Kids Saving The Rainforest – August 2016

By Lexi Baca
Spokesperson for KSTR (age 12)

Two years ago, my family and I moved to Costa Rica from California. We were ignorant. Foolish. Selfish. Just like many of the people here for the first time. We went for kayak rides, and following advice from our tour guides we reached out eagerly with a piece of fruit in our hands, waiting for the monkeys to come down and grasp it in their tiny paws. We were unaware of the fact that it’s harmful for many reasons to feed wild animals, both to humans and the animals. We didn’t appreciate our flora, pulling at its leaves and trampling it with our sandal-clad feet. Most of all, we let things happen. We watched, but did not know what to do about it. Until we met someone who did.

I remember the day my mom came to me and told me about the animal sanctuary she had just visited. In my mind, I imagined a zoo with animals kept in an enclosure just for viewing pleasure. What I got was so much different. Animals being saved and released after being rehabilitated. Caretakers cautious not to harm the lives they were caring for. It was perfect. It is perfect.

I am now the spokeskid for this group, which is called Kids Saving the Rainforest (KSTR). KSTR was started in 1999 in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica, when Janine Licare and Aislin Livingstone were 9 years old. Janine and Aislin saw the rainforest disappearing from their beloved home and the negative impact of this on the animals, particularly the mono titi (squirrel) monkeys. They were kids inspired to save the precious rainforest and voila, our name became Kids Saving the Rainforest! I am honored to have a part in continuing their mission.

KSTR not only rehabilitates and releases animals through their sanctuary; they have several other programs to help animals and our natural forests. One program includes installing “monkey bridges” all around the city so monkeys do not use power lines or land to get across our roads. And recently, KSTR acquired 500 acres of land on which they will plant at least 30,000 native trees in danger of extinction to create corridors going through the property to get from one side to the other.

Starting here, hopefully we can influence the world. It makes me sad to think that in the 5 minutes while you’ve been reading this, 36 American football fields worth of trees have been destroyed around the world. It makes my stomach ache whenever I think about all the animals left homeless because of this.  Stop deforestation and animal mistreatment.

Stay tuned in Quepolandia for future articles from me about the programs at KSTR and the progress we are making. If two nine-year-old girls can make a difference, you can too.