. Before we went to bed we found our first Chaco special, a small frog, Rhinella major. What a great start to the trip! 17/09/13 Joe and I were up early to check out the surroundings. We lifted a large metal sheet next to the house to find a pregnant Chaco Straight-toed Gecko, Homonota fasciata. Another Chaco special. Birds were plentiful with the resident Chaco Chacalacas and Monk Parakeets making a constant racket. We walked to a nearby waterhole where there were plenty of vultures hanging around. The carcass of a cow laid dead in the grass which brought much delight and enthusiasm as we knew this could potentially be a good place to put a few camera traps later in the day. We headed back to the lodge to find everyone wide awake. Mike and Anna were collecting firewood, while Becca and Karina made lunch. We decided it was time to install Chaco Lodge’s first pitfall bucket traps. This is a great way to catch small reptiles, amphibians and rodents. After some hard labour and a great lunch we decided to go for a drive to the salt lakes to see if there was any water in them. Unfortunately the first lake was empty. A tall wooden lookout point stood towering above the treeline. We headed towards it and decided to all venture to the top. An incredible view laid in front of us. The dry salt flats stretched into the distance and pristine Chaco bush surrounded it. An Aplomado Falcon flew by swiftly, while a Six-banded Armadillo was digging a burrow in the ground. What a special place! 18/10/13 The highlight of the second day was our late afternoon trip to the nearby reserve of Campo Maria. We had heard that Chilean Flamingos covered their lakes and this was something everyone was keen to see. The reserve didn’t disappoint. Silver teals, Giant Wood-Rails, South American Stilts and groups of Flamingos were just some of the birds found on the lake. Dusk arrived, so we decided to get the big spotlight out and tried to find some mammals. It was chilly sitting at the back of the 4x4 but it paid off with the sighting of a Grey Brocket Deer and a group of White-lipped Peccary (a species of bush-pig). The drive back to Chaco Lodge also proved to be fruitful. Mike and I stood on the tray of the Wingle and battled the cold. Our perseverance was rewarded we sighted Crab-eating Foxes, an Azara’s Fox and two White-collared Peccary. 19/09/13 We were all in a routine by the third morning. The pitfall traps that we had set out around the lodge were producing some special Chaco endemic lizards. Our usual morning searches had revealed some awesome birds such as Cream-backed Woodpecker and Crested Gallito. The Caiman that lived in the waterholes seemed to be getting use to our presence. At lunch Joe told me that he had heard frogs calling from the large underground water tanks that collected rain water from the gutters. We lifted the lid of the first one to find many tree frogs clinging onto the pipes and walls. There were two species present, Scinax nasicus and Scinax acuminatus, both commonly found in houses and known to the locals as ‘bathroom frogs’. With this success we rushed to check the second container. I peered down to the bottom. BINGO! A rare Cat-eyed Snake (Leptodeira annulata) was resting near a very large scorpion and two species of large frogs, Leptodactylus laticeps and Leptodactylus chaquensis. Now we had to figure out how we could get them out. I connected my butterfly net with its extension poles to a large broom. It worked a charm. In half an hour all the animals were safely out of their watery death trap, photographed and released. In the late afternoon we went for a drive around the salt lakes. We passed the first dry lake, turned the corner and were very surprised to see water. Two Coscoroba Swans sat in the middle, while Maguari Storks patrolled the margins. We went for a walk on the muddy banks and found recent tracks of Puma crossing the flats. Jaguar and Puma are elusive in the area, so this was a great sign. Dusk fell upon us and soon after we set off again. Once again it only seemed fitting to take out the spotlight. A group of 14 Greater Rhea ran off into the distance, while a Great Horned owl sat in a tree on the edge of the lake. The best sighting of the night was the small Geoffroys cat, a species restricted to the Chaco. To be continued..... JP

Chaco Lodge

This past weekend, Karina and I had the amazing good fortune to return to the Chaco. Our goal was to find a matrix of giant salt lakes hidden by the dense Chaco forest. Two massive properties surround the lakes, to the north lay our destination – “Chaco Lodge” and to the south a larger property – “Campo Maria” which consists mostly of cattle ranching. Our journey took us over 9 hours of travelling over the worst road in the country; the asphalt broke open into huge potholes 3 feet deep and 5 feet wide. In other places, the asphalt disappeared entirely and we were forced to weave our way along equally treacherous dirt roads. But no fear, our new Wingle 5 (think the mystery of the Wind meets the elegance of an Eagle) brought us safely to our destination, even if we did get lost a number of times along the way. Our biggest mistake actually led to an amazing discovery. While searching for the entrance to the “Chaco Lodge,” I took the wrong turning and we entered the neighboring property of “Campo Maria.” Campo Maria truly was a massive cattle ranch; a huge labyrinth of different fields, each looking just the same as the last. But during our futile search for the exit, I made another wrong turn and we started heading for the center of the property. We passed through a dense part of forest and came out into an open expanse. We’d found the southern tip of the salt lakes! The winter in Paraguay is the dry season so this part of the salt pan was as dry as the desert. We crossed the pan following in the tracks of other explorers that had come before us, kicking the salty white dust behind the truck as we sped northward. We were half trying to find our way off the property, and half hoping to find any bit of water that might still remain. Our search was not in vain. As we rounded one corner, the water spread out in front of us. The hot Chaco sun reflecting off the water as the strong North Wind was whipping waves along the surface. And more than that, the lake was full of thousands of birds. Hundreds of flamingos took flight as they heard the Wingle approach. The sky was full of the beautiful pink birds. Two huge Jabiru (link to Fauna Paraguay) paced along the shore occasionally sticking their long beaks into the soft soil in search of food. Karina and I spent several hours bird watching and exploring this amazing gem hidden in the Chaco before deciding to move on. Eventually we pealed ourselves away from all the birds and the wonderful landscape to attempt once again to find our way to the Chaco Lodge. We retraced our footsteps until we made our way back to the road. I was telling Karina the number of places where I could have made a mistake when we arrived at junction. I told her “This is where I turned right. I’m sure that was the right decision.” Only to have her point out that a street sign had been knocked over was lying face up in the dirt. We approached slowly and sure enough the sign read “Chaco Lodge 20km to the left.” So I admitted I was wrong and we were finally on our way again. We arrived without any other problems and placed all our stuff down at the campsite. We ate a quick lunch and hoped right back into the Wingle. After such an amazing morning at Campo Maria, we wanted to see what the Chaco Lodge had in store for us. We were not disappointed. The massive lake at Campo Maria looked like a swimming pool in comparison to what we found at Chaco Lodge. The water spanned so far that in places you couldn’t see the other shoreline. The birds were just as abundant and we were actually lucky enough to see two beautiful Coscoroba Swans swimming loyally side by side. We found tracks of several dozen wild peccary moving from the shoreline back into the forest, along with sporadic huge footprints of Tapirs. But my favorite part of this trip was definitely our night drive around the lake’s edge. In a single evening, we caught sight of five foxes, two different species of armadillo, a pair of White-collared Peccaries, a Greater Horned Owl (the largest owl in Paraguay) and a troop of nine Greater Rhea. The amazing nature we found at the Chaco Lodge really goes to show what a difference large protected areas can have on biodiversity. Begrudgingly, we left early the next morning to make our trip all the way back to Asuncion but we spoke the whole way down about how we could plan our next trip back to the Chaco Lodge. PLT is working very hard to establish ourselves in the Chaco and the Chaco Lodge may have just jumped its way to the top of our dream list. If I got to choose, I’d go back to the Chaco Lodge tomorrow. Joseph

Not-So-Dangerous Snakes of Laguna Blanca

Paraguay has a very diverse range of snake species. The reason for this is because there is a wide variety of habitat types within its boundaries. Only a few of these snakes can be considered dangerous to man. Most of the time these fascinating creatures will avoid humans, but as our population increases and habitat destruction continues, more dangerous encounters occur. Fortunately protected havens can be found for these threatened reptiles. One of these havens is Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca. We have approximately 35 species recorded to date, and only 4 of these are considered dangerous to man. These are the Neotropical Rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus), Urutu Lancehead Viper (Rhinocerophis alternatus), Painted Lancehead Viper (Bothrops diporus) and Southern Coral Snake (Micrurus frontalis). There are a few mildly venomous species such as the “Racers” in the genus Philodryas that can give a nasty bite, but in general the symptoms are mild and medical attention is not required. The Green Anaconda (Eunectes murinus) has no venom, but can reach a very large size. Even though this could be considered a threat, these snakes are elusive and critically endangered within Paraguay. In the last few weeks we have encountered some of these fascinating creatures and I would like to share our experiences with you. Annie was on her way back to the station after an evening searching for bats in the transitional forest, when she came across a big snake on the path. She ran back to the station and woke me up. Ryan and I jumped out of our beds and were on our way to see if the snake was still in the area. Fortunately for us it was a chilly morning, and the snake was sluggish. We got to the site to see a massive female Rattlesnake slowly moving down the path. What an adrenaline rush. These beautiful Vipers are widespread in South America and can be found in a variety of habitat types. They have a lethal venom that effects the nervous system and the brain. They use this strong venom to immobilize their prey. Rattlesnakes and Lancehead Vipers from the Americas and certain species of Vipers from Asia, have pit sensors near the front of the head, and are commonly referred to as “Pit Vipers”. They are excellent ambush predators that use these sensors to distinguish their prey from other objects. A single rapid bite with their large fangs is all it takes to kill its victim. They don’t hold on to it because of potential injury that can be inflicted by the prey, so they release it and let the venom take effect. It doesn’t get far. The snake uses its strong sensory organ tongue to track down the dead rodent. Unfortunately human encounters with this snake are common, and because of their sluggish behaviour, they are often stood on. It was great to see such a large female in the reserve. Large snakes like this are rarely encountered because of human encroachment. After a few photographs we let her be on her way. A few days later I went for an evening walk to look for frogs near the seasonal pond. I decided to check a new trapline that we had recently installed. Success. An adult male Painted Lancehead Viper sat in one of the buckets. He could easily get out, but he sat there, probably waiting for an unlucky rodent to fall in. These snakes are common throughout the reserve and can be encountered crossing a pathway or just basking in the early morning. There has been a lot of discussion on what species of Bothrops occur in the area because of all the taxonomical changes of late. For now we have two species, the other being the Urutu Lancehead Viper which is restricted to wetland areas. Bothrops have a potent venom that is similar to the Rattlesnake, with the addition of a tissue destroying venom. These snakes are the cause of a lot of snake bites in South America. They are often found near human habitation because we provide the perfect components for their existence, food and shelter. Last week we were called to a local fishermen’s house as he had captured a large snake in his fishing net. We arrived in the hour to see a 2.1metre male Green Anaconda sitting at the bottom of a hole. My heart was racing. A life-long dream fulfilled. He was a gem, very calm and didn’t once attempt to bite. Anaconda’s are widely distributed in South America, and live in fresh water systems. They reach their southern most limits in the North-East of Paraguay, and are nationally threatened due to human degradation, pollution and over-fishing. These snakes have no venom and use their large size to constrict their prey. Females are much bigger than males, and have been recorded at over 6 metres in length. Their eyes are positioned towards the top of their head, instead of the side like most other snakes. This allows the Anaconda to be great ambush predator. They peer just above the surface of the water, waiting patiently for an unlucky victim to stray to close. On the reserve there is an abundance of prey items for our Anacondas, including fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. We were delighted to release this magnificent male into the lagoon to join our resident population, and hopefully we will see some juveniles in the near future. Check out the video on this little beaut. https://vimeo.com/71165802 Fear is the main reason why snakes are seen in such a bad light. At the reserve we are teaching the local community to respect them and to try see them in a different way. I am confident that our hard work will pay off, so we can co-exist with these fascinating creatures long into the future. Visit our website below if you would like to help us track down rare and endangered creatures in this amazing part of the country. www.paralatierra.org Until next time, JP

Fighting fires, freezing and friends – That’s life at PLT

July was a busy month of coming and going at PLT. We said a sad farewell to Annie, Charlotte and Kasper. Hello and goodbye to Brooke and Rebecca, two devils from New Orleans and hello to Emma, a general volunteer from the UK and Anna, another monkey person from Ireland. I left for three weeks to go back to Edinburgh and Karina finally returned from two months away in Geneva, Glasgow and Mexico. When in Scotland (where the weather was hotter than I have ever known it to be!!) I spoke to the people who were still at Laguna Blanca and was told over and over again how cold it was. So as I prepared for the long journey back to Laguna Blanca I dressed for the cold – boots, jacket, the works. And I stuffed my suitcase full of warm clothes including a thermal monkey onesie making Anna, our new primate volunteer very jealous!! When I finally arrived back in Paraguay I got off the plane to blazing sunshine, and definitely feeling a bit silly with all my winter gear on! Then on the hottest day, with temperatures soaring to more than 35 degree Celsius we were faced with an emergency. Over the tops of the trees Jorge spotted a column of black smoke rising upwards. The guards went to investigate and about half an hour later we received the call – a fire was burning inside the reserves Atlantic Forest fragment. Time to round the troops, load the truck with spades, thermo’s full of ice and water, rakes, machetes and go fight the fire!!! It didn’t start well with some misunderstanding on my part we ended up hauling a lot of very heavy stuff down a long trail at the wrong end of the forest…woops. Then when we got to the right end of the forest we had to machete our way to the fire. When Joe, JP, Ryan and myself got to the flames we realized our mistake - the fire was HUGE. The forest was also very dry and the wind was to strong so it was time to beat a hasty retreat and enter the forest through the other side where we finally found the Paraguayans. By this point they had got the fire in the area under control and were moving further down the forest, so we all headed back to the truck. However, when we got there and were deciding whom to send home for food we heard shouts from the forest. Grabbing shovels and machetes the boys and I ran back into the forest to help. The heat was intense and it was an awful sight to watch the tiny fragment of burning. We fought it as best we could, throwing sand onto the small flames and beating the larger ones with green leafy branches. Too often we were forced back as large trees lit up like torches and the heat became too intense. After more than 5 hours of fighting the flames we got the fire under control and covered in ash and scratches and exhausted we headed back to the station for much needed showers and well deserved cold beers!

Autumn is winter down here in Paraguay and the rain and the cold weather struck back with a vengeance two days after the fire. The cold weather does have an upside. When it isn’t raining one fun way to escape the cold and warm up is playing volleyball. The games begin and tend to continue until we can’t see the ball anymore as it gets dark. Things can get pretty serious – especially as the testosterone kicks in and the boys get competitive but it always hilarious to watch Ryan’s flying dives for the ball or me and Janine hit the deck whenever it comes near us!!! As the nights close in around 6pm we eat dinner and light a fire out the front of the house. There is nothing quite like sitting round a fire with good friends while the incredible Paraguayan stars sparkle overhead. On nights when we don’t light a fire the whole group snuggles down under piles of blankets and hot water bottles in the boys’ dorm to watch movies. One of the best things about spending time at a remote field site like PLT is the chance to meet people from all over the world, and even though you aren’t spending a very long time with them they become your best friends. And even after you leave chances are you have met people that will be your friends forever! Come join us and see for yourself!! Until next time Becca

Where are the bats?

When Joe arrived back from his whistle-stop European trip he brought back an exciting present for Annie with him – telemetry equipment, 10 micro GPS units and 10 micro VHF transmitters. The master plan – to attach them to bats that she was trapping to gain information about their movements. As my love of field work was spawned in Namibia using VHF telemetry, I was more excited than a child on Christmas day by the brand new receiver and TINY transmitters!! After practicing a little to get used to the equipment everyone was given a run down on how to use the receiver and listen for that hideously illusive BEEP! Everyone took turns in using the equipment to track down a transmitter that I had hidden around the station. Unfortunately, the weather decided that it was not going to be our friend and assist us in this project. The rain and the cold started. And it didn’t stop for around 13 days. This left Annie with a race against time to trap bats weighing more than 90g. Guidelines state that you cannot attach tracking equipment to an animal that weighs more than 5% of its body weight. Even though the transmitters were TINY, Annie still had to make sure that she only put them on the largest bats she was catching. In the few days following the rain the bats started to come back to the nets, but none big enough. Then finally as panic started to set in Annie and Joe finally managed to catch a large female bat and attach a transmitter!! Then the hunt began. With Annie desperately needing sleep, Charlotte (a primate volunteer from the UK) and I took the telemetry equipment and set out on the first hunt. As VHF tracking operates using radio waves one technique to avoid interference is to get up high. To do this, I spent a lot time scrambling onto the roof of the car while all ears strained to hear the tiny bleep through the loud, grating interference. On the road we picked up Janine and Celine and then finally we were joined by Annie. Team Chica was complete and ready for action!!! We drove around the reserve searching for somewhere that we could find a signal from. As we drove out of the gate and down the road to San Jorge, we were rewarded with a spike on the receiver’s digital display! The next day we went out again to hunt for the receiver and hopefully, retrieve it if it had become detached from the bat. Charlotte, Annie, Jorge and I headed out armed with the telemetry equipment and machetes. The signal seemed to be pointing us into the forest so I suggested we head around to the field and see what sort of signal we could get with nothing blocking the transmission. Jorge announced we should just take the path that was there. Before we could ask where the path was he had vanished into the bushes with the machete and created one. Who needs roads when you have a forest guard with a machete!! I spent the afternoon clambering up and down trees (in some cases being lifted very ungracefully down by Conce and Kasper!!). Though we didn’t find the transmitters we did find the grapefruit grove and had a well-deserved break with some delicious fresh grapefruits!! As we sat on the back of the car contemplating what to do next the receiver suddenly exploded into loud, clear beeping!! At the same time, we heard bats chirruping overhead. The unit must have still been on the bat and it had just emerged. Over the following days the hunt continued and eventually we realised a horrible fact. The electricity pylons were interfering with the signal and we never managed to locate the units before the batteries in the transmitters died. VHF signals can be disrupted by dense vegetation and in the end we were defeated by the Atlantic Forest. Thankfully, Annie collected fantastic data for community analysis of the bat population across Laguna Blanca’s different habitats and everybody had a great time learning how to use the telemetry equipment – a valuable tool in any field biologist arsenal!! Everyone at PLT would like to say a huge THANK YOU to Annie for leaving the receiver and antennae at RNLB in order to train future interns and volunteers in VHF tracking!!! If you want to gain experience living and working in the field while having the time of your life check out http://www.paralatierra.org/getinvolved.html

Batty Research

If you didn’t know already, bats are awesome. A few quick facts on bats: Bats are the only flying mammal. The order they belong to, Chiroptera, is the second most diverse order of Mammals in the world. The order contains 20% of all Mammal species, totaling 1240 distinct species. Bats can be split into different feeding guilds based on what they like to eat: insectivores, frugivores, sanguinivores, nectivores, some even eat fish and frogs! Bats vary hugely in size, the smallest (Kitti’s Hog-nosed Bat) being about the same size as a human thumb; the largest (Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox) is 800x the size, weighing 1.6 kilograms with a wingspan of 1.7 meters. Besides the fact that bats are extremely cool, and occasionally extremely cute, the main reason why PLT has decided to focus heavily on them is their importance as habitat engineers. Due to the huge level of diversity, bats contribute to the stability of an ecosystem in many ways. The fruit eating bats help trees disperse their seeds. The insectivorous bats help control insect populations that if left unchecked could wipe out certain species of undergrowth. The ones that drink nectar help pollinate certain flowers. And finally, conservationists rely on bats all around the world as indicator species. Because a healthy bat community relies on insects, fruits, nectar and occasionally frogs to survive, the only place you will find them are in healthy forests with an equal amount of biodiversity to the bat community. Here at Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca we trapped 14 different species and we are confident that there remain more to still be documented. There are 37 bats recorded in Paraguay and very little research has been done on them. UNTIL NOW! Annie Talbot has come to right that egregious wrong. Annie is Masters student working with University of Aberdeen to help PLT (and the rest of the scientific community) find out more about the wonderful creatures we have on site. She will be conducting general sampling across many different habitat types using mist nets. She will also use a bat recorder to document the ecolocation calls of the bats that fly around our heads but escape the nets. If you’ve ever heard that high pitch squeaking echo out from the dark night sky then you have heard a bat use sound to hunt for food. But the majority of the calls are too high frequency for the human ear to pick up. That’s the advantage of the bat recorder, it records on all frequencies and allows us to analyze and identify bats using their calls alone. The other aspect of her project is truly amazing. She has received funding for 10 GPS trackers that we will attach to the backs of a species of bat. With these trackers she will get a huge amount of data. She’ll find out about how they fly, how they navigate, how far they go in a single night, where they roost, what time they wake up and where they go to forage. This methodology has not been used in the past and so she is pioneering a brand new method for studying bat behavior. It is an honor that she chose PLT as her study location and we have high hopes for her project. Joe

On the move Para La Tierra

Since the beginning of the New Year, Para La Tierra has been moving and shaking. It all began thanks to the Rolex Awards for Enterprise, who have supported us in turning Para La Tierra into a model conservation organisation in Paraguay. In addition to setting up sustainable community projects and employing local Forest Guards among other things, their belief that we could do it has acquired us a new car – a Wingle 5 – and with it new opportunities. Large parts of Paraguay are still inaccessible, and even by bus travel is very difficult. The Chaco is just one of these places, where holes in the treacherous “road” are only the start of the problem. With our own transport we have been able to make several trips into the “green hell”, snaking our way to the far north of the country, discovering the Chaco’s spectacular views. As you may remember form Joe’s blog at the time, the Chaco is a wild and exciting place, boasting a vast biodiversity of strange and wonderful plants and animals. Within the year, we hope to have a second ecological station located at a beautiful Chaco reserve, and repeat some of the successes we’ve had at Reserva Natural Laguna Blanca in these past three years. More recently we found ourselves in Switzerland, at Rolex Headquarters. We spent four busy days meeting some very impressive people including James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) who recently piloted the first one-man mission to the deepest part of the ocean! We also had the chance to hang out with the equally impressive older laureates including Mark Kendall who has invented a new method of administering vaccine which doesn’t require the use of needles, and Sergei Bereznuk who is working to save Amur tigers in Russia. We also made a new connection with Erika Cuellar, who has dedicated her life to protecting mammals in the Bolivian, Paraguayan and Argentinean Chaco. We then had the privilege of spending our final day at the IUCN headquarters in Geneva, where we met some of the people behind the biggest conservation network in the world. We left Switzerland with hundreds of new ideas and a renewed passion for our work. Back in Paraguay, we are now entirely focused on the growth of Para La Tierra, but to do that we need your help. We are now just over half-way through our Indiegogo Crowdfunding Campaign to fund a new research station in the Chaco, and thanks to all of you who’ve donated so generously, we’ve already reached our baseline target of £5000. With this amount of money we’ll be able to renovate an existing house, making it ready for volunteers to come, explore and learn about this endangered but little-known world. But we want to do more. With extra funding we’ll be able to build an education program including a public museum helping people to fully appreciate what we are in danger of losing forever. If there’s enough left over, we’ll also be able to develop resources enabling children to get involved in science, training the next generation of conservationists, or just giving them a better chance in life. Please give what you can and we will send you a reward along with our everlasting gratitude. If you can’t or if you’ve already donated don’t despair, you can still help! This week we are running a referrals competition. All you need to do is visit the campaign homepage and click on the facebook, twitter or google+ links below the video. We can track referrals and will award a t-shirt to the person with the most! The current record stands at 15, surely you can beat that! Thanks again to everyone who has got behind us. Let’s get Para La Tierra moving once more – get clicking! Karina