What we do

Find out how we protect the rainforest in Costa Rica, and how you can help us do that.

Our approach

Together with our great partners and highly motivated volunteers, we collect donations. For every €2,50 we receive, we guarantee the purchase and protection of one square meter of rainforest. When rainforest is adopted, we place it under Costa Rica’s forest law. This makes cutting trees a legal offense. We are also physically present in and around the forest to ensure protection. In addition, we have started a research center on site. Here, students from all over the world can visit and do research on plants and animals. Because we know that the better you get to know the rainforest, the better you can protect it.

Protection and awareness

The rainforest in Costa Rica is one of the most beautiful, special and most biodiverse places on earth. It’s essential to preserve it for current and future generations, and for the fight against climate change. We do this by purchasing land with rainforest. We place the land we purchase directly under Costa Rica’s nature conservation law, protecting it forever from commercial exploitation.

But we go the extra mile: together with our Costa Rican rangers, we create involvement and awareness among the local population. Our ultimate goal is to protect 2,000 hectares of rainforest so that monkeys and jaguars can return to the area.

Help us

A better future

We are not only working on conservation. Supporting the local population is also part of our mission. Their involvement is essential to the success of our foundation, so we give something back. By protecting nature, we create a healthier living environment and give work opportunities: we already successfully provided jobs for several locals. In addition, the presence of the project also ensures economic growth in the village.

Research

Our reserve is in an area threatened by illegal logging, hunting, and encroaching agriculture. We are investigating the influence of land use on biodiversity on the spot. We do this with the help from students from all over the world. We collect data in our own reserve and in surrounding plots.

By mapping the biodiversity in our research area, we learn to protect the rainforest even better. Want to contribute to this?

MORE INFO ABOUT RESEARCH OR INTERNSHIPS

Education and awareness

Not only in Costa Rica we want to gain and spread more knowledge about the importance of the rainforest: here in the Netherlands too. It is crucial to know what happens in the rest of the world, including the rainforest. That is why we also raise awareness and education, and we start with who has the future: the youth.

With our program, Rainforest of the Children, we organize workshops in a fun and educational way. We believe it’s super important that future generations can enjoy not only the rainforest, but also a healthy earth.

Our victories

Not only has our foundation been growing steadily over the years, but also the impact we make. We now protect more than 131 hectares of land and have planted more than 4000 trees. We have been able to create jobs for several local people, and in our research center several international students work every day on the knowledge needed to protect the rainforest even better. We will continue with this, and you can be part of it.

Adopt Rainforest reserve on Dutch television!

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.
(more…)

2017 – Research in rainforest started!

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!

2016 – Construction ranger station realised

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.

131 – hectares of rainforest protected!

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!

contribute now!