Plant 30,000 native trees Costa Rican owned farms

Real long term biodiverse reforestation on the Equator is a process that takes several years to grow a robust forest full of trees capable of surviving and and giving the benefits for which they are so cherished and even taken for granted. In our case, we make sure to pay local Costa Rican people working in our tree nurseries and in the deforested farms doing the important work of producing and planting and caring for more rainforest trees. In turn, communities become more aware of the benefits of planting trees as well as directly profit from the work. Regular maintenance of the trees gives families a constant income stream which they can use to better their lives. They can improve infrastructure in their homes and community  and even go so far as to start new small businesses and eco tourism projects to diversify opportunities for empowerment and build self esteem.  

An amazing example is the waterfall project supported by our organization by funding the planting and care of 3560 trees so far. These trees are still under paid maintenance and more than 12 different people are earning money as a result of the long term committment to care of the growing forest. The family owning the land shared by 4 brothers continues to add infrastructure to their amazing waterfall tourism project and each month that passes results in more people visiting the farm and  immersing themselves in nature. 

We are currently working on educational signs and info to include along the trails in order to draw people's attention to the trees that have been sponsored here by businesses and individuals alike. Replicating our work in new communities spreads the tree planting money around and each time we plant a new project and pay people to do the work for the first 4 years means more chances to fortify conservation of forests and build alliances for community awareness, resilience and cooperation. 

One of the most educational and productive parts of our unique community reforestation model includes getting the surrounding community involved in our seed collection efforts. We achieve even higher biodiversity or selection of tree species through producing all kinds of native fruit and hardwood trees in our won community nurseries. This gives a chance to create even more jobs for the community and through fairly paid labor, encourage awareness about the importance of planting all kinds of trees instead of just monocultures or plantation lumber. The community begins to value the older trees for their seed stock and thereby protect them instead of cutting them down. 

Another important reason we like to seed collect and produce the baby trees ourselves involves sharing the awe and wonder of a germinating seed with school children of all ages. We have regular tree nursery events and attend schools and inspire everyone to look up and admite the older trees and value the seeds they produce. Its just so much fun to hit the "jackpot" when we are seed collecting and watch everyone sramble to collect Nature's gifts. Being invlolved in the whole process from start to finish is another way to inspire long term care and respect for the regenerating raonforests we plant. There is nothing quite like it and we love it. That's why our slogan " We LOVE TREES" resonates with so many people! They are marvelous and generous beings which may give thousands of seeds per year and with our help, perhaps we end up helping them continue to grace our planet with all the services trees on the Equator offer us. 

Thank you for your continued support of our work. Maybe someone you love wants a tree for a gift! Its a beautiful way to mark occasions and show our love. There are so many ways to give and we think rainforest trees do it best!