The latest news about the foundation and
interesting stories about the research in Costa Rica.
What does deforestation mean for our nature? What is deforestation anyway? This term is used to describe the process by which trees give way to agriculture and livestock. Deforestation takes place in large numbers every day, especially in the Amazon rainforest. Not a pretty thing! The consequences? Cutting down trees not only means loss of […]
High time for biodiversity 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 […]
What’s with the fur? Why do sloths sleep so much? This month, the three-fingered sloth is the animal of the month at Adopt Rainforest. And what’s more fun than hearing from one of the founders of Adopt Rainforest some fun facts that you won’t find in a standard biology book. Maarten van der Beek is one of the biologists at Adopt Rainforest and lives on the Work With Nature reserve in Costa Rica. (more…)
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.
Last summer we were able to open the proverbial champagne bottle again! Despite all external influences, we managed to formalize the purchase of a beautiful and especially strategically important piece of rainforest! It concerns the 9 hectares on which the research center is located. (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…)
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…)
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…)
In the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica most rain falls in May to August. The fact that it rains is good for all life of course, but can be quite difficult for our biologists in the Work with Nature reserve; the paths become muddy, the laundry doesn’t dry and the project is sometimes briefly inaccessible because rivers are filling up. (more…)
The crowdfunding campaign for the local workers of Work with Nature in Costa Rica has been more than successful! We still have 3 days to go and have already reached the target amount! Great to be able to support the local population in this way and to keep the research project going.
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Everyday life has come to a standstill all over the world. Nature conservation projects have also come to a halt. With major consequences for people and nature. More than 200,000 people in Costa Rica depend on ecotourism. Unfortunately, thousands of people have been made redundant since the borders were closed. Our local forces on the […]
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.
At the end of September a crew of Dutch television came to film at our reserve in Costa Rica! The filming is for the programme ‘De Buitendienst’, which is described by the producers as a nature programme for children from 8 to 88 years ;-). There are two episodes recorded. The first episode will be about trees and their superpowers, in which Matthijs will tell about the importance of the tropical rainforest.
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Wow! Thanks to many donors and funds, it has been possible to protect a new plot of 38 hectares of rainforest. This brings our total to 131 hectares of protected rainforest!
The Work with Nature reserve has more than doubled to a total of 70 hectares of rainforest! That’s 696,514 square meters to be precise!
Now that student Sonny, a pure night tour specialist, is about to finish his internship, a lot of great discoveries are made at the last minute. To top it all off, last week we found a special glass frog in the reserve. This Hyalinobatrachium dianae – Diane’s Bare-hearted Glass Frog was only discovered and described […]
At the beginning of June 2017, Adopteer Regenwoud, together with Dutch students from various green courses, launched two long-term studies in the Work with Nature reserve!
The construction of a ranger station at a strategic location in the protected Work with Nature reserve has been realised! From now on the rainforest will be continuously guarded and we will employ a local labour force.
