On Monday, February 4th we arrived in Monteverde, Costa Rica for a trek through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and the Children’s Eternal Rain Forest. The trip had been organized by Tom Newmark, President of vitamin and supplement maker New Chapter, and the founder of the Luna Nueva organic farm. Along for the hike were a collection of natural product industry all-stars including Walter Robb, Co-President of Whole Foods; Michael Besancon, President of the Whole Foods Southern Pacific Region; Anthony Zolezzi, President of Pet-Promise and Advisor to Prince Charles; Bryan Meehan, who founded Nude Skincare with Bono; and Stephen Brooks, founder of Kopali Organics.

We were guided through the forest by the exceptionally talented tropical biologist Frank Joyce, a professor at the University of California and his wife, Kate. Also guiding us were Julia Matamoros, President of the Monteverde Conservation League and Carlos Munoz, Executive Director of the Monteverde Conservation League (and quite possibly the next President of Costa Rica). Steven Farrell, Luna Nueva’s Farm Manager, accompanied us as well. Andy Martin, a New York Times business reporter, came along to document the journey with photographer John Loomis.

Our guide, Frank

A little history: In 1972, under the threat of homesteading in the area surrounding Monteverde, visiting scientists George Powell and his wife joined forces with long-time resident Wilford Guindon to promote the establishment of a nature preserve. An initial land purchase of 328 hectares formed the core of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.
In 1975, a 554-hectare community watershed reserve, founded in the mid-1960s by members of the Quaker community was added to the Cloud Forest Preserve. The Quakers had fled the US after being arrested for refusing to fight in the Korean War. They were attracted to Costa Rica because it was the only Central American country that didn’t have a standing army. Over time the Rainforest Preserve expanded to its current 10,500 hectares. Additionally, the Monteverde Conservation League purchased the 54,000 acres of the Bosque Eterno de Los Niños (Children’s Eternal Rain Forest) that covered the lower altitude below the Cloud Forest.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, as described by the League, feels like walking in a grandiose green Cathedral. Wind-sculptured elfin woodlands on the exposed ridges are spectacularly dwarfed, whereas protected cove Monteverde rainforests have majestically tall trees festooned with orchids, bromeliads, ferns, vines, and mosses.
Poorly drained areas support swamp forests while parts of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, dissected by deep gorges, have numerous crystal clear streams tumbling over rapids and waterfalls. The variable climate and large altitudinal gradient has helped produce an extremely high biodiversity. Spectacular wildlife includes the Jaguar, Ocelot, Baird´s Tapir, Three-wattled Bellbird, Bare necked Umbrella bird and the famous elusive Resplendent Quetzal.
Our hike took us through rarely visited areas not open to the public. We descended from the continental divide down through dozens of waist deep streams and mud deep enough to suck the shoes off your feet. At my pace, the hike lasted over eight hours the first day, with the final hour in the pitch-black darkness of a night filled with unfamiliar sounds. Along the way we swam in streams and trudged up and down steeper inclines than I had ever experienced.

The hike was a meditation on the extreme beauty of this protected ecosystem and the huge impact of the global warming that threatens it. This forest is a gigantic and extremely efficient consumer of carbon and yet the world’s increasing temperatures are forcing huge changes on its biodiversity. Plants and animals needing the cooler climates of the higher altitudes keep moving up the mountains as the temperature warms. But at some point, there will be simply nowhere higher to go. As large as the preserve is, development threatens from almost every direction.

The vastness of the area, combined with the intense diversity of its inhabitants and its exceptional beauty are both riveting and peaceful. Saving areas like this are essential to the survival of humanity and to preserving the essence of what makes us human.

Because so few of us ever get to experience nature in its most spectacular and intense forms we are unable to connect to that part of ourselves and find the passion within us required to protect something that is so foreign to the urban or suburban lives we live.

I had the wonderful opportunity to share the transformative and soulful force of the rainforest. To be deep inside it. To experience something I felt certain must be preserved.

On Wednesday evening we ended our trek at Luna Nueva, New Chapter’s organic ginger and turmeric estate. This is New Chapter’s home in the rain forest, a Garden of Eden if there ever was one. Tom Newmark describes it as “a place where colorful waves of birds and butterflies brighten the sky, you can hear the rumble of the nearby Arenal volcano, gently erupting daily and surrounded by inviting thermal pools where you can rest and rejuvenate.”

So tired at the end of the day, we virtually crawled up to Luna’s spectacular main house. An amazing meal awaited us. Almost everything we ate for the next few days came from the farm. From organic eggs and mango juice for breakfast to organic chicken and salads with lettuces I had never before laid eyes on.

Luna is nestled on the edge of the beautiful, pristine Children’s Rain Forest. The 74-acre organic ginger estate radiates a lushness and vibrancy that reflects New Chapter’s commitment to environmental preservation and nutrient-enhancing growing practices. Luna Nueva is not simply an organic farm, it is a farm that embraces permaculture design and biodynamic practices.

New Chapter’s ginger fields are interspersed with areas of natural growth. This planting method both increases the farm’s biodiversity and protects the natural environment. In the forested areas, they have introduced understory species and extended the quantity and quality of the native vines such as sarsaparilla and vanilla. These lush natural areas also provide habitat for the abundant wildlife, including anteaters that help protect the ginger from pests. Each field is also bordered with herb plants, including thousands of echinacea plants, gotu kola, turmeric and green tea plants to enhance soil conservation. These herbs are also harvested for New Chapter products.

Luna Nueva Farm Manager Steven Farrell began organic farming 25 years ago in California. Steve has created a work of art at Luna Nueva, a model not just of sustainability but true regeneration. This farm improves the land it lives upon, attracts wildlife that had long ago disappeared, creates a healthy and honorable living for its workers and an experience for its visitors that defines a model of what business can and in fact must become.

I returned from this trip feeling more committed than ever. We have so much to be thankful for and so much to make sure we pass on to the next generations.

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