Spend a half day with noted native plant specialist and botanist J. Carlos Trejo Ph.D. to investigate the local plants of this unique ecological zone which is comprised of a thorn forest, a true Savana and the Mangroves closer to the Gulf Coast.  Your outing could be a leisurely walk to view the many endemic and native species at Quinta Kookix, including the numerous medicinal plants found in our gardens, or for the more adventurous, a trek out into the local forest around us or the Savana just to our north (this is a seasonal trek subject to the flooding during the rainy season).

About Carlos…a native of the Mexican Yucatan, J. Carlos Trejo Ph.D. is a biologist and scientist who is the Founder of the Mexican Association of Arboriculture Yucatan Chapter (AMA Yucatán), and was the Founder and Head of the Urban Tree Department for the City of Merida, Yucatan for six years as well as having honed his craft at the prestigious Institute for Regional Conservation in Florida.  With expertise in regional botany including plant naming and the regional history of botanical science, he focuses on rare and relatively unknown species and has identified five new species of trees in Puerto Rico.  In addition, he develops databases, public botanical internet pages, as well as educational Facebook groups in both the Yucatan and Puerto Rico.  Carlos is deeply interested in sharing his extensive knowledge, and has given countless lectures to a broad audience from local Kindergarten children to fellow scientists and botanists from as far away as the Canary Islands.  His work and teaching encompasses the use of native plants in their environments for both gardeners and landscape architects, as well as lecturing at universities.  Carlos believes as well that art is a wonderful vehicle for the engagement of people into the botanical sciences, and works with artists to incorporate the technical and academic aspects of botany into creative projects.  Tracing and unraveling the histories of native plants and forgotten botanists is another of his passions.  We are proud to have several hundred of the native Agave Sisalana plants at Quinta Kookix which had nearly disappeared when Carlos established a program to revive them in the Yucatan.  Conservation en vivo, Viva Carlos, Viva Yucatan!

 

Advance reservations are required.