Welcome Ricardo Liquet-González, Agricultural Project Coordinator!
Ricardo (Ricky) Liquet-González is from the Caribbean archipelago of Puerto Rico. Ricky was born and raised in Mayagüez in the the western region of the main island. Growing up in an urban setting, Ricky experienced nature through the lush vegetation growing throughout Mayagüez.
Ricky attended the University of Puerto Rico with many interests, studying mycology, apiculture, forestry and agriculture. A professor at the University asked Ricky to run a soil ecology laboratory, kick-starting his career. During his years managing the soil lab, Ricky worked with all types of microscopic soil organisms. Ricky was offered a full scholarship for a master’s degree studying crop protection focusing on nematology.
By that point, Ricky was already aware of the damage the toxic chemicals inflict on the environment and the human body. He chose to focus his masters thesis on evaluating biological products for the control of endoparasitic nematodes in plantains. That experience opened multiple opportunities in multiple local agroecology and agroforestry projects.
When Hurricane Maria demolished the archipelago, Ricky immersed himself in social and community outreach projects, including Bosque Pachamama, Bambu-Pueblo & Bien Estar. He became completely committed to developing a stronger and more secure food system in Puerto Rico, and focused his efforts on community directed projects. When asked, Ricky says the work is hard but rewarding, and experiences in the field working with people is what keeps him going.
Presently, Ricky is engaged in interdisciplinary work tackling erosion and rainfall management with the use of innovative green infrastructure for tropical areas.
He is also developing an outdoor interpretative "classroom” as part of a joint multi-sector agroecology teaching center that will be launching by 2022. The outdoor classroom will be a setting for teaching agroforestry with focus on multi-story cropping, native habitat enhancement, riparian forest buffer management, and endangered species restoration program. The structure is sustainably integrated with edible species and timber bamboo worked into the system design.
When he’s not working on these projects, you can often find Ricky in the national forest gathering native seeds for propagation and plot trials, surfing on the west side of the island, or planning his next sustainable bamboo project. We’re delighted Ricky is bringing his skills and experience to the Ridge to Reefs team. Welcome, Ricky!