Forest fires in central Chile wreaked havoc in the El Maule region with more than 1

different wildfires sweeping through the area and destroying over a million acres of forest land.

It was the worst wildfire season in the country’s history, taking several lives and creating an

estimated 3 million dollars worth of damages. The animals were forced to flee to safer areas.

The job of replanting endless acres of forests seemed like a daunting endeavor. That is until

three unusual workers took up the task. Six-year-old Das and her two daughters, Olivia and

Summer are three Border Collies trained to run through the damaged forests with special

backpacks that release native plant seeds. Once they take root, these seeds will help regrow the

destroyed area. It turns out that Border Collies are an ideal breed for this specific type of job.

Bounding through miles of forest terrain requires not only speed, intelligence, and endurance,

but also a willingness to stay focused and not get distracted by wildlife. Border Collies were bred

to herd sheep, so they’re not as likely to run after or hurt other animals in the forest.

The sisters who own and train the dogs, Francisca and Constanza Torres, say the furry trio

has fun jumping and bounding through nature. This system is also more efficient than having

people spread the seeds manually. These speedy canines can race through a forest and cover up

to 18 miles a day. Humans, on the other hand, can only cover a few miles each day. These pups

can scatter over 20 pounds of seeds, depending on the terrain. While robots or drones might be

able to disperse seeds too, dogs aren’t as pricey to handle. Most importantly, they leave a lighter

carbon footprint.

Francisca and Constanza put special backpacks on the dogs, fill them with native seeds, and

then it’s off to the races. Once the dogs have emptied their bags, Francisca and Constanza give

them plenty of treats, refill their bags, and release them again to dash around the destroyed

forest, sprinkling more seeds in their wake. The end goal of all this, of course, is to restore the

damaged ecosystem and have the wildlife return to the forests.

For Francisca, bringing trained dogs into the forest made sense. She runs a dog training

facility and community called Pewos. While they receive some donations, she and Constanza pay

for most of the seeds, supplies, and transportation themselves. Despite the hard work, their labor

of love is already paying off and it’s possible to see results in flora and fauna coming back to the

burned forest! While the dogs have already worked in 15 forests in the El Maule region, Francisca

and Constanza plan to keep spreading seeds to bring back the forests with the canine trio.