chase and later to protection (MCL Tapir Tracks, vol.
7, no. 1, 1992, S. Kinsman, pers. comm.). They also
prepared educational resources for teachers (Chil-
dren's Rainforest U.S. 1994,1996). Other groups raised
funds for BEN: Save the Rainforest (Dodgeville, Wise.),
the Chico Friends in Unity with Nature (Chico, Calif.),
the Children's Tropical Forests U.K., Kinderregenwald
Deutschland, and Nippon Kodomo no Jungle in Japan
(MCL Tapir Tracks, vol. 6, no. 1, 1991; vol. 8, no. 1,
1993; vol. 9, no. 1, 1994). These seven groups met in
Monteverde in 1991 and founded the International
Children's Rainforest Network, coordinated by Bernd
Kern. They started similar conservation groups in
Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Thai-
land (Children's Rainforest U.S. 1996). Support for
the MCL and BEN has come from schools, individu-
als (children and adults), and foundations from more
than 40 countries (F. Joyce, pers. comm.).
In 1992, MCL's board of directors consolidated all
land holdings under BEN, adding 3934 ha purchased
with other funds to the 9351 ha in BEN for a total of
13,285 ha (MCL Tapir Tracks, vol. 7, no. 1,1992). By
1998, BEN included about 18,000 ha in three prov-
inces (Puntarenas, Guanacaste, and Alajuela), making
BEN the largest private reserve in Central America (F.
Joyce, pers. comm.). To aid in the administration of
the eastern section of BEN, MCL established a second
office in La Tigra (Fig. 1.5). The MCFP assumed
guard and maintenance functions in the Penas Blancas
valley. In 1992, MCL launched its "Rain Forest Part-
ners" program (MCL Tapir Tracks, vol. 7, no. 2,1992).
Until then, most contributions from individuals to
BEN had been earmarked for land purchase. As money
from the debt-for-nature swap and other grants was
spent, the MCL urged donors to earmark contributions
for purposes other than land purchase (R. Sheck, pers.
comm.). By 1995, additional land purchase became a
low priority for MCL, which had begun formal long-
range planning and developed a mission statement in
1991 (MCL Tapir Tracks, vol. 7, no. 1,1992c). The MCL
obtained grants in 1993 to hire consultants to draft part
of a master plan for BEN (O. Goto, pers. comm.). By
1996, MCL had created several educational centers in
BEN (field stations at Poco Sol and San Gerardo and a
center at Bajo del Tigre); in 1997, donations funded
construction of an educational center and planning for
a children's nature center near La Tigra (R. Sheck, pers.
comm; MCL Annual Report 1998).
The 30-ha Bajo del Tigre sector in Monteverde (Fig.
1.8) was acquired primarily by donations. The parcel
(1020-1380 m on the Pacific slope) contains primary
and secondary forest, regenerating pasture, and an
arboretum. Three kilometers of trails are maintained
with help from volunteers; an interpretative trail guide
is available (Law et al. 1998). The trails are used heavily
by bird-watchers, because sighting birds in the open
habitat is easy and because lower elevations support
birds not found in higher elevation reserves (Law 1993).
In 1996, MCL constructed a visitors' center and a
children's nature center near the entrance to the trails.
The MCL provides facilities and activities especially
for children (F. Joyce, pers. comm.). Funds are raised
at Bajo del Tigre through entrance fees and the sale of
merchandise, such as a BEN video (MCL 1994a) and
gifts (S. Sprague, pers. comm.).10.4.2. Environmental Education
The importance of environmental education was
stressed in MCL's statutes. MCL launched its EEP in
1986 by working in local schools and focusing on
problems of garbage and pesticide misuse. At that
time, the Costa Rican government had not yet in-
cluded environmental education in the public school
curriculum. Money from the first debt-for-nature
swap and SIDA supported the expansion of the EEP.
Guillermo Vargas, a local teacher, directed and de-
signed environmental education activities in commu-
nities around BEN. The EEP staff used a broad defi-
nition of environmental education linked to social
needs and cultural values (see G. Vargas, "Commu-
nity Process," pp. 377—378). The goals were to im-
prove the quality of people's lives, to ensure the long-
term survival of BEN by helping people make better
use of adjacent land, and to understand the impor-
tance of protecting BEN.
Efforts of the EEP have focused on children. Staff
worked with teachers in local schools to develop pro-
grams that related to their curriculum. Emphasizing
topics as recycling, composting, water pollution, pes-
ticides, organic gardening, reforestation, and natural
history, EEP staff worked in classrooms and led field
trips to farms and forests. They established voluntary
youth groups that increased environmental aware-
ness through theater presentations to communities
(G. Vargas, pers. comm.). Environmental education
was linked to MCL's reforestation program; children
were taken to MCL's tree nurseries, talked with farm-
ers involved in reforestation, and planted trees on
their own farms. The EEP also ran environmental
workshops for adults, including teachers, parents,
groups of farmers, and women in the craft coopera-
tive, CASEM (G. Vargas, pers. comm.; see Burlingame,
"Comite de Artesanias," pp. 383-384).
In 1991, EEP's staff became involved in a contro-
versy with members of MCL's board, who thought
environmental education should focus more on the
natural history of the forests. The conflict was re-
solved by recognizing that environmental education
should do both. Additional staff were hired to develop364 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone