The latest news about the foundation and
interesting stories about the research in Costa Rica.
This beautiful blue butterfly, measuring up to 15-20 cm, seems to appear and disappear with every flick of its wings. In fact, its underside is a clever trick of Mother Nature. On the underside, it is inconspicuous reddish-brown, with eyes to deter attackers. The bright iridescent blue, in turn, is to deter competition and attract females.
Stichting Adopteer Regenwoud’s research project is entering an exciting new phase thanks to a long-term collaborati
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.
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.
Adopt Rainforest is celebrating its 12th anniversary. A good reason to reflect on all the milestones during the summer party we celebrated with dedicated volunteers and stakeholders on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. The gathering took place in the beautiful ambiance of Landhuis in de Stad in Utrecht, where we took the opportunity to look back at our milestones, share recent achievements and present our newest collaboration. “What a wonderful evening, the room is full of positive energy!”, said one of the attendees. An impression of a grand evening.
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.
Let’s start right away with a fun fact: Costa Rica covers only 0.3% of the Earth’s surface, but you will find almost 5% of the world’s flora and fauna species! Per area, Costa Rica has the highest biodiversity in the world!
From dreaming to doing!
December is also for Adopt Rainforest a great time to look back and forward. I would like to start with expressing my great gratitude to all volunteers and donors for their commitment and contribution last year! All that support is what drives the foundation. We look back on a year with fantastic developments. Several dreams of the past have become reality. I would like to share with you the biggest milestones and plans for the future. (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…)
Most species are between 7.5 and 13 cm in size. You would almost think it is an out-sized bumblebee! Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are the smallest birds in the world. They are a family of birds of the order swift-like. The family includes more than 300 species. Most species are found in South America. It is so much fun (more…)
Critically endangered parrot species Yesterday the research program of Adopt Rainforest participated in the Censo Internacional de la Guacamaya Verde 2022. Or in English the International Sensus of the Great Green Macaw. Throughout its distribution, dozens of organisations participate in the next days to get an understanding of the current state of this parrot species. […]
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.
Do you want to offset your CO2? But have no idea how CO2 offsetting works? In this article we will tell you all the ins and outs about CO2 compensation so that you can reduce your CO2 emissions and offset them in the right way.
Despite uncertain economic times and the impact of Corona, the Foundation has some fantastic news to report. Over the past few months, we had to pull out all the stops and negotiate hard to acquire an important piece of land. And we succeeded! We were able to expand the reserve by 65 hectares, or 650,000 square meters!
Costa Rica, a country of which almost half is rainforest, is a true birding paradise. More than 900 species of birds can be found here. One of the most beautiful and special birds that has its habitat in Costa Rica, however, is the Resplendent Quetzal. A good reason to go bird watching in Costa Rica!
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…)
More than 11 years ago, the founders of the Adopt Rainforest foundation visited this beautiful area for the first time. What a beautiful area with giant big trees, several rivers and an enormous biodiversity of plants and animals. Yet there was something they both noticed immediately. There were no monkeys at all. (more…)
When a butterfly flies by, most people do stop for a moment to follow it with their eyes. They often have beautiful colors and the large soft wings compared to the small body make them look almost cuddly. In Costa Rica there are more than 1200 species of butterflies and of course we are very curious about the species that occur in the reservation of Adopt Rainforest.
While working in our rainforest in Costa Rica we came across young Masked Tree Frogs. This is a great step towards biodiversity. By a small donation, we at Adopt Rainforest will make sure the forest is protected! Reforestation and biodiversity In places where it was first unthinkable that life would ever come, we find all […]
The world’s largest rainforests
It’s World Rainforest Day today (June 22)! A day to put our world’s rainforests in the spotlight because it’s mega important to protect them. Do you know which are the largest rainforests in the world? In this blog we will show them to you. We start at spot 10. (more…)
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 our beautiful nature and biodiversity. It has an effect on the ambient temperature: it rises. This increase is caused by burning trees and because oxygen (O2) gives way to carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Trees store a lot of CO2 and this is released during deforestation. The numbers? Don’t be alarmed: around 13 million hectares of forest disappear on Earth every year, according to the FAO. To make it a little more tangible: this equals 18,207,280 football fields. Approximately 34 soccer fields per second! (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…)
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.
