Ceiba's 2024 Year-End Newsletter, for our alumni!

How Has Ceiba Impacted You?

Has your life been changed by participating in a Ceiba program? Please help us raise the visibility for our study abroad and conservation programs by sharing your experience with us!  Great Nonprofits is honoring highly regarded nonprofits with their 2024 Top-Rated List. Your positive review will help us make the list! 

 

If you love our work then tell the world! 

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Amupakin - the Kichwa midwives, recipient of a 2024 Seeds of Sustainability grant to create a nursery for threatened plants used in traditional medicine.

Planting Seeds of Sustainability

Five conservation partners have launched projects funded by our new Seeds of Sustainability grants, and we are thrilled to share some of their updates!

• Kichwa Midwives, an organization of Quichua women, are preserving their cultural knowledge and practices by growing endangered plants important to traditional mixed-species house gardens known as "chakras."
• The Seas & Forests Conservation Alliance is promoting conservation and ecotourism, and is studying reforestation success in the Jama county ACUS (map above).

“Thanks to Ceiba’s funding, we are promoting ecosystem restoration, research, environmental education, and sustainable livelihoods in our communities"

• Sociedad Salvaje Salvadoreña is working in the Oriente Salvaje World Surfing Reserve in El Salvador to raise and release endangered sea turtles into the Pacific Ocean.
• The Khamai Foundation searched cloud forests for the critically endangered Mindo Harlequin Toad, declared “possibly extinct” in 1989. Watch the video above to see what they found!

 

Conservation Adds Up! 

This year, thanks to the Andes Amazon Fund, we paved the way for the declaration of new Conservation and Sustainable Use Areas (ACUS) in 8 counties of southern Manabí (map at right). These encompass 368,000 acres of seasonally dry tropical forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world. This area links to 140,000 additional acres of forest already within the ACUS of northern Manabí that Ceiba spearheaded in 2019. Ceiba’s field expert Marcos Cevallos led planning meetings up and down the coast, and promoted restoration and sustainable production initiatives with early adopters. Long-term success now depends on supporting the growth of local land protection and stewardship initiatives.

 

Read full article!

Study Abroad Students Broaden Their Horizons 

An interconnected and ever-changing world needs scientists and policy makers with modern skills, and Ceiba is leading the way in training that next generation. Our study abroad programs explore the planet’s most biodiverse ecosystems, provide hands-on instruction, and broaden cultural horizons with real-world experiences. For Maddie DeMarco (Ecuador 2022), the experience “did more than expand my knowledge of tropical ecology and conservation, it helped me become a more-informed global citizen and strengthened my relationship with both nature and so many new friends.”

You Can Make a Difference Today!

Conserving threatened ecosystems is more important now than ever. Over half the world's deforestation occurs in South America, but these forests are also the planet's most diverse. From undiscovered medical uses, to helping prevent climate disaster, saving forests can help us combat current and future problems.

 

Ceiba is working with landowners and local governments in Ecuador to implement nature-friendly solutions. With your support, we help communities obtain the resources they need to pursue a more sustainable future. Please join others who have made Ceiba a top-rated nonprofit, and make your gift today. Ceiba will match, dollar-for-dollar, all donations made before January 1.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!