Cirenas - Costa Rica

Centro de Investigacion de Recursos Naturales y Sociales

CIRENAS’ MISSION STATEMENT

“To foster on site multi-disciplinary and international collaboration yielding practical insight, scientific and sociological strategies, and the financial means to sustain the integrity of the Refugio Vida de Silvestre Caletas-Ario watershed complex for future generations.”

A local Education and Reforestation Project based in the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, it combines performance abased initiatives, education programs at primary to secondary school level and above with direct reforestation activities. The organisation creates school based Forestry, Seed Gemination Education Courses employed in 4 local school in the Santa Teresa, Mal Pais, Manzanillo and Montezuma towns of the Southern Nicoya Peninsula ion Costa Rica. These classes focus on the importance of the sorest as a national resource and treasure and empowers the students to take on the role of Environmental Guardians. It identifies different local trees, plants and flowers and the animals they support. Classes are responsible for germinating seeds of local fauna and as a class take field trips with CIRENAS staff to plant these seedlings in damaged or illegally logged areas. The Breathe Foundation supports CIRENAS with funding , and incremental funding where classes who meet set germination and planting quota's are rewarded with a computer bought for their school***

CIRENAS also oversees the reforestation and management of a large area of primary forest that was formally owned by a Ranching family by has recently been made into a private National Wildlife reserve. Their duties range from re-forestation, maintenance of local watershed feeding into the Rio Manzanillo and Rio Bongo, wildlife and native species regeneration including sea turtles, kinkajous, anteaters, bird life, alligators, Howler and White Faced monkeys, porcupines (to name a few) and protecting the area from domestic invasion from dogs and cats to cattle and horses.

CIRENAS is funded by private donation and supported with limited N.G.O and Government support. Direct actions include construction of a Rangers Station, reforestation of native flora, reintroduction of native fauna, educational horse tours through reserve, biologists and volunteers onsite.

Contacts:

Caroline Crew - Director of Communications – carolinegre (at) gmail.com
Tucker Szymkowicz - cirenascr (at) gmail.com

For more information visit

http://web.mac.com/cirenas/Site/Home.html

***Note: The donation of computers was decided upon based on feedback from local parents. 
In several Parent & Teacher meetings, where Parents were asked directly what they would like to see in the school which is not yet present, their answer has been:

1. English Language Lesions
2. Computers and Computer lessons

Their opinion and concern is that their children are being significantly left behind children attending Private or City based public schools because they have no computer or English skills. The number of local children able to finish secondary or tertiary education is well below the national average creating high local unemployment, a continuing cycle of poverty or poaching and anti-social behaviour.