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 an inspiring experience for young and old alike! Again, this is why we as a foundation are here, and this is what we accomplish together for and with our local community.
Dia del Arbol is an event celebrated in several countries in honor of trees and the importance of forest conservation and environmental awareness. Literally translated, Dia del Arbol means “Day of the Tree”. It is often celebrated with educational activities, tree planting events, awareness campaigns and other environment-related events to encourage people to protect and respect nature. The goal is to highlight the importance of trees to our planet and inspire communities to get involved in preserving and strengthening forests.
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…)
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.
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…)
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…)
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 […]
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.
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…)
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 […]
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.
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. (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 […]
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.
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 […]
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…)
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…)
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…)
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.
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 […]
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.