The Monteverde Conservation League (MCL) or Asociacion de Conservacionista de Monteverde (ACM) was established in 1986 out of concern for the threatened tropical forest in the Tilaran Mountains of Costa Rica. Children and adults from 44 countries raised millions of dollars enabling the MCL to purchase 54,000 acres of land, now the largest private reserve in Costa Rica. Its name, El Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (BEN), honors the children whose contributions preserved this expanse of forest and its rich biodiversity of flora and fauna for future generations. The Eternal Forest of the Children was often also called the International Children’s Rain Forest, but BEN is shorter!

The principal programs in Costa Rica are operated by the Monteverde Conservation League which has a website which describes its activities - www.acmcr.org.