My name is Gabriela Fritz-Watson, and I’d like to change the course of the future in the corner of the world I call home: the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Though I was born in Minnesota and grew up in between the United States and Yucatan, it is here in Mexico that I stayed after receiving my bachelor’s degree in Habitat Design from the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán in 2012.
Over the last 15 years as I have volunteered with a local Non-Governmental Organization, worked as an independent contractor, and spent time teaching at my alma mater I slowly honed in on my long-term life goal: to establish a private nature sanctuary capable of sustaining wild populations of the last of this region’s endangered megafauna. And thus, I started hunting for a suitable piece of land to purchase in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula. My goal is to restore the megadiverse ecosystem of this region, creating niches for a web of keystone species, on a piece of land that is sufficiently large enough to harbor significant populations of the Baird’s tapir and jaguar, whose numbers are being devastated through habitat loss, poaching and animal trafficking. By working from the mycelium and root level upwards, this effort will contribute not only to the preservation of local biodiversity, but also to carbon sequestration and ultimately to climate change mitigation on a global level.
Three years ago, with the invaluable help of a handful of like-minded friends, I began to collect seeds and started seedlings from local tree species that are essential to the native fauna. We now have 479 young trees of 27 different species, measuring between 1.2 and 3 meters (3-10 feet) tall and ready to be used for reforestation. Meanwhile, I am actively looking for a tract of land to buy as a starting point for getting this project off the ground, and that is precisely where you can make a difference in this story. I am here to ask for your help in protecting the environment and ensuring that these iconic species will be around for future generations to be enriched by. If you feel that this is a worthwhile endeavor, then please donate to make this vision a reality. Any amount of contribution that you can give at this time will make a world of difference. Even if you are not able to contribute monetarily, everyone can help me greatly by sharing this link so I can reach as many people as possible. Thank you!!!
UPDATES!! Donors that are able to contribute $359 or more will have the option to "adopt-a-hectare". This means you will be contacted by Gabriela, via the Gofundme platform, with an offer to: receive bi-annual updates with pictures of the Sanctuary and its inhabitants, have a tree planted and identified with your name, and receive GPS coordinates of your tree. These would be sent to you once the project is off the ground!
I have tried to keep most of you updated personally on the trials and tribulations I have faced finding land that is 1) legally in good standing and 2) within my current budget considering the fluctuation of the dollar-peso exchange rate. I want to reiterate to everyone who is following my progress that no matter the hurdles to the process, nor the time it takes to make this dream a reality, I will not stop till the trust you have put in my project is vindicated. Along with your generous donations, all of the disposable income from my "day job" will go to getting this off the ground, for as many years as necessary, and I will not rest until that happens.