Speaker promotes rainforest conservation

Travelling all the way from Guatemala, Aderito Chayax Tesucún was welcomed to Augustana last Tuesday. Many students and faculty members showed up to hear him speak about the organization he represents, Bio-Itzá.

Bio-Itzá was founded in 1991. It is a non-profit organization located close to Central America's largest remaining tropical forest, the Maya Biosphere Reserve. The Bio-Itzá Biosphere Reserve houses several different species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, many of which are threatened by extinction.

"Deforestation, forest fires, hunting, illegal logging, encroaching farms and depredation of sacred sites are the biggest challenges we face in our work," Tescucún said. "We wish to change the way people think about land use. It is difficult, but not impossible."

Biology professor Craig Spencer met Tescucún five years ago while on sabbatical in Guatemala. Originally, Spencer had planned to meet another professor there, but when that fell through he tried to find a place to take Augustana students.

"I was looking for a Spanish school I had read about in the Lonely Planet guidebook that I had with me," Spencer said.

He soon learned that the school had been shut down a few years back, but was told that there was someone else he needed to meet.

After sitting on the back of a motorcycle on a windy and bumpy Guatemalan road for an hour, Spencer arrived in the small village of San José. This is where he met Tescucún. He only spent half an hour there, but it was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship.

"When we were driving back on the motorcycle that night, full moon flowing on a beautiful lake, I had the most amazing feeling," Spencer said.

Even though none of his original plans actually happened, Spencer said he was only disappointed for about five minutes.

"There is a lesson to learn from this," he said. "Often times what one has planned does not happen. We spend most of our lives in plan B and it turns out to be better than plan A ever was."

Tesucún talked about Bio-Itzá and the work they do to many listeners on Tuesday night. He had the audience's attention for close to an hour and ended the lecture by answering questions from the audience.

With the help of philosophy professor David O'Hara, who translated from Spanish to English, Tescucún talked about how important it is to take care of the nature around us. He also explained that the language and the traditions of the Mayan people are disappearing.

Spencer and O'Hara are taking a group of Augustana students to Guatemala this January, where the students will get to experience the nature and wildlife firsthand, while practicing their Spanish.

Bio-Itzá relies on the tourists to help them financially. Just like so many others around the world, they are struggling to make ends meet due to the economy. People do not travel as much as they used to, which automatically means less money for organizations such as Bio-Itzá.

Tesucún explained that Bio-Itzá does not receive any support from the Guatemalan government, who will help only if it will make money in return for service. Therefore, he hopes to increase the number of visiting students, not only because students bring money, but also because the more students that visit, the more people know of the work they are doing.

"Students can help by spreading the word, maybe come up with ways to make money such as fundraisers or alternative gift markets," Spencer said. "People actually came up to us after the lecture and handed Aderito checks."

On why Augustana students should consider travelling to Guatemala and visit Bio-Itzá, Spencer said that he wants students to experience what he has experienced while being there, because it has truly made a difference in his life.

"This has changed my life. It is hard to describe how, but I am different now than what I was before," he said. "Through the relationships you get there, one learns that they are not that different from us."