Happy Costa Rican Tree Day – and thank you to forest champions

It’s the Día del Arbol in Costa Rica today, and in addition to taking a moment to think about some of my favorite Costa Rican trees, I’m tipping my proverbial hat to some of the many champions of reforestation that I’ve met over the years. One of these is Jack Ewing.

I had the pleasure of meeting this passionate tree champion last year at his reserve and eco-tourism center Hacienda Barú, just outside of the coastal town of Dominical. His defense of the environment and hard work to reforest the south-central Pacific coast are legendary, and for good reason: Hacienda Barú sold all its cattle in 1990 and proceeded to reforest nearly the entirety of its 350 acres. He proudly showed off aerial images of the area over the decades, and it’s extraordinary to see how this region, like

Read more about Jack here.

 

Virtual Costa Rica: Have breakfast with scarlet macaws via Parrot TV

I mean, the headline pretty much says it all. But the Macaw Recovery Network is tackling the COVID-19 crisis head-on with a YouTube channel full of lectures, bird footage and, yes, a chance to watch scarlet macaws frolic around their eating platform on Sundays while you have your own breakfast.

The Recovery Network’s mission is “to recover endangered neotropical parrot populations through leading a network that develops and implements best practices in conservation.” Tours at their Punta Islita Wild Macaw Reserve, on the Nicoya Peninsula, are suspended because of the COVID-19 crisis, so like many nonprofits in Costa Rica, they are suffering an economic impact. This is a great way to check out their work, plan a future tour and even support them, if you’re so moved!  You can “adopt a macaw chick like Walt” or “help Elvira and Scarface breed in the wild.” (Honestly, I’ve never heard a better donation pitch in my whole life. Read more here.)

So subscribe to Parrot TV… and if you’ve got some beans and rice in the pantry, whip up some gallo pinto this Sunday and join the macaws for their morning nosebag. Let me know if you watch Parrot TV this week!

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or FacebookIf you want to learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section, updated regularly – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.

 

Day 66: The power of your tourist dollar

Baird's tapir in Costa Rica

Some time ago, the Costa Rican owner of a small hotel told me the story of the quiet night guard I had just seen patrolling the lobby, looking out at the shadowy forest beyond.

The night guard had once been a hunter. As in many areas of rural Costa Rica, limited economic opportunities made this an important source of income and sustenance, and local species pay the price – even, sometimes, protected or endangered species. This man was once on a hunting expedition where he saw some of his fellow hunters kill an endangered Baird’s tapir, called “the gardener of the forest” because of its critical role in spreading seeds and preserving Costa Rica’s ecosystems.

The tapir was so large that the men who had killed it couldn’t even take all of its meat out with them. They left much of it behind on the forest floor. That didn’t sit right with this man. His future in a different sort of job began that night.

Today, this man is doing work that helps people from all over the world get to know rural Costa Rica, understand its biodiversity, and maybe even – if they are extremely lucky – get a rare glimpse of the endangered Baird’s tapir. His son has even led his first nature tour, sharing the forest with visitors. The guard is part of an enterprise created by local community members: it’s one of many small businesses around Costa Rica that are not only providing economic opportunities, but also helping change the way the community sees and values its natural surroundings.

Could a job at a big hotel have helped this man leave hunting behind? Sure. But those hotels don’t often reach the rural areas where this type of transformation is most valuable, where local residents are responsible for some of the country’s rarest species and most precious ecosystems. And it’s rare – doesn’t have to be impossible, but rare – that a massive resort leaves its earnings in the pockets of the local community, or shares with every single employee a passion for environmental sustainability. Even rarer – again, not impossible! but rare – that the owner of a big hotel would know the backstory of the night guard. Rarer still that the owner would have shared that story with a guest, turning her weekend into a source of inspiration and pride.

At this time of year, some of us are planning our 2020 expeditions, making resolutions to stash some money away in a trip jar, hoping to visit this place or that. The places we choose to go and the businesses we choose along the way really do make a difference. We can simply pay for a place to sleep, or we can end up feeling that we have been a part of something important. As Jane Goodall said,  “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” This is never more true than when we book a trip.

No matter where we travel, the magical thing is this: we’re surrounded by walking, talking stories. We never know when we might get to hear one and how it might change us. Sometimes all we have to do is ask. Sometimes they come to us unbidden, a sudden gift, as fleeting and as powerful as a sudden glimpse of an animal in the deep woods. An animal that has been left alive, free to roam.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

 

Day 56: Champion of the Earth? Watch this space

Today’s post is a little different. As you know, I started this year-long project as a search for sources of hope, changemakers to rally around and solutions we can all get behind. Small and concrete. When it comes to today’s topic, I am not yet informed enough to be able to say, “Here’s a simple Thing to Do.” But as someone who sings the praises of Costa Rica on the regular, I think that even if all I have to share today is an alarm bell, that needs to be done. (Maybe someone in this awesome little community of readers can further educate me.)

In other words: Costa Rica’s recent designation as a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations is not sitting well with many of the country’s environmentalists, and case #1 in the docket is the approval of a massive multinational pineapple plantation next to one of the world’s most prized wetlands. I’m talking about the Térraba Sierpe, which has been named one of the most important wetlands on the planet.

The country’s National Technical Secretariat for the Environment, SETENA, has approved a certificate of environmental feasibility to Pindeco, a subsidiary of Del Monte, to use almost 500 hectares of land contiguous to Térraba Sierpe for pineapple cultivation. If you don’t know about the human and environmental cost of pineapple cultivation in Costa Rica, The Guardian sums it up quite nicely here (yes, it’ll put you straight off your pineapple). Semanario Universidad reported last week that the plantation will be less than 500 meters from the center of the community of Palmar Sur, thereby sparking fears about the exposure of residents to toxic agrochemicals – this Punto y Aparte journalism project at Delfino.cr investigated the horrendous health problems caused by pineapple plantations elsewhere in the country  – and less than five kilometers from the heart of the Térraba Sierpe, which has been shown to be deeply affected in the past by agrochemicals used up to one hundred kilometers away.

Dive into the comments section on this issue or another government action taking place right now, legislators’ revival of shrimp trawling, and you’ll see the familiar tension between very real and urgent local economic needs and environmental alarm. But when you see “champion of the Earth,” “irreversible damage” and “irreplaceable ecosystem” in the same sentence, the one thing you know for sure is that this is not a conversation you want to walk away from.

So today’s Monday Motivation is simply: those of us who love Costa Rica, from wherever we are, need to watch this space. We can’t afford not to.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

Day 45: Women at the forefront

Movimiento Guardianes de la Naturaleza logo

Here is what Jessica Sheffield, an incredible Costa Rican leader in environmental education and the creator of the Guardians of Nature Movement, had to say yesterday in La Voz de Guanacaste about women’s leadership at this beyond critical moment in the history of our planet. This translation is excerpted from Jessica’s Facebook page:

Women play an essential role in the conservation of our natural resources. We are leaders with the potential to achieve a critical transformation in the protection of nature, ensuring the well-being of our communities and the planet.

In Costa Rica, a large number of women are leading initiatives that are transforming society. Christiana Figueres promoted the Paris agreement on climate change; Karla Chaves Brenes leads the Latin American recycling program ecoins; Alejandra Monge-Jiménez directs the Corcovado Foundation, which protects the Osa Peninsula, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet; Zdenka Piskulich is the force behind Costa Rica Por Siempre, one of the most consolidated conservation NGOs in the country. There are many other prominent Costa Ricans achieving change through their leadership initiatives.

Our formal education, especially during the early childhood years, is mostly led by women. During my three years directing Guardians of Nature, I have noticed the extraordinary power that teachers have, inspiring and educating a new generation of children, the guardians of our natural resources. Given the necessary tools and resources, teachers will educate present and future generations about the need to live in peace with nature.

Costa Rican women have leadership roles in our homes as well. Even though times have changed, many of us still take care of our children’s food, select products that benefit their health and the environment, and educate the family about the proper use of resources. Above all, we are an essential force and engine in the marketplace with the ability to influence the supply of products and services through our own consumption.

…I am confident that, little by little, there will be many more guardians of nature, women who exert great influence from their homes, jobs and social circles. Thank you to all the girls, moms, and professionals who make this difference every day.

Amen!

And on that uplifting note, here is a recap of this week’s posts:

Monday Motivation: An anniversary that celebrates Costa Rica’s elementary schools!

Tuesday Beauty: An artist whose social media feeds make me smile.

Wellness Wednesday: The curse of multitasking.

Travel Thursday: The one thing every visitor to Costa Rica must pack.

Bonus: Over at Poems on Demand, I tried my hand at a sonnet. Shakespeare may be agitating just slightly in his grave, but it was fun. You can see it and my other poems here.

Have a wonderful weekend and wish me luck (more about that on Monday!).

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

 

Day 44: Please pack this when you come to Costa Rica

Every single visitor to Costa Rica must bring a water bottle.

(Or they should be handed one when they go through Immigration. “Welcome! Here’s your bottle and anti-plastic phrasebook. Don’t use plastic. Have a great stay!” I know, I know. I’m working on it.)

If you know someone who is visiting Costa Rica for the first time, please help me spread the word: this country has, among its many assets, potable water just about everywhere. It is also a country in the throes of a battle against single-use plastics, and that struggle needs every tourist to be its ally. If you bring your water bottle and use it every day, you will be joining the good fight. I never understood this until I stepped onto a beach at Corcovado National Park years ago and was handed a garbage bag by my guide so I could pick up the plastic bottles and other debris that had traveled down by river from cities upstream, like mine.

You will be offered plastic bottles of water. Sometimes you might even be handed one without asking. Say no. When you ask for water in a restaurant, ask specifically for “agua del tubo” (tap water) – you’ll save money and your bottle won’t end up on your favorite beach once it makes its way down a river. Say no to straws, too. “Sin pajilla, por favor.” Bring one of those tiny packable shopping bags and stick that in your daypack, too – this is one I still fail to remember when I travel within the country, even after all these years, but you almost always end up needing one.

If you notice plastics being thrown about at a restaurant or hotel, consider letting the management know that an absence of single-use plastics is actually something you look for when you make your choices. It doesn’t need to be a big scene or a negative thing – in fact, I think that works against us – just a smiling comment. That part is up to you, and the situation, but comments from the people who are holding the tourist dollars help move the needle. If you see things being done right, tell them that, too. I so often forget to do that. “You know, I came back for breakfast today because you’re the only place in town that’s not serving plastic straws.”

It’s a movement here that’s gaining momentum, and your advocacy can help that transition happen faster. This really, really matters. Ask the people who are cleaning up the beaches of their hometowns day after day after day.

What else do you do to prep to avoid single use plastics? If you live here, what else do you wish tourists knew? If you’re visiting or have visited, what else do you recommend? I’d love to hear.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

Day 39: Godspeed, little babies

In the places where I grew up, fall is the time when leaves leave their trees after blazing out in a gorgeous way. In Costa Rica, these same months are when thousands of baby turtles leave the beaches and set out into a vast new life.

I celebrate them on Travel Thursday not because so many of us travel to visit them, but because they themselves are taking such an incredible trip, unimaginable from land. We are lucky to be there at the start. We are also lucky that people like Susan Jackson, who took this photo and is a part of Tambor Bay Turtles, are around to protect these babies from warming sand and other threats.

Here’s to Susan, to turtle champions everywhere, and to you, babies! May the waves be always at your back.

Read more about Tambor Bay Turtles here: https://www.amigosofcostarica.org/affiliates/tambor-bay-turtles.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter).