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| Why Should We Save Parque Omar? Essays & Artwork from Students Submit yours to la.mica@yahoo.com ____________ La MICA and Parque Omar By: Daniel Speer Plaza Middle School Virginia Beach, Virginia 7th Grade La Mica is a great organization. It supports the Parque Omar rainforest in Panama. La Mica is trying to save the rainforest with help from people all over. It needs help to preserve the biology, culture, and history of the Panamanians and protect the land where they live. It is important to help preserve Parque Omar and it can be done with everyone’s help. Parque Omar has a rich culture and history. It has a diverse history because of the cultures there. The cultures there depend on the environment for lots of things. They depend on the land for farming their food. The history has many bumps in the road. Parque Omar has conservation issues and problems with companies that want to cut down the rainforest. Parque Omar encounters many problems and there will continue to be problems unless something is done now. The local people are very dependent on Parque Omar. There are about 325 people that live in the park. They use the trees for homes. They use animals for food. They also use plants for communication. The people there use the environment wisely. The local people use the environment to survive. The biology is very diverse because of its characteristics. There are many invertebrates and over 300 species of birds. There are more than 60 species of mammals as well. Parque Omar also has a huge number of species of plants. The biology here is fascinating, but also declining, so it needs help. The rain forest is in trouble, so it needs everyone’s help to turn it around. It needs help to preserve its history and biology. It also needs help to preserve the culture and protect the local people. Most things are declining because of carelessness. La Mica needs help to preserve this natural habitat with everyone helping starting…now. Parque Omar has 62,000 acres and is located in Panama. Panama is not a big country. It is only about the size of the state of South Carolina. It is also a poor country. The average family only makes about $1500 per year. Most kids have never even received a present. Even though Panama is poor, Parque Omar adds richness to its country. The full name of the rainforest is Parque Nacional General de Division Omar Torrijos Herrera. It is named after Omar Torrijos Herrera who was the leader of the Panamanian National Guard. Parque Omar should be protected because many animals call the park their home. There are scorpions, spiders, frogs, toads, lizards, iguanas, and snakes plus many birds. Many mammals call this rainforest their home as well. The diverse plants that are special to the area should be protected too. La Mica will help protect the park. I can also help protect and preserve Parque Omar by supporting La Mica. I will do this by donating money to their fundraiser and writing this essay. I can also help by participation in the Forest Walk fundraiser at First Landing State Park. I hope the rich history and culture of Parque Omar can be preserved. We can all do our part to help. |
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| You can help Parque Omar and La MICA by clicking here! |
| ____________ La MICA Project By: Aaron Banasiewicz Plaza Middle School Virginia Beach, Virginia 7th Grade In Central Panama there is a very famous park known as Parque Omar. Recently, many organizations have been destroying the park by tearing down trees and destroying the animals and their habitats. Dr. Julie Ray came up with an idea to create a biological station in the park that will educate locals as well as visitors on how to help preserve the beauty that already exists and discover the still unknown in Parque Omar. Parque Omar was established on July 31, 1986. Parque Omar, originally known only to the elite as “Altos de Golf” was given to the people of Panama City by the head of the Panamanian Army, General Omar Torrijos. A plane carrying General Omar Torrijos crashed into the park when the jet exploded. The people of Panama adored General Torrijos and felt desolate without him. US Secret Service aided in retrieving his body for burial. Some villagers believe his spirit still lives on in the park today. As well as the 300+ villagers of the park there are over 800 species of organisms. The park consists of countless Jaguars, Snakes, Birds, and Flowers. Without all of these organisms working together they could not exist. Over the years Dr. Julie Ray has discovered several unknown creatures, which only shows how much more we can learn from La MICA. La MICA will consist of classrooms, laboratories, a dining hall, cabins for research, a woodshop and dormitories. In building La MICA the plan is to be environmentally friendly with the buildings being constructed of recycled products and functioning “green” once they are up and running. One of the best aspects is that they will employ the local residents in the construction and maintenance of the research center. When La MICA is finally established it will be able to preserve Panama’s villagers, animals, plants, beliefs, and culture. Dr. Ray grew up an ordinary girl on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and became a Scientist passionate about all that inhabits Parque Omar. All that she has seen and has yet to discover inspires me to want to learn more about what exactly exists so far away from my home here in Virginia Beach. I plan to support La MICA by educating my family and friends about La MICA and asking them to pledge money to support my participation in the Forest Walk Fundraiser and the $1 Drive. Maybe one day I’ll be doing research in one of those laboratories? ____________ La MICA de Parque Omar By: Bella Saley Plaza Middle School Virginia Beach, Virginia 7th Grade Culture is very important to Panama; therefore it needs to remain alive. Parque Omar represents the natural culture of Panama. It is also the home to many Panamanians. If Parque Omar no longer existed then where would the people go? Parque Omar is very special to the Panamanians and needs to remain safe. There are hundreds of species in this park. Some species have not even been discovered yet. Other species are only found in Parque Omar. Most importantly, there are species in the park that are classified as endangered. One of the endangered species would be the Golden Tree Frog. This frog is the good luck charm of Panama. In order to have the opportunity to discover and save the animals; the park must be saved first. La Mica can save Parque Omar as well as provide opportunities for different groups of people. It provides job opportunities and medical care for the locals. Discoveries will be made by those who come to visit. Families and schools will have fun discovering a whole new world. Most importantly, it allows cultural diversity. La Mica will pave the way for an environmentally friendly way to save Parque Omar. ____________ Why Should Parque Omar be Saved? By: Adrian Forrest Plaza Middle School Virginia Beach, Virginia 7th Grade Parque Omar, a national park in Panama, is a cloud forest with an abundance of mist, animals, and plants. All of its species are extremely unique in their own special ways. For example, animals such as mollusk-eating snakes, invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and other mammals live and thrive in this magnificent park. Also, plants such as vanilla, hot lips, bongo trees, ferns, and some fruits survive here, too. All of these organisms interact with each other to help develop this park. Now, although this park seems to be very tropical, natural, and abundant, it contains conservation problems and indigenous tribes and cultures that live there are losing their traditions and lives. Parque Omar should be saved. Now, why should it be saved? It must because of the above reasons and because it contains organisms that deserve a lifetime. Conservation happens to be one of the most important topics of this new generation of time. Trying to save organisms and species are very essential for our lives and theirs. The reason why conservation is necessary in Parque Omar is because deforestation, water pollution, and illegal killings are occurring. Many trees are being cut down for retirement homes and other buildings. Water is being polluted due to human activity and animals are being killed, because either they have something that people want, like fur (poachers), or people just don’t like them. Ms. Julie Ray, a scientist and founder of the La Mica Biological Station in Panama, states that most killings are intentional and animal population is decreasing due to all of these affects. The death rate of plants and animals due to the above reasons tend to increase in rate for the past months and years. Now, plants and animals are not the only things that need to be conserved. Indigenous tribes that live there also need to be conserved. Only 325 people live inside the park without electricity, roads, cars, or clinics. There seems to be only 6 indigenous tribes that thrive there. They gain knowledge of ways of the typical Panama farmer, but they receive little education. People must notice how the population of these tribes is low. Now, notice how plants, animals, and indigenous tribes must be conserved or helped, or later on, they will eventually die off. Now, as said before, cultures and species are dying off, but why is that so important? It is important, because everyone and everything deserves a lifetime. How can species of plants, animals, and humans live without fresh water? How can animals have a home without trees? How can animals have a good life span if they are always being killed by poachers? The answers to these questions are that there is no possible way. They all need trees and water. They all deserve a healthy and long life. Helping to conserve and treating these species correctly will benefit them. They all ought to have as much of a benefit as the people of America do. Conservation is essential for them. Going out to help the species of this park will help them to live a life of goodness and grace. Some things are being done now to assist Parque Omar. For example, the La Mica Biological Station is a research building and lab that serves to protect Parque Omar. Now, they have permission to do this and they have a good plan, but the people of this program can not do this by themselves. That is when other people of the world come in. Everyone should join and participate in this program to change Parque Omar forever. Saving these species with La Mica would be an incredible experience and a lifetime change for anyone who lives there. So, join hands in partnership with La Mica to help serve Parque Omar to conserve and protect. Who wants to take part in rescuing important species of life? SAVE THE PLANTS! SAVE THE ANIMALS! SAVE THE PEOPLE! SAVE PARQUE OMAR! ____________ Parque Omar By: Grace Kim Plaza Middle School Virginia Beach, Virginia 7th Grade There are several places in this world that people need to start saving. Parque Omar especially needs help for it to survive or great amounts of damage will be done to it. There are several reasons why people need to start saving Parque Omar. Will you be one of them? Parque Omar needs others to help conserve its unique and amazing environment. First of all, its environment is different to everywhere else on Earth. There are very rare and exotic animals and plants such as Tapirs (only five hundred in the world and they live in the park), Glass Frogs (frogs whose bellies are clear), and Clear Wing Butterflies. The land is also on the Continental Divide causing people to see both the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Second, the national park has very important history to the land of Panama. The park is named after the famous Omar Torrijos H. (The National Panama Guard). It is believed that he is still alive and lives in the park today because of his unmoved plane (that crashed) and many local people. Third, Parque Omar shows others about its culture, art, and the lives of the local villagers. There are three hundred twenty-five people who live there and care for the environment. If people tear down this national park, then there will be no homes for the three hundred twenty-five people to live in, as well as the culture and art made from the locals. So, Parque Omar needs to be saved for its environment, animals, plants, history, culture, art, and the local people. People that are interested in helping save Parque Omar can do so in many ways. First, others can help contribute to La MICA because they are the ones that can make this goal come to reality. They need at least one hundred thousand dollars in American money (one third of the United States money is equal to one dollar in Panamanian money, so things are cheaper there) to start with in order to build a biological station to conserve the Parque Omar environment. Send in ideas to them or make an essay because the more people spread knowledge about this the more likely people want to get involved. Next, people can start conserving the sixty-two thousand acres of land by protesting against ranchers, timber extraction, retirement committee, and people who illegally collect/kill animals. The people that are taking over the environment do not even care about the land, locals, and animals. They just want the money. Others who collect/kill animals are making exotic and rare animal species' population decrease. Also, people can help by educating this to others especially younger children. The more people that know can help even more because they will know the facts that are important to saving this national park. People need to educate younger children because they will tell their parents about saving the environment, so it helps spread the word even more. So, people can help save Parque Omar by giving support to La MICA for their biological (and environmental) station, protest against those who want to control it, and share their knowledge to others. People now know how and why to save Parque Omar. They need to save it because of its unique environment, culture, arts, and people. They can help save it by supporting La MICA, protesting, and telling others about this. Finally, people can start getting involved to help save the important landmark, Parque Omar. |
| La MICA Biological Station Fundación Centro de Investigación Biológica El Cope, S.A.● Amigos Support La MICA El Copé-La Pintada ● Provincia de Coclé ● Republica de Panama Amigos Support La MICA ● c/o Julie Ray ● 12458 132nd Street ● Chippewa Falls, WI 54729 www.lamica.org ● la.mica@yahoo.com ● t: (011.507)6707.8900 Amigos Support La MICA is a project of the International Humanities Center, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. |
