Joining forces

We visited the Centro Científico Tropical (CCT) where we gave a presentation on our new reforestation experiment. We also visited the Lankester Botanic Garden, Costa Rica’s main herbarium, and the Centro de Investigaciones Agronómicas (CIA), all part of the University of Costa Rica (UCR). These visits were very important for collaboration on tree and plant identification for our biodiversity research and to join forces for the new reforestation experiment on the plot already acquired.

A visit from SINAC

We also received two officials from the local government (SINAC), the body responsible for all national parks in Costa Rica. This was a valuable meeting to strengthen cooperation between Barbilla National Park and our reserve.

It was an incredibly valuable week in which we joined forces with various parties to improve effective conservation strategies. We would like to thank all parties involved for this fantastic collaboration!

Adobe Rent a Car

A special thanks goes out to Adobe Rent a Car. Thanks to their provided Hyundai and support to our foundation, we were able to visit these different parties and add more local partners and expertise to our research project..

Want to read more about the foundation and its activities? Then read our blog

Het bericht A valuable week of collaboration verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

If you are about to stay at Adopt Rainforest in Costa Rica, you will definitely meet one of the project’s key people: Gerald. This smiling young man whose age no one really knows, will help you find your way in the jungle forest and will teach you how to use a machete. He knows just everything about trees and insects and if you’re lucky enough to be Dutch, he can even hold a conversation with you in your native language. Gerald is a discreet person who has made himself indispensable: in the garden, or in the jungle he always finds his way.

History teacher or nature guide?

Gerald was born in San Miguel, a little village of no more than 200 people, where the foundation is based. He studied History and wanted to become a history teacher, but life had a different plan and he joined the Adopt Rainforest foundation 5 years ago for the first reforestation project, with his brother. Then, 2 years later he became a guide to help the projectmanagers Maarten and Hanneke.

Gerald: “what I knew about biology before coming here, I learned at school. Since I live near the forest, I also learn about medicinal plants. I discovered a lot about plants from the local and indigenous people”.

According to Gerald, there is a kind of stinging fly in the area that causes a serious skin disease. To get rid of this disease, you have to go to the clinic where you get 2 injections every day until the parasite dies. The indigenous people know of a plant in the forest that kills this parasite after 2-3 days. Project coordinator Maarten decided to try the local cure after 20 injections at the clinic. With the result that the parasite was gone within two days.

Geralds motivation

More than anything, Gerald is motivated by the need to protect and help improve the village of San Miguel: My idea is to help evolving the new generation of children to be people open-minded to new ideas, in order to improve the town in general. This deeply rooted motivation stems in part from a touching story:

“When I was a little kid at school, we lived further away near the river. My mother came to bring me home from school. On the way back, we found a pigeon that had a broken leg. Maybe someone threw a stone at him or wanted to kill him with a weapon, I don’t know. We decided to take the pigeon to our house. We thought he was going to die, so we started to care for him and feed him. It was a baby and he needed to grow more, to have more feathers, and to learn how to fly. He was several days old and he was recovering little by little. Then he started to eat more, grow more and all of this process was very exciting for me because we saw that we could rescue him. When the wing healed little by little, I was teaching him to fly, and he reached a point where he could fly well. He flew to a tree that was near the house and slept in there. He flew two times a day to the house to look for food. Until one day about a month later he did not come back anymore. He had become an adult. At that time it was sad for me but afterwards inside of me I felt very happy. From that moment, I adopted the idea of wanting to help more nature conservation here in the village and within the forest. I always grew up with the motivation to create new ideas and generate awareness in people, so that they understand that conservation is important. “

We love what we admire

In telling this story, Gerald reminded me of a French quote: ‘’‘We love what we admire and we protect what we love’’. In healing the young pigeon, Gerald learned to love and protect him. I believe this is the same with the forest and the village of San Miguel. By meeting Hanneke and Maarten, it seems Gerald has achieved his goal:

‘’One day I was working with Maarten, it was the first reforestation of 2,000 trees. We were at the highest point near San Miguel where we had an overview of the whole forest and at that moment I remembered the story of the young pigeon, of what we had accomplished. I had been trying to do something for conservation for so long, but I felt alone in this, nobody listened to me and nobody cared. Then Maarten came up with the idea of the foundation, reforestation, and I felt very grateful for that. That day has been very special for me”.

Together with the local community

As with Gerald, by working hand-in-hand with the local people of San Miguel, Adopt Rainforest is building a local ecosystem to preserve the forest and its biodiversity. Even though the project is constantly evolving, establishing links with the local community remains incredibly important. In addition, it is also a perfect way to meet people who share the same passion and goals to protect the rainforest.

Would you like to contribute to this beautiful project? Become a donor of Adopt Rainforest.

Het bericht Gerald, a guide who protects what he loves verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

Help to protect the Ceiba tree!

Use

Moreover, the tree has quite a history, as it has existed since before the continental drift so we can find it from Mexico to South America, as well as in West Africa and pieces of Asia. The tree has branches only at the top, where they spread out like an umbrella. During the flowering season, moths and bats are attracted to its abundant nectar production. For example, the tree makes up to 10 liters of nectar per night! In Cambodia, they have manipulated the tree so that it has low branches and a smooth trunk. They use the fibers in the fruit, also called silk cotton, as padding for mattresses, pillows and life jackets, among other things. The bark, leaves and stems are also used medicinally to treat acne, rashes, toothaches, rheumatism and burns. Western science is also beginning to show interest in the tree and research its medicinal properties. In addition, the seeds can be used as a biofuel.

Spiritual value

Not surprisingly, people throughout the ages have looked at this tree with admiration. For the Maya, for example, this tree was of great spiritual value, you can find the ‘ya’ax’che’ in many Maya artworks. For the Maya, this tree was the connection between the 3 levels: the underworld, our world and the different levels of heaven. Even more, they believed that the tree held up the sky with its branches. The tree was also a good indicator of favorable habitat, since they only grow near good water sources.

The indigenous inhabitants of Costa Rica also place great spiritual value on this tree. Unfortunately, this is much less well documented. But the story goes that they placed their loved ones who had recently died at the base of the tree by the roots, offering the soul a stairway to heaven.

In the reserve

Also in the reserve of Adopt Rainforest are some enormous Ceiba trees. Any tourist or student who comes into contact with a Ceiba tree for the first time is silent for a few seconds and stands staring upward in wonder. But even for the guides, it remains a magical moment to encounter such an impressive forest giant in the middle of the jungle.

The thickest Ceiba in Costa Rica has a circumference of 22.55 m and is called Arbol de la Paz, the tree of peace. It stands in Volcan Tenorio National Park.

More news from the rainforest? Click here

Het bericht The ceiba tree verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

From fauna to flora

In recent years, we have been able to host and supervise hundreds of students and volunteers from different educational levels and institutes. This mix of MBO, HBO and WO interns provides a varied learning environment for all participants and will continue to be a core value of our research project. Together we have learned a lot about the biodiversity in our reserve, observed rare and endangered species and even found undescribed species. In doing so, we have been especially looking for animals because they are relatively easy to name. Now we will work on plant diversity, and PhD students, professors and others specialists will also contribute to the knowledge of our reserve.

Influence of land use

The background of the study has everything to do with the genesis of our beautiful reserve. Man has had a great influence on nature in our project area for centuries. Deforestation, agriculture/livestock but also rainforest regeneration have created a mosaic of different habitats. So the rainforest we protect within the boundaries of the reserve is not all one and the same nature. For example, parts of the reserve used to serve as pasture or forestry plantation, while others have been covered by ancient forest for a very long time. Thanks to the studies we conducted in recent years, we know that the entire reserve fulfills an important function as a safe habitat for numerous (special) plant and animal species. With the new research, however, we are zooming in further and asking what past land use is currently affecting life in the various habitats.

Differences in tree species

Life in the rainforest obviously depends on the trees there in many ways, for example as a source of food, shelter, substrate for other plants and so on. Different tree species provide different services in this regard and make the presence of other plant and animal species possible or impossible. Moreover, tree species sequester carbon dioxide in different ways in trunks, branches and roots. Therefore, the number of trees and their species composition are a very important factor in rainforest biodiversity. We want to investigate whether there are differences between the habitats found in the reserve. Does rainforest that was pasture 40 years ago differ from rainforest where there was once a forestry plantation, for example. And how do they compare to an old, pristine rainforest?

Reservation in compartments

In the coming years we will divide the reserve into a large number of imaginary boxes. These boxes will be stored using GPS. Within these courses we will take measurements. In a first phase we will look at the thickness of the trees and their species composition in different courses. These data will tell us what influence land use decades later has on tree diversity and CO2 uptake. Moreover, by re-examining the courses annually, we will see how the forest continues to develop there. In addition, we can combine the knowledge we have gained about the animals with the knowledge of trees to reveal new relationships. In a later phase, we will also start surveying the rest of the vegetation (herbs, mosses, bromeliads, orchids, etc.) in these courses to get an even more complete picture. Research projects done on this scale and precision are scarce and of great value worldwide.

Input from researchers at Utrecht University

This ambitious research plan is only possible with the professional input of researchers from Utrecht University and from other institutes. However, the help of our students and volunteers remains indispensable. The knowledge we will gain will help Foundation Adopt Rainforest to understand the value of the reserve even better and possibly make more targeted choices for future rainforest acquisition or land use recommendations in the region. In addition, our data will serve a much broader purpose in the longer term, as regeneration and reforestation are of great importance globally in the fight against climate change, habitat fragmentation, and species and biodiversity conservation. Our project can serve as a show-case in the future and data can be extrapolated to large bids in the tropics so that conservationists can take effective action.

We can’t wait to get started with our students and volunteers on this monster job, which will take several years to complete, and hope that (potential) visitors are equally excited about the new research skills you can gain here. In addition, we remain active with ongoing research on tropical animals, so there is something for everyone.

Het bericht Long-term research project with Utrecht University verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

Hummingbirds in Costa Rica

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Hummingbirds descend on the nectar of flowers and therefore feel at home in Costa Rican flora. Hummingbirds can be spotted mainly in Uvita, Carara National Park, the Monteverde cloud forest, the cloud forests near San Gerardo de Dota and the valley of Turrialba. But actually, you will encounter them throughout Costa Rica. Costa Rica is home to some 52 different species of hummingbirds. Because they are so extremely fast, special drinking cups with honey water have been hung in various places in parks or nature reserves to lure the hummingbirds there. These feeders are ideal for getting a good photo. Some common hummingbirds in Costa Rica include: the ruby-throated hummingbird, black-bellied hummingbird, sparkling hummingbird, volcano hummingbird, white-throated mountain jay, red-tailed hummingbird, blue-throated hummingbird, green-throated mountain jay, and the magenta throated woodstar.

Special bird

Like a little helicopter, a hummingbird soars through the air. As it does so, it makes a distinctive humming or humming sound. Hence the name “hummingbird” in English. The sound the wings make sounds almost like a piano or violin. They can make different tones. A hummingbird makes this sound in the same way an insect makes the humming sound: namely, by flapping its tiny wings up and down at lightning speed. The bird does this up to 40 times per second. This creates vibrations in the air. And that’s how you hear the buzzing sound. They are called the helicopters among birds because they can hover while flying; they can even fly straight up or down!

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Speed

A male hummingbird flies fastest during a dive. He then flies as far as 385 times his own body length in one second. That’s as much as 100 kilometers per hour. So a hummingbird can almost overtake you on the highway. During that top speed, it flaps its wings up and down 15 to 80 times per second.

Pointed beak

The hummingbird uses its beak to suck nectar and pollen from flowers. Different species of hummingbirds have different beaks. Some have beaks almost as long as the entire body, about 10 cm long! For example, the sword hummingbird. But others have a beak that is strongly curved downward or one that is curved upward only at the tip. Each beak is specialized on a particular flower shape, so there is no competition between hummingbird species.

Colors

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The male hummingbird is variegated, usually metallic green in color, with a brilliant red, blue or emerald green throat color. The female is more inconspicuously colored. Hummingbirds can show and hide their bright colors when necessary.

Large differences in weight occur between species. The smallest, the Bee Hummingbird is only 5 cm tall and weighs 1.8 grams. The hummingbird most common in North America, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, weighs about 3 grams and measures 7.6 cm. Hummingbirds can live up to 15 years and return to the same place every year. During the colder months, the birds migrate to warmer, more southern regions.

Spiritual significance

The hummingbird symbolizes the joy of life and the lightness of being. The little bird flies from flower to flower and is always actively seeking the sweetest nectar. It teaches us to seek the beauty in each day, to enjoy in the Here and Now and to look for that which makes you happy and happy.
Hummingbirds in the reserve of Adopt Rainforest

Costa Rica is home to the reserve of the Adopt Rainforest Foundation. This reserve is home to 16 different species of hummingbirds. This is an unprecedented number when you consider that there are 52 species of hummingbirds in all of Costa Rica. A clear indication of how high biodiversity is in this foundation’s rainforest. Would you also like to contribute to the protection of this special nature reserve? Then adopt a piece of rainforest here.

Het bericht The Hummingbird verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

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. The entire world population of Great Green Macaw was estimated around only 500-1000 individuals in 2020. It is considered a Critically Endangered species bij de IUCN. Most of these spectacular birds live in Costa Rica.

Countings in the reserve

Yesterday from 16:00-18:00 and today from 05:00-07:00 we contributed by doing a count in the most upper parts of the reserve, close to National Park Barbilla. Yesterday we heard two individuals just before the night turned pitch black, right in our own reserve. This morning, we managed to hear them again far away around the park borders. Together with all the other organizations, we hope to provide detailed numbers to assess the population sizes.

A better future for the Great Green Macaw

Luckily, numbers seem to be growing in Costa Rica. The species mainly breeds in the North of the country and we only get to enjoy them after breeding, when they disperse into the foothills of the Talamanca mountains. But as their number grow, we hope to some day welcome breeding pairs in or around the reserve. Plans are made to hang artificial nests in order to entice the visiting individuals to stay for breeding season. We have also planted hundreds of wild Almond trees, their primary food source. Let’s hope the efforts will pay off!

Want to support this program by to protecting the habitat of this beautiful bird?  

Adopt some rainforest!

Het bericht International Census of the Great Green Macaw verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

Reasons to compensate CO2

Maybe you want to live a carbon-neutral life, offset your air travel or reduce your company’s carbon emissions. Whatever your reason to start offsetting CO2, the main reason is climate change. Almost everything you do releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). Especially when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas, a lot of CO2 is created. This causes CO2 levels in our atmosphere to be seriously elevated. Because of this increase, the earth retains more heat. As a result, we face climate change in the form of:

• Sea level rise due to melting of polar caps
• More extreme weather: more and severe heat waves and rainstorms
• Dehydration of some parts of the earth
• Global acidification affects life in sea water

By reducing and offsetting CO2 emissions, we can reduce CO2 levels in the atmosphere to a level where the earth does not heat up too much and remains livable for humans and animals.

How does CO2 Compensation work?

In CO2 offsetting, you make sure that in exchange for the CO2 emissions you cause, less CO2 is emitted somewhere else or CO2 is taken out of the air. There are different ways to offset CO2. For example, you can plant trees, invest in projects that save energy and replace alternatives that are bad for the environment with more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Greenhouse gases spread all over the earth, so your CO2 offsetting does not have to happen in the Netherlands. If you cause CO2 in Amsterdam, you can have it compensated via a wind farm in Groningen, but also, for example, by planting trees in Costa Rica.

How can I compensate CO2 myself

By mapping your footprint, you know how much CO2 you are emitting. You can reduce these emissions in many ways and offset the remaining CO2. Building a windmill or planting trees yourself is difficult. That is why there are all kinds of organizations and companies that arrange CO2 compensation for you. 

With some airlines and travel agencies, for example, you can indicate right at the time of booking that you want to offset your CO2 emissions from your air travel. You then pay an amount on top of the fare. FlyGRN is a comparison site for airline tickets that compensates all or part of the CO2 emissions of your flight.

With some energy companies you can offset the CO2 emissions of your gas consumption, for example by investing in renewable energy or by planting trees.

You can also offset your CO2 yourself via the Internet. Calculate your CO2 emissions and choose an organization, such as Adopt Rainforest, Fair Climate Fund, Hivos and Trees for All, that can offset your CO2. Choose an organization that fits your ideals and find out how they offset their CO2. Is this done in a good way? Are local organizations involved? Is their contribution to sustainable development transparent? Do they have a certification?

CO2 Compensation certifications

With a Gold Standard Climate Offset certification, you can be sure that the company or organization offsetting your CO2 is doing so properly. These projects really do reduce CO2, contribute to sustainable development and work with local organizations.

What does CO2 compensation cost?

The cost to offset your carbon emissions is very low. Do you want to offset a return flight to Portugal, Spain or Greece? Then it will cost you a few tens of euros. Note that cheap providers often only compensate the CO2 emissions of the flight and not the full climate impact of flying. If you can spare the money, choose the most extensive compensation. For example, do you want to offset your energy consumption? Then for an average household that uses 1500 m3 of gas and 3300 kWh of electricity annually, this will cost between 45 and 65 euros.

Remember that reducing your CO2 emissions is always better for the climate than offsetting CO2. So make greener and more sustainable travel and food choices. Make your home more energy efficient and try to use less energy generated by fossil fuels. You can then offset the CO2 emissions that remain.

Curious to know how much CO2 you need to offset and how much that costs? Use our CO2 calculator

Het bericht CO2 Compensation – How does that work? verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

In recent years we have had visits from a number of butterfly experts (Also called the Butterfly Harriers), who went for an internship or as a volunteer to look at the different butterfly species that occur in the reserve, at the research center and in the nearby village of San Miguel. So by early 2020 there was a nice list of species but seen over a number of short periods. Because of the Corona, the project was empty and we had no visitors for a longer period. For Hanneke a reason to get more involved in the butterflies, and before she knew it she had caught the butterfly fever. From January 2020 until now, so August 2022, she has caught an average of one new species of butterfly per week. That’s what makes this sport so much fun. And there are beautiful specimens, see the pictures below. Sometimes the species are difficult to distinguish from each other, but often you immediately see: ‘Yes! This one is new! We are now at 239 different butterfly species, so we are not finished yet. Every trip to the beautiful reserve of Adopt Rainforest can bring new surprises.

Introducing: Hanneke Ligtenberg

Hanneke has been involved in the research project in Costa Rica from the start. She moved to Costa Rica with her husband Maarten (founder of the foundation) and her two sons Abel (8) and Luuk (6) in 2017. There, they passionately run the research project. By now they have already supervised more than a hundred students and run several research projects.

Want to know which butterfly species have all been determined? Take a look at our species list: Species List

Het bericht Butterflies in Costa Rica verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.

How does the sloth get its name?

You’ve probably read in the animal passport that the three-fingered sloth needs 16 hours of sleep a day. Yet they are most active during the day. How about that? The sloth eats leaves from many different trees that are difficult to digest. And yes then you have to rest a lot and sit still for hours to digest the substances found in the leaves, such as cellulose and hard organic substances. Hello lazy lifestyle!

They prefer the young leaves of different trees. The young leaves have few toxins and are more digestible. Are you looking for a sloth in the jungle? Then look for the tree Cecropia Segenis, the sloth’s favorite tree.

No lack of space

Did you know that a sloth only needs a small piece of land to live? They eat and lounge in about 10 to 15 trees that are within a few acres. There are some favorite trees among them where they sit in one tree one day and in another tree the next day. A real tree hugger you might say. Also very smart of them to alternate the trees because that way they wait until fresh leaves have grown on the trees.

The poop story

The sloth has the slowest metabolism of all mammals. A sloth defecates about once a week and it prefers to do so on the ground. They look for their favorite tree and there they climb down from the tree. Why they defecate near their favorite tree is a mystery to scientists! It could be that the sloth uses the poop to provide their favorite tree with new version leaves faster or they use the poop to mark their favorite tree for other sloths. Way to go, this is my favorite spot!

The coat as an ecosystem

Just like mosses live in critters, sloths get algae on their fur. Therefore, you can recognize the sloth by a greenish chamois around their fur. There is also one animal that does not leave sloths alone, and that is a special kind of moth that can only live in a sloth’s fur. When a sloth has young, they sometimes fly to another sloth, but otherwise the moth lives its entire life on the same sloth.

A cool sound during mating season

When it is mating season for the sloths, they make a very distinct sound. It is a bit similar to a human or owl screech. The males try to impress the females with this cool sound. And you know what else is handy? The biologists in our reserve immediately hear how many sloths there are in the area and enjoy the funny sound of the sloths.

Change can do no harm

The sloth is a tolerant species, that is, they can stand disturbance well. In the area they live in, they only need a few trees to survive. Is nature being affected? The sloth will then look for a place with many fast-growing trees, where it can provide itself with food and a place to live.

Protect the Sloth

Worldwide, the rainforest is threatened by humans, including Costa Rica and for the three-fingered sloth. However, do you want this beautiful animal to preserve its habitat? Then it is possible to adopt rainforest. How can this be done? Very easily! For only €2.50 per square meter you protect a piece of nature. Want to read more about protecting the rainforest? Then click here!

Het bericht The three-fingered sloth: the facts you didn’t know about this impressive mammal verscheen eerst op Adopteer Regenwoud.