Adopt Rainforest employs a lot of volunteers who do amazing and, above all, very diverse work. In this blog post we would like to share the experiences of Annemarie, who has been volunteering for Adopt Rainforest since September 2022.
Introducing myself
I am Annemarie Silkens, 56 years old and I live in Hilversum. I have a family with 4 children, I work at the social neighborhood team of the municipality of Soest. I also row, do yoga, walk and read a lot. Since September 2022 I work as a volunteer for the Foundation Adopt Rainforest.
In April 2022, I unexpectedly got the chance to go to Costa Rica. A friend was going and asked if I wanted to come along. Well, of course I wanted to! It had been a long time since I had taken a faraway trip and a long time since I had been in the jungle. What an opportunity! I immediately started investigating what I would like to see in Costa Rica.
On the map I found the Parque Nacional de los Quetzales. Wow! Now it so happens that I am a big bird lover, and especially wanted to see the quetzal. So I had to go there. I wanted to go into the rainforest anyway. And what I already knew about myself became clear again…..I love the rainforest!
Movingly beautiful, impressive, vivid, colorful, in a word: fantastic! A peace came over me, a kind of serenity. It was – and this sounds crazy, but it is really true – very special that a softness came over me, which I did not have in the busy life in the Netherlands. Even the face ID of my mobile phone didn’t work anymore… Bizarre right?
What did you experience in Costa Rica?
With a guide, we were able to set off through the rainforest in search of the quetzal, other birds, insects, frogs and many other animals. Enjoying the sloth hanging from a branch just along the path, the beautiful colors and smells, swarms of hummingbirds, the roar of the howler monkeys, the sounds of the forest, of life.
In Costa Rica I totally came to rest, and a world opened up for me! The beautiful and impressive nature. Because I speak Spanish, I was able to converse with the locals. And what struck me most; all of them are proud of their country and of nature, of the rainforest. And all of them want to protect it, they are outraged about the felling of precious old trees and forests for the construction of palm oil plantations, among other things.
Back in the Netherlands
Once back in the Netherlands, I really had to get used again. To the structure, the busy life, the full schedule. But something in me had changed. I knew I wanted to stay connected to this beautiful and impressive piece of earth. I knew I wanted to dedicate myself to raising awareness and preserving the beautiful and indispensable nature.
With this experience, I set out to find. What could I do! How could I contribute something? I started searching and soon came across the Adopt Rainforest Foundation. I came into conversation with Matthijs Bol, who told me how Maarten and he realized their boyhood dream years ago in Costa Rica. How they made their way through the jungle in search of a place from which to shape the Foundation. When I heard his story, I was sold….ja, this is what I want to contribute to! The boy’s dream has now grown into a beautiful reserve, where students come for research, where volunteers work, where the local population is involved, where education is given, where in the meantime beautiful cooperation has been created with Trees for All and the University of Utrecht, with the TUI Care Foundation, among others. And a foundation that works well with the government in Costa Rica, so that protected rainforest is and remains protected. Yes, I would like to contribute to that as well.
Still active!
And so it came about, now I am already 2 years active as a volunteer for the foundation. We have a nice team of volunteers who contribute in many ways. For example, you can follow our news on Facebook and Instagram, or you can read our blogs on the site. I feel proud to be associated with this enthusiastic team at the Foundation.
Have you become curious? Would you also like to contribute something? You can always sign up as a volunteer. Or you can adopt a piece of rainforest yourself. Or give a piece of rainforest as a gift, and in this way give even more publicity to the work of the Foundation.
Despite the fact that there are no students because of the Corona crisis, the research continues (partly).
In the Netherlands, some students are busy analysing data, but also in Costa Rica inventories are still being made. Accompanied by guide Tapa, Hanneke and Maarten walk the transects in different habitats.
In the spring of 2023, there was suddenly an opportunity to go to Costa Rica for Adopt Rainforest. I was also in Costa Rica a year earlier and there someone tipped me off about an organization of two Dutch guys who were working to protect and restore the rainforest. When I got home I decided […]
At Adopteer Regenwoud, we welcome a new partner: Ecoloog op Maat B.V., an ecological consultancy firm that focuses not on enforcing legislation but on strengthening nature. In this article, we take you into the world of owner Kjetil van den Berg and his motivation for proudly calling himself a partner of the rainforest. (more…)
Discover our special partnership with the Bromelia Specialist, where passion for the Bromelia plant and the conservation of Costa Rican rainforest come together. For three years, the Bromelia Specialist has supported the work of Adopteer Regenwoud in protecting the origins of the Bromelia plant, while providing Europe with the most beautiful Bromelia products. Behind the […]
A family adventure at Adopt Rainforest by Zoë Schreurs World Family Day, also known as International Family Day, is celebrated worldwide on May 15 to recognize the value of family bonds and family relationships. This day emphasizes support, love and cooperation within families. While we at “Adopt Rainforest” are of course all a little bit […]
Nature lover and birdwatcher Nienke recently visited the breathtaking rainforests of Costa Rica. In the coming period, she will recount her experiences in vivid detail in a series of stories. Enjoy reading this second blog! There is something magical about discovering a foreign country, a feeling that you are on the verge of something bigger […]
Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming professors Edwin Pos and Yann Hautier of Utrecht University to our project in Costa Rica. It was a week entirely dedicated to local collaborations. Our project managers Maarten and Hanneke together with the professors visited different organizations in Costa Rica to strengthen existing collaborations and initiate new ones.. (more…)
We all know how important trees and plants are for producing oxygen and absorbing CO2. Especially lately there has been a lot of news about the climate crisis, global warming, sea level rise, CO2 offsetting and the importance of preserving trees, plants and forests. In this blog you can read some background information on how trees store our CO2 emissions.
Together with Barbilla National Park and the Bajo Chirripó Indigenous Reserve, the Work with Nature reserve forms a “three-country point”. This place is known as Punta de Lanza or Lanspunt. The community consists partly of the indigenous population of Costa Rica and partly of “white people” (modern ticos). Recently, an association has been founded to achieve more together.
From 25 hectares of grassland to a thriving rainforest
This month chairman Martin and founder Matthijs were at Trees for All’s headquarters to ratify a new cooperation for reforestation of 25 hectares of grassland. One of the largest projects in Costa Rica for the Adopt Rainforest Foundation to date. A total of more than 27,500 trees will be planted. (more…)
Did you know… in the wet months the frogs in Costa Rica show themselves more often? They are less prone to drying out because of the wetness and are singing because many species lay their eggs in the rainy season. Earlier we talked about the glass frogs, but there are many more frogs to be seen in this period. (more…)
Did you know that 5% of all species of flora and fauna in the world live and grow in Costa Rica? Also, Costa Rica is in the global top 20 countries with the greatest biodiversity! Are you a real nature lover? Then put Costa Rica on your bucket list. But… before you pull your backpack and passport out of the closet, we want to give you a lesson about biodiversity. Maybe you have what it is, but to refresh your memory we’ll explain it to you in this blog. (more…)
In 2022, we wrote an article about the international census of the Great Green Macaw (Buffon’s Macaw). Three years later, we spoke with Maarten van der Beek, founder of the foundation and research biologist at the reserve in Costa Rica. He talks about the efforts to provide a home for this beautiful bird, and with success… (more…)
We are extremely proud to tell you that the reserve has been expanded by 48.5 acres! And it is not just any expansion, it is finally the connection between the reserve of Adopt Rainforest and Barbilla National Park that we have been working towards for so long. 48.5 hectares, that’s almost 100 soccer fields and […]
In recent years, the reserve of the Adopt Rainforest Foundation has been easy for project manager Maarten to oversee. Two or three times a week he and the students make his rounds through the project area for the biodiversity research. For this research they visit several plots of the area, giving them a good insight into what is happening. Should any illegal logging occur, it is immediately noticed. The same goes for illegal hunting. In addition to the local presence, camera traps are hung at various places in the reserve. These are checked weekly. Should hunters or poachers walk through our reserve, this is quickly noticed.
At Adopteer Regenwoud, we’re welcoming a new partner: Ecoloog op Maat B.V., an ecological consulting firm whose focus isn’t on enforcing the law but on strengthening nature. In this article, we’ll take you into the world of owner Kjetil van den Berg and explore his reasons for proudly calling himself a partner of the rainforest. (more…)
Nature lover and birdwatcher Nienke recently visited the breathtaking rainforests of Costa Rica. In the coming period, she will recount her experiences in vivid detail in a series of stories. Enjoy reading this first blog!
“When I close my eyes, I’m back there again…“ (more…)
In July we told about the expansion of Adopt Rainforest’s reserve through the purchase of 48.5 acres of land. This parcel is very important because it forms a land bridge between the foundation’s current reserve and Barbilla National Park. Much of the new plot is existing forest, but there are also several acres of pasture […]
Supporting a good cause. How do you do that? There are so many charities that it is difficult to choose. To which charity do you donate money? Which charity is reliable? And where do you actually start supporting a charity? The choice is vast in the jungle of charities. If you want to support a charity, it is important that the charity suits you. Choose an organization that does things you find important. This will make donating to charity a lot easier for you. With the tips below, you can be sure that you will soon be supporting a charity in a conscious manner. (more…)
Stichting Adopteer Regenwoud’s research project is entering an exciting new phase thanks to a long-term collaboration with Utrecht University. The foundation was ready for a new step to professionalize the research project and Utrecht University was looking for a stable and reliable partner in Central America to conduct solid research in the rainforest. So for both parties this is a wonderful collaboration! Because of this we will make a big step in professionalizing our current research on biodiversity in our reserve. Together with the visiting students we will focus on scientific research in which the diversity and development of nature in our reserve, with an emphasis on flora, is central.
Humanity has cleared countless acres of forest over the centuries. But not all forests are the same. Sure, a forest in Costa Rica has trees and squirrels, just like a forest here in Europe. But while we can certainly draw comparisons between our temperate forests and tropical forests, there are many differences. In this blog post, we take a closer look at why tropical rainforest logging is even more disastrous and how the consequences extend much further. And logging is certainly ongoing. Globally, the tropics lost 4.1 million hectares of primary forest in 2022, 10% more than in 2021, the platform Global Forest Watch reported.(more…)
Costa Rica is known for its beautiful nature, a country with an exceptionally high diversity of plants and animals (one of the highest percentages of biodiversity in the world). A country for the true ecotourist. Over the past twenty years, ecotourism has become increasingly important to Costa Rica. In 2019, there were nearly 3 million tourists in Costa Rica of which 80% are considered ecotourists. (more…)
What do you give a child at the start of their life? For parents Laurens and Denise, it wasn’t a pile of gifts, but a message. A message about what really matters. About caring for the earth and looking beyond today. Their decision to set up a fundraiser for Adopt Rainforest around the birth of their children tells an inspiring story. (more…)
For my Wildlife business management degree, I have done several internships, mostly revolving around animal care but this time I chose to visit a different type of organization. In August 2023, I landed in Costa Rica to spend 8 weeks with the research project of Adopt Rainforest.
This year we once again celebrated the three days of Dia del Arbol with the enthusiastic school children of our village! Check out this impression of the event, in which we highlighted this year’s theme: water. From building dams and filtering water to exploring frog pools and an exciting water obstacle course – it was […]
And then there you are, atop a hilltop, having a good cry. Or frantically trying not to let your fellow volunteer see how touched you are. My name is Zoë, I live near Hasselt in Belgium. I am an adult education teacher, and enthusiastic but very novice when it comes to nature. I would like to tell you about my wonderful experiences as a volunteer in the reserve of Adopt Rainforest.
Is it possible to restore the original rainforest in a deforested area where cows have been grazing for years? In Costa Rica at least they accept the challenge. This article tells in short how a Dutch foundation in Costa Rica is trying to transform degraded land back into a fully fledged rainforest. (more…)
on with Utrecht University. The foundation was ready for a new step to professionalize the research project and Utrecht University was looking for a stable and reliable partner in Central America to conduct solid research in the rainforest. So for both parties this is a wonderful collaboration! Because of this we will make a big step in professionalizing our current research on biodiversity in our reserve. Together with the visiting students we will focus on scientific research in which the diversity and development of nature in our reserve, with an emphasis on flora, is central.