by Dr. Stefan Rother
We can look back on a great project year 2024! Environmental education was the No. 1 focus – but the expansion of reserves and our reforestations are also going very well. But one thing at a time…
Highlights from our 2024 rainforest conservation projects
We are now working with 10 organizations and individuals who focus on environmental education. For the first time, we have also succeeded in involving the indigenous population of Bribri and the surrounding area. Teachers and pupils are enthusiastic about the Tropica Verde offer. Our new teacher in the region, Ariana Oporta, is doing a great job here.
Overall, we have
- visited over 100 schools throughout Costa Rica and
- more than 1300 children and young people
into sustainable environmental education on biodiversity, nature conservation and climate change effects. And all of this, of course, in the spirit of education for sustainable development, as Adela from ECODESI beautifully describes here.
We were also able to complete the first “Environmental Education Handbook” for Costa Rican teachers in November. Karla Murillo, who has been working with us for many years and is now employed by the University of Costa Rica as a national teacher, has put all her knowledge into this manual, which we are now making available to Costa Rican schools.
Working together for environmental protection: networking in full swing
In terms of project work, we have gained two like-minded project partners in the Dutch “Stichting Oasebos” and the German “Cordes & Graefe Stiftung”, with whom we would like to realize a new large conservation reserve in the north of Costa Rica. A first milestone is about to be reached: Adjacent to our “Lapa Verde” reserve and the neighboring Oasebos reserves, we will be able to designate a forest reserve covering over 300 hectares as early as 2025. Our newest piece of the mosaic is called “Reserva Danta” and is named after the rare tapir that makes its home here. The aim is to expand this protected area to around 600 hectares over the next few years in order to establish an important block against the ever-expanding, pesticide-contaminated pineapple plantations. Vamos!
We also had the 3rd workshop with all our partners and organizations from 6-8 December, this time in the Talamanca region in the southern Caribbean. It was again a great success with a lot of joy and creativity from all participants. This time we had almost 20 participants at the network meeting, more than ever before. The Tropica Verde family is growing!!!
Rainforest reforestation from above
And last but not least, something particularly emotional. At least for me! For my project trip at the end of 2024, I packed a brand new drone to document the progress of our latest reforestations in Monte Alto (right & below) and in the Reserva Kinkajou (left). And it was really moving to see from above what beautiful and species-rich young forests have emerged in 5 years . Take a look for yourselves!
Of course there are also challenges, and not everything always runs smoothly. But we are very satisfied. The education network is growing (our new network coordinator Monica Chinchilla is doing a great job here), as is our profile in Costa Rica, and we are being recognized as a genuine, sustainable organization.
This makes us proud and we want to continue in this vein in 2025!
All the best & Pura Vida, Stefan
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CO2 COMPENSATION
Would you like to do something for climate and environmental protection by offsetting CO2? Then find out here how you can effectively protect the climate with Tropica Verde.
Very important: In order to protect the climate, the top priority should be to avoid emissions.
In concrete terms, this means, among other things:
- Turn the heaters down a few degrees
- Energy-efficient renovation of houses
- Remove electrical appliances from standby
- only eat meat occasionally
- Use more bicycles or public transport and walk
- much more!
Unfortunately, some climate-damaging actions cannot be prevented. If you want to travel to Costa Rica, for example, a flight is essential. This is where a donation to Tropica Verde comes into play, because with your donation or membership you are making a targeted contribution to binding CO₂, protecting the climate and promoting education.
To protect our climate, we ask you to do both:
Donate to rainforest conservation and save greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible ! Further tips on climate and rainforest-friendly behavior can be obtained from NABU, for example.
We would like to point out at this point that Tropica Verde does not advertise and sell classicCO2 compensation. CO₂ offsetting is often cited by companies as a green measure to improve their image. Many factors need to be considered when it comes to CO₂ compensation. CO₂ compensation is still a hotly debated topic. Anyone who donates to Tropica Verde is not offsetting but supporting climate protection projects in general.
Find out more here!
