NEWSLETTER

OUR MISSION:
To preserve the natural and cultural heritage of El Charco del Ingenio, and maintain a botanical garden dedicated to the conservation and study of regional flora and ecosystems, with a primary focus on environmental education.

NEWSLETTER CONTENTS

Vol. XVII, No 02

THE NEW EL CHARCO RECEPTION: GETTING CLOSER
FEBRUARY 2: WORLD WETLANDS DAY
NEW SPECIES OF ORCHID IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
MASTER’S THESIS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IN EL CHARCO
EDWARD O. WILSON, A NATURALIST OF OUR TIMES
TOÑO HERRERA, in memoriam
THE NEW ELCHARCO VISITOR’S GUIDE
EL CHARCO ON THE INTERNET: NEW WEBSITE
NATURAL HISTORY TOURS ARE BACK
SOUL GIFTS, MUSICAL GIFTS: THANK YOU, MICHAEL HOPPÉ
SCIENCE AND ART IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN
Man does not weave the fabric of life, since he is only one of its threads. Everything he does to the plot, he does to himself.
– Indian Chief Seattle

THE NEW EL CHARCO RECEPTION: GETTING CLOSER

The renovation of our Reception and the construction of the El Charco del Ingenio Interpretation Center continues and is closer and closer to completion. The pace of construction, despite its forced decline due to the health contingency we are experiencing, has not stopped, thanks to the generosity of the friends and donors of El Charco. This work, which marks a watershed in the history of the Botanical Garden, has already made considerable progress and is gradually approaching its inauguration. The new visitor center will strengthen the commitment with the San Miguel community to conserve and study the regional flora, as well as the promotion of a culture of respect and love for nature. We will continue working to achieve this dream, for which we require the financial support of the community. All help is important to resume!

elcharcocontabilidad@gmail.com

FEBRUARY 2: WORLD WETLANDS DAY

Wetlands are all those places where surface water moves or where groundwater surfaces. These can be streams, rivers, dams, lakes, lagoons, mangroves or even beaches. Wetlands are the habitat of numerous plant species and a refuge for abundant wildlife. World Wetlands Day was declared by the United Nations to protect these spaces at a planetary level, especially from the growing desertification of various surfaces of the Earth caused by the climate crisis we are going through.

El Charco del Ingenio is an important point of convergence of water from a wide hydrographic basin, located in the elevated part of the municipality: the Tambula Picachos basin. Its wetlands require special protection; they contain a great diversity of flora and fauna, highlighting the resident and migratory birds.

NEW SPECIES OF ORCHID IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN

The Walter L. Meagher Herbarium (WLM) houses a collection of 1,640 specimens, mainly from the state of Guanajuato. Being the only herbarium in the state, its importance in register and study of the flora is of great relevance for scientific research. This collection has been integrated over 7 years, devoting efforts to collection, herborization, identification and systematization of botanical specimens.

As part of the Herbarium activities, Dr. Gerardo Salazar, orchid specialist and head of the National Herbarium of Mexico (MEXU), was invited to the Garden in 2021. During his stay he was able to identify and confirm species of the Orchidaceae (Orchids) family, as well as record a new species for El Charco: Sarcoglottis schaffneri, increasing the list of native orchids in the Garden.

On the other hand, during the month of June 2021, the biologist Nelly Sandoval, a researcher of the Dalea genus at the University of Querétaro, identified, confirmed and discarded those plants that do not belong to this genus of legumes. These detailed reviews with specialists in certain botanical groups allow the Herbarium to update the scientific names of the plants in the herborized collection.

MASTER’S THESIS IN BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES IN EL CHARCO

National University of Mexico, Postgraduate in Biological Sciences

Biologist Stephany Rodríguez, from the most outstanding university in Mexico, included El Charco as one of the study points within the basin district of the Mexican Transvolcanic Belt, in her thesis on the diversity of necrophilous fauna, specifically flies of the species Sarcophagidae macquart.

In our country very little is known about the diversity of this group of arthropods, so the catalog of this thesis includes morphological and molecular data and photographs of the organisms. A total of 50 species were obtained, of which one of them had not been reported for the country. All this sets a precedent for the knowledge of the group in Mexico and for its use in entomology.

EDWARD O. WILSON, A NATURALIST OF OUR TIMES

Thirteen years ago, in 2008, the magnificent book on the Botanical Garden: Wild & Wonderful, Nature Up Close in the Botanical Garden El Charco del Ingenio ” was published, from the naturalist and great friend Walter Meagher, with the participation of Wayne Colony, photographer. This great testimony on the Natural Heritage of San Miguel de Allende, had the immense honor of having a preface by one of the most important scientific personalities of our time: North American Naturalist Edward O. Wilson, whose death was announced at the end of 2021.

The “modern Darwin”, as he has been called by the scientific community, represents not only a great researcher at the University of Harvard, but a special sensitivity and a moral responsibility towards life on planet Earth. A few years ago, Wilson broadcast the “Half Earth’s Plan”, directed at the decision makers of the world. This plan proposes to protect half of the land and the sea of the planet to ensure sufficient diverse and well-connected ecosystems and would reverse the current course of extinction of species, which occurs at a rate that was not seen for 10 million years.

In the prologue of the book on El Charco, Edward O. Wilson points: “Ultimately, the living world will be saved by those who deeply take care of particular spaces, who come to them to renew themselves, to strengthen the meaning of their own identity.”

TOÑO HERRERA, in memoriam

Antonio Herrera Centeno was an exceptional person in the El Charco del Ingenio conservation project. The son of an old family from the Valle del Maíz, he knew as a child the rigors of poverty in the increasingly unequal society of San Miguel de Allende. He always supported the just causes of his homeland and of the country and, without having accessed school education, he became an enlightened and wise man. Since he joined the El Charco team in 1998, his contributions were of the highest order. He became an extraordinary master builder, to whom we owe several of the constructions that we have in the Botanical Garden. But his great contribution was the art of arranging stones, achieving structures of extraordinary solidity and beauty.

Toño Herrera is gone, but his work, his benches and stone walls, and the memory of his intelligent and provocative talks remain with us. For all the beauty that he gave to El Charco, for his teachings and conversations… Thank you dear Antonio Herrera. Good trip…

THE NEW ELCHARCO VISITOR’S GUIDE

The new design of this leaflet – in Spanish and English – allows the visitor to explore and discover the spacious area of the Botanical Garden and access magnificent views of the natural monument which is El Charco del Ingenio. The guide contains a suggested tour and shows a network of trails, accessible and guarded, in addition to offering information about the various points of interest in the reservation: exhibitions of plants, viewpoints, sanctuaries of birds, historical ruins …

EL CHARCO ON THE INTERNET: NEW WEBSITE

After more than 10 years with a website that has served to tell the story of El Charco and for consultation by thousands of users, we will no longer be using this great virtual place. In the coming months, the new page will be launched which will be a reference for those interested in connecting with the Botanical Garden through beautiful photographs and a friendly digital content to contextualize the visit to the site.

NATURAL HISTORY TOURS ARE BACK

Every Thursday at 10am – in English
Tickets are 150pesos for non-members and 100p for members
Don’t forget your face mask, please.

SOUL GIFTS, MUSICAL GIFTS: THANK YOU, MICHAEL HOPPÉ

It is quite moving to see the ways in which people and sectors of our community support El Charco del Ingenio, a territory that has given peace, joy and nature to its users and visitors during the months of the pandemic.

Michael Hoppé is a recognized composer and musical producer, born in the United Kingdom and inhabitant of San Miguel since the 80s. As an active member of the Botanical Garden, Michael has recently offered a lovely gift to El Charco, inspired by his daily walks by the trails of the preserve, in the company of his wife Monica. The composition “Beneath Mexican Stars” is a musical piece that can go back to the most beautiful landscapes of Mexico or a night walk through the cobblestone streets of San Miguel.

Listen here:

SCIENCE AND ART 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