August 2006 E-Newsletter of the Monteverde Conservation League U.S., Inc. (MCLUS)

Opal Creek, Oregon – Sister Forest to the BEN

Three Oregon teachers joined Rachel Crandell, President of MCLUS, for a magnificent day of hiking in Opal Creek, the Sister Forest to the Children’s Eternal Rain Forest. Opal Creek flows through this temperate rain forest with its towering Douglas Firs, Western Red Cedars, and Hemlocks. Ferns, mosses, and lichens similar but different from those in Monteverde, are everywhere. The sparkling pure water of Opal Creek cascades over dozens of waterfalls. In honor of our Sister Forest they named the largest one La Cascada de los Niños. Environmental education seminars are held at a rustic lodge for teachers and students of the ancient forest. We have much in common with this 38,000 acre protected wilderness. It lies only two hours southeast of Portland, Oregon. We look forward to a growing relationship with our Sister Forest. You can find out more about Opal Creek. www.opalcreek.org

Oregon teachers hiking in Opal Creek

Cascada de los Niños in Opal Creek

Free Trips to the BEN - Student Ambassadors from Seattle and New York City

In August Ellen Terry and her mom, Janet from Seattle, and Madeline Petrie and her mom, Jennifer from New York City, joined the MCLUS trip to the BEN. The girls were thanked by the Monteverde Conservation League for their schools’ generous contributions to the Bosque Eterno de los Niños. Eckstein Middle School and Little Red School House had successful fundraisers last year which earned them the right to send a student ambassador for a free week in Costa Rica and time in our deep wilderness of the BEN. The girls were awarded BEN T-shirts and hats like our Forest Guards wear. Their experiences in the forest will be shared back home with other schools to raise awareness of the important work of protecting this special ecosystem. All schools are invited to participate in our contest for this school year. The deadline for selecting the top three fundraising schools is Earth Day, April 22, 2007. You can check out www.rainforestkid.com for earlier reports of last year’s student ambassadors.

Madeline and Ellen on Bajo del Tigre Trails in BEN

July 2006 E- Newsletter of the Monteverde Conservation League U.S.,Inc. (MCLUS)

La Hora de los Niños. Volunteers from MCLUS began a Saturday morning environmental education program called La Hora de los Niños, the Children’s Hour, held in the Casita at the Bajo del Tigre Trails in Monteverde. Each Saturday we focus on a different theme: insects, hummingbirds, bats, interactions between wild and domestic animals in a village surrounded by forest, symbiotic relationships between plants and animals. We have storytellers, puppet shows, games, songs, hikes. One week the San Jose TV Channel camera team came to Monteverde and took videos of the kids on the trails discovering tiny secrets of the forest with their magnifying glasses. They interviewed some of the parents and children later seen on TV. We hope the Children’s Hour is only the beginning to further environmental education offered in the BEN. Martha Moss (Storyteller) and children at the Casita, Bajo del Tigre, Monteverde. (click picture for larger image)

Sister Cities: Estes Park, Colorado and Monteverde, Costa Rica. Estes Park and Monteverde have chosen each other as Sister Cities. Delegations from each “city” have visited the other. This summer Dwight and Rachel Crandell also visited Estes Park and met with Tom Pickering, Executive Director of the Estes Park Visitor Center. dWe learned what a perfect match the two cities are. Both are in the mountains near their respective Continental Divides. Both have an abundance of wildlife because of nearby large protected areas. Rocky Mountain National Park almost surrounds Estes Park. The BEN, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve and the Santa Elena Reserve almost surround Monteverde. Both municipalities depend largely on tourism for their economy. We can learn from each other. Where the BEN has tropical animals like monkeys, puma, armadillos, sloths, coati, agouti, etc, Rocky Mountain NP has an abundance of elk, big horn sheep, marmots, black bear, mule deer and lots of our neo-tropical migratory birds during the summer months.

 Monteverde poster in Estes Park, CO (Warren Clinton on left, Tom Pickering on right) (Click on picture for larger image)