La Floreana: Restoring Life to Degraded Land

Every day at La Floreana, I witness degraded pasture slowly become forest again. Where cattle once roamed and simplified grasslands dominated the land, young trees now grow with birds, insects, fungi, and children learning to care for a living ecosystem. This work matters to me because restoration is not an abstract idea here — it is a daily relationship built through observation, patience, and persistent care.

La Floreana is a conservation and restoration farm in Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador, in a landscape shaped by deforestation, cattle ranching, soil degradation, and the loss of native tree diversity. Our response is Analog Forestry: designing biodiverse forest systems that imitate the structure and functions of natural forests while also supporting food, education, and community resilience.

Over the next year, we will strengthen La Floreana as a living arboretum and forest school. We will plant and care for native, threatened, and useful tree species; expand our tree labeling and monitoring system; record growth and DBH/DAP; support natural regeneration; improve trails; and create hands-on educational programs for children, volunteers, students, and local visitors.

I lead this work with the support of one full-time field assistant, my family, volunteers, and the Red Ecuatoriana de Forestería Análoga — REFA. In six months, La Floreana will have clearer trails, stronger tree records, new plantings, and more learning visits. In one year, it can become a stronger demonstration site for restoring soil, biodiversity, food sovereignty, and a culture of forest care in our community.