Community

A significant component of our mission is to foster and promote the empowerment of local landowners and communities. By focusing on community-based conservation, we ensure that local people are involved in how their natural resources are managed. We are involved in and manage many projects which encourage environmental education among children and adults alike, as well as projects that facilitate sustainable management of private land.

We work mostly with the coastal communities of Tabuga and Camarones, which are located close to the Bosque Seco Lalo Loor Reserve. We have worked with community members in a variety of projects ranging from water quality monitoring, to sustainable microenterprise, to most recently, our conservation corridor project which extends along the coast from Pedernales to Jama.

We also host volunteers and interns who help local teachers integrate environmental studies in their curriculum and work with school children to create school gardens. Our interns and volunteers have also been involved in leading field trip visits to the reserve so that students can take advantage of their close proximity to a pristine forest containing the region’s best example of the tropical dry forest.