This is our presentation at the 9th World Conference on Ecological Restoration.
March 28, 2024
Physics student Odi from Austria joins as volunteer
Since the beginning of March we have the physics student Odi from Austria with us at the Refugio as a volunteer. He will support us for a total of two months. His interests for the fundamentals of our world inspired him to start his studies but it is this same interest combined with the passion…
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February 20, 2024
Rose apple (Syzygium malaccense) bearing lots of fruits
Being situated in a wetland, we need to pay extra attention to the species we plant: many trees, such as avocado, have a hard time surviving as soon as their roots reach the ground water. We are excited to see that our rose apple trees, spread across the Refugio, now bear a large number of…
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December 3, 2023
Rare boat-billed heron returned to the Refugio
We are excited that our conservation efforts bear fruits! The boat-billed heron (Cochlearius cochlearius) has returned to the Refugio Tinti and is now breeding at the pond in front of our volunteer bungalows.
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November 11, 2023
Refugio Tinti collaborates with biologist and illustrator Fiona Reid on palm oil diversification
We are proud to have kicked off our collaboration with the accomplished Canadian biologist and artist Fiona Reid with a visit to her plot of palm oil monocultures, which she plans to turn into vibrant natural habitats. Fiona Reid provides close to two hectares of her land for our pilot project to diversify this monoculture…
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October 30, 2023
World-renowned ecologist and Stanford professor Rodolfo Dirzo visits the Refugio Tinti
We were honored to welcome Rodolfo Dirzo, Professor in Environmental Science at Stanford University, at the Refugio Tinti. Prof. Dirzo studies species interactions in tropical ecosystems and supervises the diversification of palm oil monocultures in Costa Rica. We were proud to receive Prof. Dirzo’s positive feedback on our own concepts to transform monocultures into food…
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September 20, 2023
Worm compost for our local community
This month, one of our focus points was our worm compost: kitchen scraps are transformed into the most fertile soil by the hard work of our compost worms (Eisenia fetida) with a smart low tech system with three stories. Later, the compost is used for growing young saplings. We are working with village inhabitants to…
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August 10, 2023
We planted 200 vanilla plants to diversify our project
We are constantly refining our concept for the transformation of monocultures into food forests and at the Refugio, we do lots of research and experimentation on the ground: last month, we planted 200 vanilla plants on the stems of our native trees to find out if we can make our polycultures even more biodiverse with…
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June 11, 2022
A workshop about ecosystems using the enquiry method
On June 8th, we had the pleasure of organizing a workshop with the local environmental women’s group AGRICOP. Their goal: transforming a hectare of their land into a showpiece for regenerative agriculture. We are constantly exploring new ways to get people interested about the countless upsides of regenerative agriculture. Rather than simply giving a lecture…
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March 17, 2022
UC Davis researchers visit the Refugio
At the Refugio, we constantly strive to connect with researchers and practitioners from diverse fields related to ecosystem restoration. We have been particularly honored to host the professors Dr. Jenella Loye and Dr. Scott Carroll, two entomologists and evolutionary ecologists at the University of California, Davis at the Refugio. Dr. Loye and Dr. Carroll pioneered…
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February 28, 2022
The return of the masked duck (Nomonyx dominicus)
We are excited to announce that a new animal species found a new habitat in the Refugio: the masked duck (Nomonyx dominicus), a reclusive and rarely seen diving duck of the tropical lowlands. They feed at night and during the day one can see them sleeping on the pond never far from the shore. They…
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