Tropic Joes
The Sierra
Reforestation
Foundation
The Tropical Sierra Foundation began many
years ago as an idea in the mind of Foy Streetman. Foy was
on a trip, to the north of Costa Rica, visiting the Rio
Indio Lodge in Tortuguero and learned that many of the local
indigenous children were suffering from Rickets, a disease
caused by malnutrition. The local tribe had also lost virtually
all their livelihoods when the trees were burned during
the Sandinista wars.
In an effort to help them be self-sufficient,
Foy arranged to have over 400 orange trees planted around
their village so eventually they would have a natural source
of food and vitamins. He also arranged to plant a number
of natural species of trees along the rivers to help stop
erosion.
Thus began Foy’s love for reforestation,
and soon after, he founded the Tropical Sierra Foundation
(TSF).
Today:
Today, the goal is to help everyone learn
about the importance of Carbon Neutrality, and how reforestation
can help achieve it. This will continue to be the focus
for many years to come. Each person who adopts Carbon Neutrality
as a way of life can help balance the levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere and make a difference in so many ways. Our food,
water, and weather cycles are all affected positively by
reforestation.
TSF has partnered with universities, research
organizations, scientists and other foundations to build
the Carbon Neutrality program.
TSF has built several web sites to invite
participation, by all areas of society, in it’s efforts,
including tropicjoes.com and kidsecoworld.com
TSF has just finished the design of RAINFORESTWIKI.ORG
where everyone can collaborate, using the WIKI format, on
rainforest topics such as reforestation, climate change
and a range of other topics. Click on the image below to
visit the site and collaborate.
OUR MISSION at Tropical Sierra Foundation
is:
We are a Foundation (TSF) dedicated to
replenishing nature through educational programs and reforestation
of the tropical regions. TSF allows persons, corporations
and institutions to support our programs in the Carbon Neutrality
arena (carbon sequestration) to offset and reverse the effects
of global warming on the Earth by removing the CO2 from
our atmosphere.
Carbon Neutrality is the process whereby
the trees absorb carbon and oxygen is liberated.
OUR PHILOSOPHICAL CREED
At TSF we believe that all people have
a responsibility to nature by conserving and replenishing
it through various mechanisms. Support from sponsors who
share our ecological philosophy will ensure that our natural
resources will be used in an ethical, rational and sustainable
way.
Our declaration of these principles is
inspired by a creature of the rainforest represented by
a green, red-eyed tree frog named Tropic Joe, the spokesperson
for the Rainforest. Tropic Joe is the icon of our campaigns
and a witness to the loss of our natural habitat.
OUR PRINCIPLES
The five principles of TSF that produces
concrete results in favor of nature are:
Do something for nature that is pleasing
to the Creator.
Do something to help the habitants of the rainforest that
depend upon nature.
Do something financially successful to help sustain the
peoples that live in these regions and motivate them to
replenish and protect nature.
Do something to give recognition to all who support these
initiatives in replenishing and protecting nature.
Do something everyday that is so much fun you cannot wait
to wake up and help nature.
OUR VISION
Our vision of TSF is to become a world-class
organization by promoting and implementing reforestation
and conservation programs in the rainforests, producing
educational and cultural changes to convert each person
to become CARBON NEUTRAL, replenishing forests and establishing
equilibrium of our habitat.
OUR PROGRAMS
TSF has developed diverse educational programs
such as the “Rainforest in the Classroom” Program,
which uses the “Adventures of Tropic Joe” series
of Children’s Books that teach young and old alike
the importance of conservation.
Our programs have been implemented in conjunction
with private companies, Universities, National parks, ecological
reserves, and other foundations that share the same mission.
We believe strongly that the first seeds should be planted
in the minds of our children. Highly experienced and dedicated
professionals who work for the Foundation have prepared
these materials. These materials are available in both hard
copy and in electronic format so our message may be easily
distributed on a global scale.
“We plant trees to eliminate green house gas emissions”
Some of our initiatives:
1. Restoration of the Biological Corridor:
The Maquenque Reforestation Project is
a Joint Initiative between the Tropical Sierra Foundation
and the Centro Cientifico Tropical (CCT) in which it is
proposed to plant over 10,000,000 trees along the central
part of Costa Rica, re-connecting areas of natural forest
that have been separated through mismanagement and deforestation.
This bold project will result in the re-uniting of vast
areas of rainforest and the potential saving of many endangered
species, including Jaguars, which have been inbreeding due
to living in isolated patches of forest. The reclaiming
of such large areas of rainforest requires the combined
resources of large corporations, scientific institutions
and numerous individuals just like you.
2. Tropic Joe’s rangers outdoor activities:
We take students to a zoo or a biological
park and then to an ecological reserve to plant trees. On
site we teach children about nature and the importance of
preserving nature and how they can become a Tropic Joe Ranger.
Part of this program consists of informing the community
and their parents of the help received from the sponsors
and their commitment in creating awareness for their children.
The children learn from the materials how to neutralize
the effects of carbon, and the cycle of photosynthesis demonstrating
how plants and trees utilize the sun’s rays to decompose
CO2.
3. Educational materials program:
As part of the activities to support the
teachers in the classroom, we have developed a package of
ECO- materials, which are handed out to the children.
4. The PLANT A TREE CAMPAIGN:
This logo is used by many companies to show their support
of Carbon Neutrality, by putting this logo on their products,
which identifies them as a sponsor of this cause.
5. TSF printed the “THE HOW YOU CAN
HELP” brochure that can be purchased for $1.00 (U.S.
dollar). Sponsors eager to help TSF’s cause can purchase
this material and give it to their customers. The booklet
contains information about Carbon Neutrality.
6. Tropic Joe’s website www.tropicjoes.com:
Updated information on many subjects: Carbon
calculator, which explains how to offset green house gases,
a gallery, Tropic Joe’s, store (a good percentage
from the sale of products go to the cause)!! Log on now!!
.
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CONTACT TROPIC
JOES
Centro de Negocios Trilogía,tercer
edificio, píso 2
Escazú-San José, Costa Rica, América
Central
Tel:(506) 289-8972
Fax:(506) 288-5056
www.tropicjoes.com
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