pilot programs in natural history in schools (G. Vargas
and W. Zuchowski, pers. comm.). The EEP also co-
operated with other organizations, including the Coope-
sponsored annual school contests, the Santa Elena
Ecological-Cultural Festival, and the EEP of the MCFP.
In 1994, MCL's EEP worked with ten schools in the
Monteverde Zone and five in the La Tigra area and
reached other children and adults. The MCL's eco-
nomic difficulties ended the EEP in 1995, except for
projects supported by outside grants. However, many
programs and efforts that MCL's EEP initiated con-
tinue through other conservation organizations.
10.43. Reforestation and Rehabilitation
of Degraded Land
MCL's reforestation program has been successful be-
cause it improved production on farms, decreased
pressure on remaining forest, and created more habi-
tat for wildlife (F. Joyce, pers. comm.). More than half
a million trees have been planted in MCL's windbreak
project; thousands more have been planted under
special projects. Forest fragments are being preserved
on farms, and corridors that connect forest fragments
with reserves are being established (see Nelson and
DeRosier, "Windbreaks and Birds," pp. 448-450 and
Harvey, "Windbreaks and Trees," pp. 450-451).
Even before large-scale funding was available, MCL
volunteers launched a reforestation program, using
a tree nursery that the Coope had in Cerro Piano
(C. Vargas, pers. comm.; Fig. 10.10). The MCL set up
a second nursery with different species in lower,
warmer, and drier San Luis. Adrian Forsyth, a Ca-
nadian naturalist and author, played a key role in the
establishment of MCL's reforestation program; in
1988, he obtained a three-year $500,000 grant for MCL
from the CIDA and WWF-Canada (MCL Tapir Tracks,
vol. 4, no. 2, 1989). Other reforestation funds came
from a grant the Kerns obtained from SIDA.
The windbreak project meshed MCL's push for re-
forestation with the stated needs of farmers. Most of
the farms in the zone are small; farmers could not
afford to use a large portion of their farms for refores-
tation or natural forest regeneration. The negative
effects of strong winds during the dry season in the
zone (soil erosion, stress on pasture and crops, and
resulting decreases in milk and crop production) cre-
ated intense interest among farmers to plant wind-
breaks (F. Joyce, pers. comm.). Farmers also needed
trees for fenceposts, lumber, fuel wood, food for cattle,
and soil enrichment. Windbreaks that included legu-
minous trees were the solution. Tree seedlings were
produced with help from the U.S. Peace Corps and
other volunteers and delivered to farms by MCL per-
sonnel, who also provided technical assistance. The
farmers had to invest their own labor, which tied them
to the project. They received financial incentives pro-
vided by The Netherlands through the Costa RicanFigure 10.10. Seedling nursery administered by the Monteverde Conservation League. Photograph by
Dan Perlman.365 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone