Save San Luis Forest, Save This Family, Costa Rica

I’ve known Mariano and Alba for almost 30 years now, from the first days after we arrived in the Tilarán area. They were a young couple in love and the most memorable thing I remember about them from those days was what a great dance couple they were. I would watch them at the local dances, whirling with feet entwined, never stepping on each others' feet doing the cumbia or salsa.

Later they married after a very long courtship. Mariano is an expert horseman as well, training the local horses so that their owners can ride them in the popular horse parades, called “topes” in Costa Rica.

Mariano and Alba live near the San Luis forest that they care for and preserve for the wildlife and ALL life on Earth, providing habitat and CO2 emission sequestration. They have their cattle pastures next to the forest and after receiving the funds from you to pay them one year’s worth of payments for environmental service an amazing thing began to happen. The White-faced (Capuchin) Monkey began being spotted in the forest along with many different bird and butterfly species. The White-faced Monkey had all but disappeared until then.

It just goes to show you how good intentions connect around the world to bring health and abundance. Rather than seeing what we don’t have let’s always look at what we do have, because we always have everything we need in every moment.

Not much more needed to finish the funding for this amazing project and be able to pay Mariano and Alba for one more year of conservation. It is an outstanding forest, in many ways. It is the only forest in the area along the banks of Lake Arenal and it is an outstanding habitat seeing the return of many species locals thought were lost.

Links:

• Join me on the forest walk

As a newcomer to the Lake Arenal area of Costa Rica, I can certainly vouch for the area's beauty. The setting of the lake high in a valley, surrounded by magnificent volcanic cones is something to behold. But the rich forests of Tenorio volcano belie what is severely lacking from the rest of the area in favor of cattle ranching. Costa Rica's biodiversity is famous the world over, but it is thanks to guardians of the forest like the Arias family that Costa Rica's reputation continues to be deserved.

With La Reserva's committed approach to conservation and the generous donors who support our projects, Mariano's family can continue to keep the forest on his property, as his father and grandfather did before him. With the payments for environmental services he receives, Mariano and Alba can provide a better life for the family as well as the animals and birds that flourish on his land. This is why La Reserva projects are so valuable - they contribute to human and natural prosperity.

We would like to draw attention to a new and easy to use feature on our site. You can now calculate your carbon footprint on the LRFF website and purchase offsets in just a few clicks. Your offsets go directly to our projects, so what are you waiting for? Let's do our bit just as Mariano and his family are doing. Pass the link below on and let's heal the planet together.

http://lrff.org/offset-your-co2-emissions-be-carbon-neutral/ 

Links:

• LRFF news update