Saving Orchids in the Wild

As orchid lovers, members of the OCA work to preserve orchids and orchid habitats. We create protected reserves where wild orchids can continue to live and blossom in the rain and sunshine. A side benefit is that everything else that lives in the reserve is protected too.

ORCHID RESERVES

The OCA protects orchid in their native habitats because this approach preserves many species of orchids in the same space, even ones not yet identified, as well as the ecosystems in which they exist. In their natural setting, orchids are subject to the environmental pressures that led to their evolution in the first place, and thus they are most at home there. They are adapted to the local climate. Their pollinators are there. And in their native habitat that orchids maintain themselves. In these pages you can learn more about the reserves we have created and you can help with this work.

ORCHID ECOTOURS – Orchids in the Wild

An orchid blooming on a tree trunk in the sun and rain of its native habitat is one of the miracles of the natural world every orchid lover should see at least once. The OCA sponsors trips to see orchids in the wild in our reserves as well as elsewhere. So far we have had trips to Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, China, France, Greece, and Thailand.  In 2018 we will go to Mexico, China, and Colombia. Primarily, these trips are a lot of fun. You will come home with many wonderful orchid photos. They are also very educational; once you see how the orchids you are trying to grow at home actually grow in nature you will know a lot more about the particular conditions that will make them thrive for you. Orchids in the Wild tours take you to places you would never see otherwise.