My 2 week trip is on behalf of Pahar Trust Nepal who have been supporting rural hill villages in Nepal for over 30 years; having been set up by 2 native Nepali and white British Gurkha soldiers. The charity has a strong presence in the Isle of Man, through the work of Howard and Sue Green and the school and community of Kirk Michael village.

It's IIam currently in Ghamrang village and I am visiting the local school and a local biodynamic organic farmer who grows everything from Kiwi Fruit to Szechuan pepper, but also diversifies into Essential oil production from Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort) and more an Asian species of Yew (Taxus mariei) from which the cancer drug Taxol is derived.

Whilst in the local school I held a short lesson on marine life of the Isle of Man, with footage from MWT Marine officer Dr Lara Howe and from a handful of students the room was soon full of 50 kids learning about spiny starfish, basking sharks, lions mane jelly fish and dead man’s fingers.  Afterwards I was shown the school’s science lab and was pleasantly surprised to see a telescope a model of DNA double helix 🧬, octopus and scorpion specimen jars, biographies of Joseph Mendel and Galileo and much more.  This has been possible through the work of Pahar trust Nepal. 

I had an interesting guided jungle walk with the local organic farmer and very capable botanist with some familiar species such as Berberis, Buddleia and Bracken Fern but also very showy jungle climbers and epiphytes.  Orchids as an epiphyte on trees seem particularly well represented here.  For me birds are a got to group to quickly get up to speed and I have already enjoyed identifying and photographing Bulbuls, Laughing Thrushes, Warblers and the old world hummingbird equivalent the Sunbirds.

Next week I move onto to Sikles in the Annapurna Conservation Area where native Rhododendron forests and the more montane landscape abounds.