Sprout’s Farmers Markets – Enthusiastic Fundraisers

A huge thank you goes to Sprout’s Farmers Markets, who with inspiration from New Chapter and Tom Newmark, led a customer driven donation campaign in all of their 28 stores in the Southwest. They raised awareness and money for the BEN in the amount of $34,232. The employees helped decorate the stores to emphasize the importance of the rainforest and the products we get from the forest. Cooking events and media coverage were great vehicles for getting the message out. Thousands of Sprouts customers now know about the Children’s Eternal Rainforest and the importance of protecting forest. Thank you Sprouts!

Gorgeous New Poster for the BEN: Great Holiday Gift

Tom Tyler along with Bill Mathis and Ellie Jones have created a gorgeous poster with Todd Gustafson’s photo for the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. It will soon be available from MCLUS for $25 plus $5 for mailing tube and postage. It is really big and is the first in a series of 5 of wildlife from BEN. You can send a check for $30 to MCLUS, 1128 Weidman Rd., Town and Country, MO 63017 for your poster.

TWO Trips for Summer 2009 to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest

With such enthusiasm for our eco-conservation-adventure trips to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest by so many people, we have set aside two dates to accommodate more friends. June 10-23 will be led by Maggie Eisenberger, experienced trip leader and master of tropical biology. The June 22-July 5 trip will be led by Rachel Crandell. We hope having a choice of dates will make it easier for you to come! Click on Ecotourism for overview of the trips and sign-up info.

MCLUS Fall Talks, Book Signings and Trips:

Sep 3-25 Leading Trip to Costa Rica

Oct 8 Earth Share Missouri Conference

Oct 11 Eco-tourism Panel – Missouri Botanical Garden

Oct 12 Embera Slide Show, Town and Country, MO

Oct 19 Parkefest Fall Festival, Edwardsville, IL

Nov 2 Embera Display, Clayton, MO

Nov 13 Embera Slide Show, St. Louis, MO

Nov 14 Nipher Middle School, Kirkwood, MO

Nov 15 Principia Arts and Crafts Fair, Town and Country, MO

Nov 16 Embera Slide Show, St. Louis, MO

Nov 18 School Program and Family Reading Night, Industry, IL

Nov 22 Forever Forest reading and book signing, Missouri Botanical Garden

Nov 23 Embera Slide Show, Ballwin, MO

Dec 5 Education for Sustainability Conference presentor

Dec 6 Embera Display, Olivette, MO

Dec 13 Kwanza Conference, St. Louis, MO

Needed: $500,000 to purchase essential next piece of land in the biological corridor. Please donate now.

Indigenous Stories Collected

Our mission statement for MCLUS is: “To preserve, conserve and rehabilitate tropical ecosystems and their biodiversity.” Indigenous people are also a part of tropical ecosystems. Their diversity needs to be preserved as well. So when Rachel was invited by the Emberá people, who live in the jungle of the Darien province of eastern Panama, to help save their stories by recording their oral tradition, MCLUS facilitated. For the last seven years during thirteen visits she has recorded over 100 stories that are now on video tape. Transport to their villages is by dugout canoe up the Sambu River and its tributaries. The beautiful masks, baskets and carvings of the Emberá people provide the means for raising the money to pay a translator who can speak, read and write Emberá, Spanish and English, to pay Emberá artists to illustrate each story, and to publish the book. The twenty-two stories in Volume 1 in English/Spanish are done! The Emberá/Spanish version is now underway. It was pure joy to take a copy of “Emberá Stories Volume 1″ to each village to leave with them. It will be even more fun to take hundreds for each village classroom to have their own copies when the Emberá version is ready. You can see more photos by going to Gallery and click on Album:Emberá.

Watch it! Stranded Video on Home Page

Visually stunning video is now on www.mclus.org home page. “Stranded” tells the urgent story of why we need to buy and replant pastures to add to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Migrating species who need to move on when the fruits are done, are stranded in the BEN on their protected mountaintop. There is little habitat, food, or cover down the Pacific slope of the Tilaran mountains. These species depend on the Pacific side for their seasonal migrations and are diminishing in number. The video tells the story. Feel free to share it with others.

Discovery Bound Trip

Early July found an energetic group of high school students from the US maintaining trails in the BEN, planting over 200 trees, stuffing little plastic bags with dirt for the next seedlings, collecting seeds, and painting two classrooms in the San Luis Valley school. They worked side by side with local Tico students and made friends in spite of the difference in language. Their work ethic, willingness to serve and open hearts left their mark of goodwill on Monteverde. They were great ambassadors!

MCLUS Trip

Twenty adventurers ages 9-85 headed off to Costa Rica and El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos for the second half of July on an adventure to be remembered! The often difficult sightings of three-wattled bellbirds became common with these intrepid early morning birders. They also planted over 200 trees in the Dwight Crandell Memorial Reserve and helped Roger with progress on cleaning out and rebuilding the shed at San Gerardo. Their donations purchased a new chainsaw to clear trails of fallen giants, and needed tools for maintenance of the station, as well as a digital projector for Sergio’s work in environmental education in the schools. Hiking, rafting, swimming in the pool at the foot of the 200′ San Luis waterfall, learning from expert guides, encountering 5 different species of snakes (a record for any of our 2 week trips), and sharing quiet time on a solo alone in the forest were a few of the highlights. After such a wilderness experience, re-entry into everyday life back home is challenging, but the memories are tangible.

Donate

Your donations to the BEN are urgently needed as we negotiate for a 650 acre farm that is part forest and part pasture to be replanted in the Pacific slope corridor. Prices do nothing but go up!
You may donate online or send a check to MCLUS, 1128 Weidman Rd., Town and Country, MO 63017. We are in a race against time!

Announcing Dates for 2009 MCLUS Trip to BEN

Next summer’s trip dates are now confirmed. June 10-23 AND June 22-July 5, 2009 will be the adventure-filled/conservation/reforestation/photographyecotourism opportunities of a lifetime. Ask anyone who has gone on these trips to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest in the past! Check out overview of the trip on www.mclus.org/eco-tourism/about/ and enjoy. Start making your plans now and ask info@mclus.org for references from past participants, if you like.

Rainforest Quilt: Successful Fundraiser

The rainforest has become a hot topic for children in Macomb, Illinois. Almost 200 students and the local Girl Scout troop have been painting and sewing a Rainforest Quilt. Local businesses were invited to buy donor squares that will have their names stitched into the quilt and create a border around the colorful squares of animals and plants of the rainforest that the children are creating. It is a true work of art with input from kids, teachers, parents, and businesses in the community. The Quilt has provided funding to help send a teacher to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. To see more of the children’s own art work go to www.mclus.org/kids/quilt_project. For information on how you could replicate this community based fundraiser for the BEN (El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos) contact Lisa Gruver at joelandlisa@gmail.com.

Kid’s Book Project: Draw your own Rainforest Illustrations

DREAM THE FOREST WILD: How Children Saved a Rainforest by Sue Memhard with Jim Crisp. This is the remarkable, true story of how El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (affectionately known as the BEN, in English – The Children’s Eternal Rainforest) came to be saved thanks to kids from around the world. Now, twenty years later, the lyrical story Dream the Forest Wild continues to inspire kids everywhere and invites kids to be their own illustrators. Read the story, and ask your teacher if you can be part of the KIDS BOOK PROJECT by drawing your own illustrations and going to www.suememhard.com/ChildrensRainforest/ to get them published. Then you can have a book sale of your own version. What a great way to spread the word about the BEN and be able to make a tangible donation at the same time!

Fox River Kids Help with Reforesting Pastures

Students from Fox River Country Day School in Elgin, Illinois came again to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Their teachers had prepared them well, so they were ready to take in what the forest had to offer. Expert guides taught them on site about bats, birds, bugs. Well, about mammals, amphibians and plants, too. They did a land use study, helped plant 195 native trees, hiked a lot, played soccer with local Tico kids at a rural school, went on a night hike, climbed to the 200′ tall waterfall for a swim, watched Volcan Arenal erupt, learned to make tortillas, rafted a river and kept extensive nature journals. Learning about the forest while in the forest is the best!

The Forever Forest Goes Home to Monteverde

Rachel got to hand-deliver autographed “thank you copies” of the new book about the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, The Forever Forest: Kids Save a Tropical Treasure, to a dozen expert friends in Costa Rica who advised Kristin Pratt Serafini and Rachel during the preparation of the book. Wolf Guindon, who was a huge facilitator in the early purchasing of the land for the children that created El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos, is also celebrating the publication of his new biography,Walking with Wolf, by Kay Chornook. The Forever Forest is available through MCLUS for $20 including postage and handling. Simply mail your check to MCLUS, 1128 Weidman Rd., Town and Country, MO 63017.

Hollywood Gala Big Success

Thousands of dollars were raised at the Gala sponsored in large measure by New Chapter and Whole Foods Markets and Creative Artists Agency. To set the stage, images of wildlife from the Children’s Eternal Rainforest were projected on the huge wall above the dinning tables. Orchids graced each table. Violin music wafted through dinner conversation. The inspirational beginnings of the BEN by the Swedish kids were provided by Rachel Crandell. Stirring appeals were delivered by Tom Newmark, Michael Besancon, Anthony Zolezzi and TV celebrity, Suzanne Somers. These remarks and the premiere of Mark Wainwright and Alex Villegas’ video “Stranded” brought the realities of the plight of migratory species in the BEN to the hushed audience who now understands better why tropical rainforests are critical to the health of the planet. The BEN made many new friends on May 8 and a big stride toward funding land purchase on the Pacific slope. Thanks to the many generous donors, we raised over $40,000. This will enable us to take a big step forward with negotiations for land purchase that will reforest wildlife corridors and suck up carbon.

Quilt Project to Help Send Teacher to the Rainforest

A quilt-making project launched on Earth Day in Macomb, Illinois invites children and adults to participate by painting fabric squares with animals and plants from the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Over 100 of these squares will surround a central painting on fabric brimming with wildlife. Sponsorships for the quilt and donations are raising the money that will be shared between a scholarship for a Macomb teacher to go on the MCLUS conservation/adventure trip July 14-27 and funds for environmental education programs in Monteverde, Costa Rica. When the quilt is completed, it will be displayed in the Macomb Public Library and borrowed by classrooms when they are studying about the tropical rainforest. Mary McMahon has been selected as the winning teacher this year. She has started to pack her backpack!

The Forever Forest: Kids Save a Tropical Treasure by Kristin Pratt Serafini and Rachel Crandell

Just in time for the 20th anniversary of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest comes a gorgeously illustrated children’s book. Last year Kristin Pratt Serafini accompanied Rachel Crandell on a trip to El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos to get to know the forest before she began her beautiful paintings. Her rich hues give a true picture of the colors of the rainforest of the BEN. The accurate and artistic depiction of the plants an animals are expounded upon in sidebars that accompany the text of the story. Peter and his mom, Anna, have come all the way from Sweden to visit the forest she helped to start in 1987 when she was a child. You, too, can hike with them and learn from Dwight and Rachel as they share the forest. This book is a celebration of the forest that has been preserved forever by the efforts of children all over the world!

“Never let anyone tell you that you can’t change the world. For the creatures that call the Children’s Eternal Rainforest HOME, the children who saved that forest made the difference between life and death. I feel so grateful that Rachel Crandell and Kristin Joy Pratt have finally told the story of El Bosque Eterno de los Nino’s testament to the power of children.” Lynne Cherry, author, The Great Kapok Tree

If you order your autographed copy from MCLUS directly, the entire profits (50%) will go to the BEN

Price: $16.95 plus postage and handling = $20
Please make out checks to “MCLUS” and send to 1128 Weidman Rd., Town and Country, MO 63017
ISBN 978-1-58469-101-3 Ages 5 to 11

Hollywood Gala for MCLUS May 8

Mark your calendars! You are invited to a star-studded Gala Party hosted by Daryl Hannah to celebrate the BEN and raise money to support the purchase of land to create a Pacific Slope corridor of reforested habitat. It will be held in Hollywood on May 8 at 7:30 p.m. The Gala tickets will be $150. Be the first to see the premiere of a short film about El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos.

Costa Rica Adventure of a Lifetime July 14-27, 2008

Only a few spaces remain on the July 14-27, 2008 trip with outstanding guides focused on tropical conservation, wildlife viewing, great photographic opportunities, hiking, reforestation service project, rafting, visit to a school and local homes, etc. Two weeks for $1795 includes everything except airfare and departure tax. Deposit $200 will hold your spot. For more info see the www.mclus.org Ecotourism page or email Rachel at info@mclus.org.

Whole Foods Markets donate $103,699.50 to BEN

On January 30 all thirty-seven Whole Foods Markets in southern California donated 5% of their retail sales to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest! This amounted to over $100,000 that will be used to buy land and create corridors to be reforested. These restored areas will link the Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (BEN) to lower elevation forest patches providing habitat and safe cover for migrating species. A huge thank you to Whole Foods, our second corporate sponsor. The check was awarded in the BEN on “the Big Hike.” Whole Foods has a history of outreach to support good works.

Left to Right: Michael Besancon, CEO of Whole Foods, S. California, Carlos Munoz, Exec. Director of the Monteverde Conservation League, Costa Rica, Rachel Crandell, President of Monteverde Conservation League, US, Walter Robb, CEO of Whole Foods USA, Tom Newmark, CEO of New Chapter Vitamins.

7 CEOs Make the “BIG HIKE” Across the BEN

A glorious two day hike was especially arranged for the CEOs of seven natural products corporations to give them a firsthand encounter with the magnificent biodiversity of the BEN. Accompanied by forest guards, board members of MCL, biologists, and MCLUS President, the CEOs of Whole Foods, Seventh Generation, Nude Cosmetics, Pet Promise, Kopali Orgqanics, Luna Nuevos Extractos and New Chapter Vitamins made the two day hike from Monteverde to Poco Sol Field Station. Our days were filled with wading across rivers, scaling ridges, slipping down a landslide, meeting a venomous snake, staying overnight in the Refugio de Eladio in the heart of the BEN, watching white hawks soar over towering trees, hearing howler monkeys, smelling the mark of the puma, encountering a tarantula-hunting wasp and cloud forest anoles, feeling the high winds on the continental divide and finally resting by Laguna Poco Sol for a swim as reward for tired bodies.

A big thanks goes to Tom Newmark, MCLUS board member, for hatching the idea and bringing us all together to celebrate the forest and renew our efforts to protect and extend the BEN. Watch for an article in the NEW YORK TIMES soon in the business section. They sent a reporter and photographer to make “the big hike” with us!

Sign up for Eco/Adventure in Costa Rica July 14-27, 2008

MCLUS’ annual trip to the Children’s Eternal Rainforest offers a wilderness experience with expert guides. Learn about tropical conservation efforts in 5 different life zones! Two weeks for only $1795 plus airfare.

Lost Frog Species Found Again in Monteverde

Recently during fieldwork in the forest, Mark Wainwright of Monteverde and Andrew Gray, Curator of Herpetology for the Manchester Museum, UK led a group searching for frogs. They discovered Isthmohyla rivularis, a hylid frog that had not been observed in the region since the amphibian population crash there in the 1980s. The rediscovery was made during a very long hike to establish the status of the last known population of another species, Lithobates vibicarius. We are also pleased to report that they found a healthy population of Lithobates vibicarius as well. Several hundred animals, including numerous breeding pairs, juveniles and egg clutches were found.

GPS coordinates taken during the Monteverde expedition show unequivocally that the entire population of Lithobates vibicarius – the last known population in the world – lives within the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. Likewise, the entire population of Isthmohyla rivularis – also the last known population in the world – lives within the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Thus, each protected area has its own endemic and highly endangered amphibian species. We hope this fact will serve as further inspiration for those who work for or support these two important conservation organizations.

Emberá Stories Never Before Written Soon to be Published

MCLUS has a hand in saving endangered stories from being lost, the ancient stories of the Emberá, indigenous people of Panama. Rachel has been video recording the storytellers from 12 villages along the Sambu River in the remote Darien jungle. So far 89 stories have been recorded and 35 transcribed into Emberá and translated into Spanish and English. Volume 1 is soon to be published with 22 stories in Spanish and English. The hope is to have 3 volumes in Emberá and Spanish with enough copies to distribute to all Emberá village classrooms.

MCLUS’ Biggest Year Yet Thanks to YOU

We are so grateful for increased support from our wonderful donors. As our story gets told more widely, we gain more partners and more donations. In 2007 you contributed over $100,000 that is enabling us to help expand and protect the precious biodiversity of the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. THANK YOU and Happy New Year!

Children’s Eternal Rainforest Receives UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Designation

Photo by Dale Morris

The Children’s Eternal Rainforest, fondly known as the BEN, (Bosque Eterno de los Niños) has been included as part of a new Biosphere Reserve in Costa Rica under UNESCO and given the name of “Agua y Paz.” The BEN is one of the core areas of the 916 hectare (2300 acres) Biosphere Reserve adopted in Paris on September 19, 2007 by a unanimous vote.

MCLUS Namibia Trip in October a Success

Photo by Gay Townsend

The first MCLUS trip outside of Costa Rica recently returned from Namibia. Fifteen travelers accompanied Rachel Crandell on a journey that focused on conservation in Africa. We were treated to sightings of southern right whales, bottle-nosed dolphins, Cape fur seals and endemic Benguela dolphins in Walvis Bay while we learned about the sustainable harvest of oysters and guano there. Grootberg Lodge in the Damara Desert is a community-operated lodge built and run by local people as part of sustainable development. We donated school supplies and money to an AIDS “orphanage” on our way to Etosha National Park. As it was the end of the dry season, vast numbers of wildlife congregated at the waterholes and made for spectacular photo opportunities. We saw 83 elephants, 35 lions and scores of giraffe, warthogs, rhino, ostrich, thousands of springbok, and zebra, kudu, wildebeest, impala, gemsbok, dik dik, hartebeest, and one leopard. We tented at the Cheetah Conservation site and were treated to a close encounter with cheetahs on the run. Cape Griffon Vultures are among the most endangered of Namibia’s birds. We learned about their importance and plight, as well as the efforts to save them. Baboons were everywhere! A visit to a Himba village gave us a peek into the traditional culture of these indigenous people of the Kaokoveld.

New Intern

Gay Townsend joins MCLUS as volunteer intern helping with a multitude of tasks while earning her degree in Environmental Studies. We are grateful for her willing hands as she learns the ins-and-outs of running a nonprofit conservation organization.

Rachel’s Trip and Presentations to Schools and Friends