Ilana in the Cloud Forest

Good morning, everyone, I hope you are doing well. September has been a good month here in Mexico.  I spent most of this month in Neblinas, working on finishing my grant project and soaking up as much time as possible with my host family and community before I finish service in just a couple of weeks. (More on that reality later). As you all know, for a few months now, I've been working on a project at the casa de cultura in Neblinas. The goals of the project are to promote biodiversity conservation and plastic waste reduction as well as beautify the outside space at the casa de cultura to make it more inviting and welcoming to community members.  At the beginning of this month, we were able to complete the construction of an eco-bench with the help of individuals who work for the municipality. The construction took 2 days and ultimately resulted in a bench that,  while not exactly as envisioned , serves its intended purpose and provides the casa de cultura with a permane...