HISTORY

A Brief History of the Botanical Garden

In the year 1980, Omar Tello, an Ecuadorian accountant, bought 7 Hectares of rainforest pasture land outside of the city of Puyo, Ecuador, and therefore began a lifelong project that would become a restoration center of Amazonian flora. At the time the area was inaccessible by car; roads were just first built in 1998.

As Omar and his wife worked to restore the land by planting trees, he soon observed that the land would not permit trees to grow, as the soil was extremely sandy, characteristic of much of the Amazon basin. After various studies and trials, he decided to use organic fertilizers to restore the soil by hand, using products such as chicken manure and sawdust. Using the nutrients derived from these fertilizers, native plants began to return to the land.

In this small park, it is possible to find, admire, and feel the incredible diversity that is found in these foothills between the Andes and the Amazon, many species of which are endemic and threatened. In addition to an amazing variety of orchids, one can find medicinal, edible, artesenia, and ornamental plants, as well as a wide variety of common forest trees native to the region. Many of these plants have had various uses by the indigenous groups of the Amazon for millennia. Some of the plants of the park have colonized naturally, while other seeds were salvaged from other areas of the Amazon that were cleared for logging and pasture land.

Beginning with the arrival of the first pioneer plant species, native species returned to the forest, restoring the food chain to the complexity that it once was. As the trees began to grow and canopies were developed, springs that had previously dried up began flowing again, creating habitat for frogs and various aquatic species. Hundreds of species of birds and insects have been photographed and documented, in chronological order, year by year, from the time of the first arrivals. Identified insect orders include Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Araneida, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Diptera, Odonata, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, but most species are only identified to family and occasionally genus level; we are always looking for assistance identifying species in greater detail.

Students will find the park a space for research and theses in subjects including biology, botany, ethnobotany, entomology, and ecotourism. One past research has enabled us to identify and inventory bird species in the park, while another research project provided a feasibility study of our new environmental education interpretive center.

Visitors will find the park as a beautiful yet easy escape from the city of Puyo, located only a few minutes outside of town. To fully appreciate the park, we recommend allotting 2-3 hours. Included in admittance is a guided tour by the owner, who can find hidden treasures on the trails and teach the visitor about the processes of restoration in the Amazon. Different species of orchids bloom at different times throughout the year, so the visitor can be assured to see amazing sights during any season. We are proud to announce the opening of our brand new visitor center, where one can find hundreds of photographs of documented species in the park. Lectures and classes for student groups can also be arranged. To read more about the restoration of our land in the website of the Orchid Conservation Coalition, click here.

 

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