Ep. 379 - Tiny Orchids & Protected Forests

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Botany, Natural Sciences, Ecology, Nature, Plants, Science

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 24 July 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we revisit a conversation I had with Lou Jost, founder of Fundación EcoMinga back in 2019. When Lou Jost and friends realized how quickly the rainforests of Ecuador were disappearing they decided to do something about it. Thus, Fundación EcoMinga was born. Since 2006, Lou and his team have managed to establish seven reserves covering all elevations from 1100m to 3860m. Along the way they have discovered numerous species of plants and animals all thanks to their focus on tiny, epiphytic orchids in the genera Lepanthes and Teagueia. The conservation efforts of Fundación EcoMinga have not gone unnoticed either. Among their many supporters are organizations such as the Orchid Conservation Alliance, the Rainforest Trust, and the World Land Trust. Even Sir David Attenborough has gotten involved! Join me as I sit down with Lou for a conversation about how these orchids are used to guide conservation efforts throughout this incredible biodiverse region of our planet. This episode was produced in part by Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to the Independence Plants Podcast, the official podcast of
0:04.4	IndependencePlants.com.
0:06.0	What's up this is your host Matt, welcome to the show, how is everyone doing this week?
0:10.4	Since last week a lot of you have written in in support of the Dracula Reserves mission
0:14.7	to save biodiversity and putting orchids at their focus and I think everyone that stepped
0:19.5	up to chip in and help out their mission to prevent both legal and illegal gold mining
0:24.5	operations on their properties.
0:27.2	This issue is important enough that I wanted to revisit a conversation I had with the founder
0:31.4	of fund I see on eco-minga, Lou Joast.
0:34.5	He is one of the most interesting people I've ever talked to and his love for small orchids
0:38.9	in general such as lapanthes and tigia will blow your mind.
0:42.6	But the impact of eco-minga and its reserves go far beyond plants.
0:47.2	It's supporting the entire ecosystem that those plants comprise.
0:51.0	So let's revisit episode 235 of the podcast so that you get a better appreciation for everything
0:56.0	that's going on through eco-minga, the Dracula Reserve, and all of their other landholding.
1:00.3	So without further ado, here's my conversation with Lou Joast.
1:03.5	I hope you enjoy.
1:18.0	Alright, Lou Joast, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.
1:21.2	How about we start with a little bit about who you are and what it is you do?
1:25.5	Well, thanks Matt for inviting me.
1:27.2	I'm a biologist nowadays but I was trained as a physicist and mathematician.
1:33.1	But all my life I've loved plants and birds and nature in general.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from In Defense of Plants, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of In Defense of Plants and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.