OUR MISSION
The Camaquiri Conservation Initiative was founded to fulfill the wishes of former owner, Heidi Vietor, that the property she and her husband, Juan Ernesto Schroeder, purchased in 1980 be preserved in perpetuity to protect a swath of Costa Rica’s Caribbean lowland rainforest and the myriad species that live there. Our mission is to protect and manage Camaquiri’s biodiversity and utilize the property as an educational site and laboratory for students, researchers and local residents.
OUR GOALS
The goals of CCI aimed at achieving this mission are to:
(1) manage the property to protect and enhance its biological resources;
(2) provide a place to introduce and immerse students in the ecology of a tropical rainforest and the ecology and behavior of its inhabitants;
(3) conduct relevant short-term and long-term research projects to both improve management and learn more about the interaction of organisms with their environment;
(4) provide educational and scientific outreach to the surrounding community and encourage local residents to become involved in station activities and benefit from them.
OUR VISION
We aim to operate a sustainable field station for education and research that brings together Costa Ricans (Ticos) and visitors from other countries to learn from each other and from the land. Together, visitors to Camaquiri will develop a shared vision of connecting and conserving important habitats and protecting the wealth of natural and cultural resources that exist in Costa Rica.
Heidi and Juan Ernesto @ Kamakiri (1986)