Staff interphase workshop March 2010. Making the difference!

As we have been doing since last year, every two phases GVI Mexico organizes the staff workshop in one of our two bases in Mexico. It is intended to be a space for our expedition staff here to get together an exchange experiences, standardize protocols and involve new staff in GVI expedition dynamics. However, every time a different focus is given and as such in the past we have worked more in science training, administrative procedures, H&S training, diving, etc.

This time the focus was Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and how to make GVI amazing among other exciting topics!! Hence, in stead of one of our bases, in order to contribute and get to know more nearby communities we did it in a small community 40 minutes West from Tulum, Nuevo Durango and we spent one night camping in Punta Laguna where we transported ourselves and our stuff by kayak!!! Luckily we were so good kayaking that nothing got wet and nooen turned over. There, we went to a tour where we saw spider and Howler monkeys! It was amazing seeing them in the jungle hanging around the trees, some of them with their baby monkeys!! And in the night after the classic fireplace and games we got to listen the Howler monkeys, some of us though at first it was our camping tent neighbor breathing very loud but no! they were the howler monkeys!

In Nuevo Durango we also get to see wildlife a little bit different than the usual sharks, dolphins, rays etc. We witnessed 500 swallow birds falling into a well to spend the night and in the mornings leaving the well without a set schedule as some of us waited for hours to see them leaving. We also visited an insect house which is a collection a guy from the town started as a way of getting income and then it become a tradition among the people there.

The last day of the workshop we did a reforestation where we planted 60 trees of “Ramon” which is a very weather resistant plant, used for animal feeding and its fruits are used to make jam, water, juice, etc in Mayan communities. The plants will grow in a year and they will be given as food to the white tail deers they have there in Nuevo Durango in a Conservation and reintroduction project.

It was a very productive 4 day workshop and a very different one as well! Also, both bases got 4 sets of renewable enery chargers for mobile phones, ipods or small devices to be used tin the field! Very soon you will see more news on our CSR projects to which you will be able to be involved in different ways.

Staff interphase workshop March 2010. Making the difference!