Mexican Volunteer Ventures Out For Country Onion Wildings

Hello, my name is Erandi, and I am 24 years old. I’m from Guadalajara in Mexico; a student of Cubac in Agroforestry and Biology.

Many years ago when grandfather asked us what we wanted to be when grown up, I said a primatologist. I love

animals, but primates are my passion. And that is why I arrived in Cameroon on August 5, 2015 to volunteer at the ERuDeF Institute of Biodiveristy and Non-Profit Studies (ERuDeF Institute) in Buea – researching on primates especially the Cross River gorilla; its behaviour; sounds, social groups and feeding habits. This would contribute to my practical training towards graduation.

But first let me tell you about my first day in the Cameroon tropical rainforest, precisely on Mt. Etinde in Limbe in the Southwest Region. I was very much exited because it was my first expedition in Cameroon. I had prepared egg, coffee and bread for breakfast. Guided by team leader Tengem Adeline from the Conservation of Threatened Trees in the Mt. Cameroon Area project, and driven by Asong Fabian, I and two interns; Osayo Leaticia from the University of Buea and Acho Loveline from the ERuDeF Institute, set off at 7am from the ERuDeF head office.

We began hiking up the mountain at 8:30 am. The purpose of our trip was to collect country onion (Afrostyrax lepidophyllus) wildings for transplantation into the wild. It does not sound like gorilla study, does it? But just like the Cross River gorilla which is endangered, country onion is also considered vulnerable by The Red List of 1998. The Range Description: Sub-populations are confined to Subri and Cape Three Points Forest Reserve in Ghana, in parts of the Southwest Region of Cameroon and in Gabon in an area to the north and in Lopé Forest Reserve.

Country onion is an important plant that is used as food and for income.

There was no rain this morning but we could hear a storm coming. I could hear a lot of birds but I couldn’t see them because of very thick vegetation. We hiked for approximately three hours after that we began to see country onion seeds; the ones that we needed to collect were the ones that were all ready germinated. After some hours of collecting, it was time to leave.

Back in Buea, we visited the central nursery at the Delegation of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife where we potted the country onion wildings and would care for them until they are ready to transplant in the forest. We applied Rodenticide and Muccap in each polythene bag against rodents.

After working in a government rescue centre in Mexico; CIVS (Centro investigacion y de reabilitacion de vida Silvestre) rescuing wildlife pets – chimps, elephants, snakes, frogs, spiders, etc, when they go missing, and we are called to rescue them and return them to their owners, I have learnt a lot about conservation NGOs. I did not know anything about how they operate. At ERuDeF Institute, I have learnt that the NGO also teaches youngsters environmental conservation.

I also have learnt to eat plums with milk.