PUERTO VALLARTA, Jalisco, Sept. 10, 2026 — A free community workshop on local birds and forests will be held Saturday morning at Playa Grande Ecopark.
Renovación Ambiental y Natural A.C., known as RANA, and the Playa Grande Ejido organized “Birds, Forests and Community.” The event runs from 9 a.m. to noon on Sept. 12.
How residents and visitors can attend
The program will include photography displays, talks with specialists and activities for children. Organizers said the workshop is intended for families, residents and visitors.
Support vans will leave the Playa Grande neighborhood at 8:15 and 8:45 a.m. The pickup point is beside the bridge near the public transportation terminal.
Attendees may also drive to the ecopark. Public listings place the venue at kilometer 6.5 on Camino a Playa Grande, northeast of central Puerto Vallarta.
The free transportation gives residents without private vehicles a way to complete the trip from the neighborhood to the forest venue. The ejido’s riverside restaurant is expected to operate during the event.
Lilac-crowned parrot becomes the focus
The workshop will center on the lilac-crowned parrot, or Amazona finschi. The bird is commonly called the cotorra lila in Puerto Vallarta.
The species is native to Mexico’s Pacific region and depends on forest habitat. Mexico lists it as endangered under the country’s wildlife protection standard, according to federal environmental records.
A federal conservation study for the Sierra de Vallejo-Río Ameca identified the lilac-crowned parrot as an endangered species and a national conservation priority. The study covered territory in Puerto Vallarta and five other municipalities across Jalisco and Nayarit.
The federal government established the Sierra de Vallejo-Río Ameca Biosphere Reserve in January 2024. The protected area covers more than 225,000 hectares in Puerto Vallarta, Mascota, Mixtlán, San Sebastián del Oeste, Bahía de Banderas, and Compostela.
The workshop organizers said the bird provides an entry point for examining the connection between wildlife and the forests where species feed, shelter, and reproduce.
Conservation begins with local participation
“Birds, Forests and Community” is part of the Wings for Conservation project. Organizers describe the initiative as an environmental education effort focused on ecosystems, wildlife and community participation.
Holding the workshop at the Playa Grande Ejido also places that discussion outside Puerto Vallarta’s urban and hotel districts. The site is reached by Camino a Playa Grande and lies near the Río Pitillal.
The program reflects a broader model of community conservation in which people who live near forests participate in education and land stewardship. Federal protection covers the wider region, while local organizations and ejidos work at the community level.
PVDN’s continuing environment and wildlife coverage follows conservation projects, protected areas and the pressures affecting Puerto Vallarta’s forests, rivers, and native species.
