SUSTAINABILITY

VIRGIN FOREST

Out of the 269 hectares that make up the whole property of Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge, 76% is natural protected area: 100 hectares of primary forest, 80 hectares of secondary forest and 60 hectares devoted to reforestation.

The protected reserve is a virgin forest, which houses lots of species of flora and fauna, including green and red macaws, toucans, orioles, parrots, king vulture, monkeys, caimans, frogs, and an incredible variety of trees and plants.

REFORESTATION

The reserve has about 60 hectares of reforestation area under the management of CODEFORSA (a non-government organization that Works on sustainable development) that contribute in the preservation of the environment and increases the forest coverage in Costa Rica. The main species planted include “melina” (gmelina arborea), “botarrama” (vochysia ferruginea) and “ceibo” (erythrina crista-galli). Thanks to the leadership of Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge, many surrounding farms have undertaking reforestation practices and the preservation of tropical forests.

ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITIONS

Through its sustainability efforts, Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge has 5 stars in the “Bandera Azul Ecológica” program from Costa Rica. In addition, it is part of the Costa Rican Natural Reserve Network, member of the International Eco-Tourism Club and of It’s a Green Green World, among other organizations.

COMMUNITY

Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge is an active member of the community, some of its main contributions include:

• Source of employment for local people
• Support to education by constantly contributing to the school
• Assistance to community and ecological organizations
• Improvement in communication channels
• Improvement in utilities including, electricity, telephone and water
• Participation in community activities to raise funds for their needs
• Support to small local and tourist enterprises.

EMPLOYMENT

Laguna del Lagarto Eco-Lodge promotes economic development by hiring personnel from the zone, providing permanent jobs to ten people and giving them training in areas such as English, customer service, tour guiding and cooking. They are: Adolfo, our manager, Maicol and Antonio who work at our bar and restaurant, Didier and Domingo who will guide you through our trains, tours and lakes, and Luis Diego, who takes care of the gardens that attract hundreds of birds. Henry, our night guard will take you to the Caiman Show after dinner, and finally our cooks and maids, Lidia, Carmen, Justina, Ana and Marlene, who will cook delicious meals with local and international recipes.

UNIVERSITY GROUPS

In order to promote research for the conservation of nature, we have partnerships with University for Peace and the Instituto Tecnológico de Cartago, who visit the Lodge for several weeks to run scientific studies on flora, fauna, eco-systems, medications and other areas. We enable this research by providing an equipped laboratory for students to run their analyses. And we are always willing to welcoming more groups. Contact us!

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM:

Do you want to live a genuine experience in contact with nature and sharing with community members? We offer opportunities for volunteers to come and learn Spanish and get to know Costa Rican culture and traditions, or to run studies on eco-tourism or tropical biology. We offer free accommodation and meals in exchange for collaborating at the bar and the restaurant, the front desk, the tours and/or doing community work. The minimal commitment is between 4 and 6 weeks, and the maximum stay is 3 months. Shall you be interested, please send your resume to info@lagunalagartoecolodge.com