Dr. Olaf Ribeiro - The Ultimate Tree Hugger
Toronto Goan Community hosts renowned Arborist
Dr.Ribeiro, who resides in Bainbridge Island Washington was in Toronto
at the invitation of the Toronto Botanical Garden where he gave two
seminars. We invited him to a Goan restaurant for dinner and to give us
a talk on his work.
He was introduced by Dr. Sal Rocha, a Veterinarian and colleague of
Olaf. They both started their careers together at Egerton Agricultural
College, Njoro Kenya in 1961. They were among the first batch of people
with colour to be admitted to the all white Institution.
Olaf went on from Egerton to West Virginia where he obtained his Masters
and PhD degrees. He went into research in Bainbridge Island and finally
opened his own consulting business there.
Besides his doctorate, he ia a Certified Arborist, and a Certified Plant
Pathologist.
The Goan audience listened with rapt attention as Olaf gave a power
point presentation of his work.
Olaf has designed a machine that blows out soil at a determined pressure
which exposes the roots and enables him to take samples of the soil and
roots back to his laboratory. Here he is able to analyse and find out
what is lacking in the soil and find out by cultures what infection has
attacked the roots. He then designs a product to correct the
deficiencies and treat any infection. This mixture is put around the
roots and the tree starts growing normally again.
Olaf showed pictures of a large tree that was dying on one side .He
determined that there was a water pipe under the soil that was leaking
on that side of the tree. He finally was able to get the city workers
,who did not believe him, to dig in that area and sure enough a leaking
pipe was discovered. After stopping the leak the tree developed normally
Olaf was involved in saving a lot of old historic trees from the
builders and developers. In one instance he threatened to chain himself
to the tree that was to be cut down. He was joined by other people in
the protest and eventually the developer abandoned the project.
Another project that he was involved with was moving a fully grown tree
about 60 feet to another location This massive undertaking required a
special large crane to lift it off the ground. The roots were covered
with burlap and the huge tree occupied the whole road interrupting
traffic. Telephone and power lines had to be moved. Apparently Olaf is
on a first name basis with his city officials.
His latest venture, reluctantly Olaf says, was getting involved in
growing giant pumpkins. He produced a sort of intravenous drip that went
down to the roots and provided continuous nutrition. The champion
pumpkin weighed close to one thousand pounds. He is now much sought
after by the pumpkin growing enthusiasts to break further records ,
combining genetic engineering with his nutrition, producing a pumpkin
that looks like it has been on steroids.
Question time was even longer than the talk.
There was even a question on whether he had inherited his Grandfather's
talent for training and riding zebras. Apparently he has been invited to
Goa to cure some problems with coconut trees there. Several people would
like a follow up talk to discuss there own garden problems. .
Article based on files from Dr. Sal Rocha
Olaf Ribeiro is the grandson of the famed the famed Dr. Rosendo Ayres
Ribeiro of Nairobi
http://www.goacom.com/culture/biographies/drrib2.html
http://www.goanvoice.ca/2011/issue11/peopleplacesthings.htm#ppt_2
