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Newsletter February 2023

NEWSLETTER

OUR MISSION:
Protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage of Charco del Ingenio, as well as maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, mainly oriented towards environmental education.

INDEX

Vol. XVIII, No. 02

FEBRUARY 2: WORLD WETLANDS DAY

Wetlands are all those places where surface water moves or where groundwater emerges. These can be streams, rivers, dams, lakes, ponds, mangroves, or even beaches. A wetland does not necessarily have water all year round, but it must fulfill the function of transporting or retaining it at some point, in addition to supporting a diversity of plants and animals depending on water. We are all surrounded by wetlands and although they seem like common sites, they contain a great diversity of organisms that live or depend in some way on their existence. Wetlands also serve to protect us, as they provide us with food, retain sediment, filter pollutants, generate oxygen, regulate the local climate, prevent floods, and of course they give us water! 

A core component in El Charco del Ingenio is the wetland formed by San Carlos ditch, Las Colonias dam and Arroyo del Obraje, where the spring and the pool that gives its name to the natural area are located. A rich flora and fauna network can be noted in these wetlands, a main focus at the Botanical Garden since its creation in 1990. The formation of artificial islands and the restoration of the dam’s banks over the years have fostered the abundant wildlife that can be seen today in El Charco. 

EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO, A STRENGTHENED CITIZEN PROJECT

Soon it will be 32 years of this beloved citizen, self-managed, Mexican and independent project, which has received multiple certifications, recognitions and above all has been consolidated and strengthened over the years. 

We invite you to enjoy this video and share it with your friends.

RENOVATION OF THE SOLAR OBSERVATORY (SOLAR CALENDAR AND CLOCK)

Come and rediscover this interesting spot in El Charco del Ingenio. 

In this observatory we can record important dates such as the equinoxes, solstices and zenith points throughout the year. We can know what day and what time it is because a sunbeam is pointing at us on the floor marked with a series of lines... But -since we know that it is not the Sun that is moving-, in reality it is an Observatory of the Earths Movement.

REORDERING OF THE COLLECTION OFF SITE

The Botanical Garden and Area Voluntarily Destined for Conservation "El
Charco del Ingenio” has a collection ex situ succulent plants
mexican. The area responsible for curating the plant collection
succulentas mexicanas is responsible for a collection of plants, many of them collected by the renowned cactophile "Charles Glass" at the beginning of the
nineties. The botanical collection, as it is also known, has a
total of 4,267 specimens and 522 species distributed in five areas within the
Botanical Garden, starting with the living Germplasm Bank (BG), the Botanical Garden
de Agaves, the Conservatory of Mexican Plants, planters at the entrance
main and an Area of Rescued Plants; they are located in different polygons
located in strategic points for the exhibition of the species.

During the year 2020, the reordering of the plants in the collection began, this to more easily locate each species, as well as the number of specimens of it. The rearrangement was carried out alphabetically, beginning with the family, the genus and the species. Within the germplasm bank there are 2,169 specimens, which represent half of the botanical collection, which are divided into 6 families, 60 genera and 459 species.

The botanical collection represents a valuable sample of Mexico's plant diversity, as well as being a genetic reservoir of scientific importance for conservation.

COMING SOON: SPRING EQUINOX CONCERT

The great festival of the Earth is approaching and to celebrate we are in the last details of the concert in the canyon, an unparalleled musical experience in an extraordinary setting.

SAVE THE DATE!

PRESENTATION OF THE BOOK: "WILD FLOWERS OF THE ETHNOBIOLOGICAL GARDEN OF GUANAJUATO, EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO"

Saturday February 11 / 1pm

Benito Juárez Park/ Candelaria Fair

Free admission

This field guide to the native plants of El Charco del Ingenio is a tool for researchers and nature lovers, which also contributes to efforts to promote and defend Mexico's biocultural heritage.

The presentation of the book will take place within the activities that make up the Candelaria Fair, organized by the Municipal Government in Parque Juárez.

We invite our readers to attend to learn more about El Charco and the importance of the publication. Copies will be available the day of the event. The contribution per copy is 300 pesos.

THANK YOU: MICHEL PELLERIN

Thanks to the generous contribution of the Mexican artist Dana Aerenlund, two magnificent sculptural pieces can already be admired by users and visitors, which remind us of the stelae of pre-Hispanic monuments. Its titles are more than evocative: "Without corn there is no country" and "Gift of the gods", these structures are a tribute to the primordial plant that gave life to the inhabitants of our continent for thousands of years.

El Charco del Ingenio, recognizes and thanks Michel Pellerin for the donation of the photographic material that integrates the most recent printed publication on wild flowers.

His dedication, time and sensitivity made it possible to capture the ephemeral and wonderful flowering phenomenon over several months. We wholeheartedly appreciate all your effort and tenacity, which has undoubtedly become a valuable book for its scientific and visual content.

BEGINNERS WORKSHOP: PROPAGATION OF CRASSULACEA

Saturday February 11 / 10 am
Duration: 2.30 hours
Last day of registration: February 8
Contribution: 250 pesos per person
Limited availability
*Spanish

If you are interested in the world of plants, this is a good opportunity to get started in managing their propagation and caring for Mexican plant biodiversity.

Crassulaceae is a plant family of exceptional beauty. In this practical workshop you will learn about its characteristics, the composition of soils, collecting of seeds and you will be able to take propagated specimens as a gift.

LAST DAYS!
ARTISTIC GLANCES ON MEXICAN NATURE

10 SILKSCREENS FOR EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO

Centro Cultural El Nigromante
Open daily from 9 am to 5 pm
Until February 2023

In 1997, when the San Miguel del Allende Botanical Garden accomplished its first years of life, a group of renowned artists from the national scene made graphic work in silkscreen aiming to support the environmental conservation initiative of El Charco del Ingenio. Ten creators generously acknowledged the request of Cante AC –the organization then responsible for the Botanical Garden.

The outcome was a set of 10 silkscreen works, printed in Jan Hendrix workshop, all devoted to the drylands nature, an habitat where flourish marvelous plants --cacti, agave and other succulent species-– which shape a vast part of Mexican landscape and have played a core role in our ancestral history.

The list of participating artists speaks for itself: Mario Palacios Kaim, Joy Laville, Pedro Friedeberg, Sergio Hernández, Jan Hendrix, Miguel Castro Leñero, Carla Rippey, Boris Viskin, Martha Hellion y Roberto Turnbull.

Today, twenty-five years after that generous group offering, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature, through El Nigromante Cultural Center, exhibits the set of such graphic works, whose original artistic value increases with the passage of time. And in this way joins the Botanical Garden drive to link art and nature in pursuit of preservation of the bio-cultural heritage of Mexico.

NEW PUBLICATION!

"Manejo sustentable de Dasylirion acrotrichum (Chimal, cucharilla)” is a technical manual publication that contributes to the conservation of this threatened plant, which is also a fundamental part of the ceremonies of the native peoples of the region.

This effort is only the first in a series of three publications that El Charco del Ingenio has prepared during the year 2022.

ASK FOR THIS BOOK ON YOUR NEXT VISIT TO THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

  

EL CHARCO DEL INGENIO: MEMBER OF BOTANIC GARDEN CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL (BGCI)

Since 2005, El Charco del Ingenio has been part of Botanical Garden Conservation International , the largest network of botanical gardens and plant conservation experts in the world. Based in London,England, this organization brings together a large number of botanical gardens in more than 100 countries. Its mission is to link members to create global participatory strategies in order to ensure plant diversity, for the well-being of people and the planet.

In a country like Mexico, whose geography comprises an enormous biotic wealth, botanical gardens play a fundamental role in the knowledge and conservation of biocultural heritage.

NATURAL HISTORY TOURS IN ENGLISH

Every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 am

Ticket: 150 pesos per person / 100 pesos members

CHARCO BIRDWALKS ARE BACK

Tickets: 150 pesos per person / 100 pesos members

December 14

January 11

February 8

AT 9AM

ART AND SCIENCE IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
NEW SET OF 12 POSTCARDS: BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS OF EL CHARCO

Graphic work of four creative women from San Miguel de Allende:

Marijose Marín, Marisol Guerrero, Paquina Langenscheidt and Rocío Ríos

Available in our gift shop: 300 pesos

NEW IZCUINAPAN REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGY HALL IN THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM. MIGUEL MALO ZOZAYA COLLECTION

The Botanical Garden shares and celebrates with the association Amigos del Museo this new exhibition space of the archaeological heritage of San Miguel de Allende, which was inaugurated last October in the "Casa de Allende Museum". The Sala Izcuinapan already exhibits the valuable archaeological collection gathered by Miguel Malo Zozaya, who for years studied and disseminated regional pre-Hispanic history, especially that which flourished during a period of a thousand years in the middle section of the Laja River.

After 50 years in which most of this collection left San Miguel de Allende, this extraordinary collection has returned to be safeguarded, studied, restored and exhibited permanently in the Museum.

This great effort towards recovering such important heritage derives from the confluence of diverse participants: historians, archaeologists, restorers, museographers, photographers, designers, draftsmen, activists ..., a vast collective work with the support of INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) and local donors.