OUR WORK
"Working for the integral repair of the natural heritage and improve the living conditions of the communities through conservation ."
Lines of Work
Conservation
Restoration
Research
Sustainable development
Environmental education
La Esperanza forest
La Esperanza is a forest located in El Carmen at Manabí province (Ecuador). It is a biodiversity refuge of the moist lowland forests, in middle of a highly threatened area due to deforestation and land-use changes. The conservation of this place started 23 years ago by Anelio Loor, a passionate parabiologist who has bought several pieces of land over time for their conservation.
In the last 3 years ago, Great Leaf Foundation has been working in this amazing forest in which, so far, we have identified 85 species of birds and 23 species of amphibians and reptiles. Within the forest we have established a forest dynamics plot which has around 5000 tree species, among them, some new species that are being described. Our biological station welcomes researchers, students and nature lovers through our different programs.
In 2022, thanks to Franklinia Foundation funding, we bought a new fragment of primary forest, doubling our area of conservation. In this way, we are protecting precious life of a very important place in our country. We keep working for restoring altered areas as well as restoring connectivity between forest patches close to La Esperanza.
ReConectar: Biological Corridor in the heart of Quito
ReConnectar is a project proposed to develop urban ecological restoration in Quito. Given the city's vulnerability to biodiversity loss, temperatures rising, floods and poor air quality, green areas have great potential to mitigate these problems. This is why this great project was born, to increase the functionality and connectivity of public spaces.
ReConectar aims to establish a biological corridor on Av. Mariana de Jesús, creating a path of movement for many species of birds and insects between Parque Rumipamba and Parque La Carolina. Additionally, this project presents alternatives to the management of green public areas, so that the green infrastructure has greater functions at an ecological and environmental education level. The work we develop is based on citizen participation through environmental education workshops and the planting of biodiverse gardens with native plants.
This is a project conceived and executed by the Great Leaf Foundation and Nativus and has been co-financed by the Environmental Fund and the support of the Secretary of the Environment of the Metropolitan Municipality of Quito.
