July 2007
The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
 That simple Emerson quotation is
premise of the reforestation program developed by us at our Leaves and
Lizards Arenal Volcano Cabin Retreat.
Just over a year ago, we purchased
a 26 acre dairy farm in Monterrey, Costa Rica. We built 3 cabins and opened
to guests in January 2007. A vacation at Leaves and Lizards is an
ecological and cultural experience. Guests may learn about the Meso-American
Biological Corridor (http://www.ecoworld.com/home/articles2.cfm?tid=377),
the consequences of deforestation, spend the day with a Costa Rica family,
become informed about the circle of life in the rainforest by their expert
guides and eat food cooked with methane gas produced from the manure of
their pigs and cows. Many of the guests that have had the pleasure
of staying at Leaves and Lizards enquire about reforesting opportunities.
Some have even purchased farms in need of reforesting and others just want
to NOT do NOTHING about deforestation.
Proper reforestation
takes planning and follow through (1). These are the steps necessary for
a successful reforestation plan:
1. Clean-up
and soil preparation – if the farm has natural grass, clean-up is done
once before planting. If the farm has exotic grasses like Brazilian
or Gigante, it will take several clean-ups. These invasive grasses have
been planted as pasture grass on cattle farms. They choke out and kill
baby trees or other native grasses and plants.
 2. Designing the
new forest, ordering and careful transport of trees to the planting location.
The design includes a variety of native trees. Teak, not native to
Costa Rica, is commonly used as the pioneer forest. It grows rapidly,
has large leaves that provide shade that the native trees need to grow.
The teak can be harvested later to provide additional funding for future
projects.
3. Making sticks
for tree supports, digging holes, planting and organic fertilizing of trees.
In the San Carlos area of Costa Rica tree planting season is in May and
November. These are the rainiest months.
4. Eliminating
weed competition and pruning – once a month for the next 24 months.
It is possible to just let the land go back to ‘back to nature’, however,
that takes longer and the new forest will have less biodiversity.
Biodiversity is
short for Biological + Diversity, defined as the number of organisms in
an ecosystem, region or environment. Rainforests are complexly biodiverse;
they cover only about 2% of the land mass on the earth, but contain 50%
of all life on the planet. In 2.5 acres of primary rainforest there may
be as many as 480 different species of trees. Brazil has the highest level
of biodiversity in the world with 59,851 known different species of plants
and animals. Sadly, they also have the world’s highest deforestation rate.
Brazil is responsible for 27 % of the earth’s yearly deforestation. The
earth suffers 80,000 acres of deforestation daily! (2)
A good reforestation
plan includes ways for the new forest to support itself. For example,
two trees are growing side by side, but in nature only one of those trees
will reach old age, the other less dominate one will eventually be crowded
out by the larger tree, the smaller tree can be harvested and the wood
used to provide funding for the farm up keep, and further reforestation
projects. Another tree is planted in its place. This is growing what
Fred Morgan at Finca Leola (http://www.fincaleola.com)
calls, a perpetual forest.
A society
grows great when old men plant trees whose shade
they know they shall never sit in. - Greek Proverb |
