Save the Amazon: Protect Jaguars and Wildlife

Dear Supporters,

We hope you enjoy our yearly round up as much as we enjoyed making it all happen!

Round up fundraising this year

Throughout 2017 the staff and volunteers of Jalova base have worked hard to improve conservation efforts within Tortuguero National Park, and increase awareness of the issues facing the area. The support of The GVI Charitable Trust has helped us in this goal.

The team completed one major fundraising effort, with all staff and volunteers joining together in 24 - hours of surveys. It was a mammoth effort from all involved, with a total of 104 different species being
recorded during the process.

In total, $1000 was raised by this fundraising challenge.

What projects we used donations for

The goal of the fundraising was to buy binoculars for our partners MINAE, who run the National Park. They are going to use these binoculars to help with education of the local children at the high school. Education is the first and most important step in conservation. Without increasing knowledge of the species within the park, and the necessity behind their continued protection, our conservation efforts would be in vain. 10 pairs of binoculars were bought, and we hope to receive updates from the park rangers on how their lectures and lessons with the local community go.

From the funds from previous years we were able to donate 1,828USD to our Jaguar Conservation partners, Coastal jaguar Conservation, in order to buy equipment like camera traps, batteries, etc to continue with this essential research on jaguars and their dynamics.

How these projects have impacted lives

Tortuguero National Park, where Jalova Research Station is located, is a protected area for thousands of species; some of them listed in the IUCN Red list of endangered or vulnerable species. Working in partnership with SINAC, Coastal Jaguar Conservation and The Sea Turtle Conservancy, we work towards the conservation and research of birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles found within the park.

One of the biggest issues facing conservation is the lack of understanding and education amongst people regarding the benefits of conservation. This is something that will be rectified in the local school with the use of the binoculars.

Throughout the year we get volunteers and interns who get trained in identifying different species as well as learning about their importance. Living in a remote location gives the participants the opportunity to live and experience a natural and sustainable way of living.

What your plans for 2018

During 2018, we will be supporting our local partners, Coastal Jaguar Conservation, in achieving their objectives specifically in the Southern part of Tortuguero National Park. We also intend to install more solar panels on base to further reduce our use of the generator. There are also plans to install a second water collection storage to continue to ensure our impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.

Thank you for assisting us in all that we do here in Jalova, we are so excited to share 2018 with you! 

With Gratitude, 

GVI Jalova