Home Farm Rainforest Rewilding & Restoration Project

The goal of the project is to establish a practical, working rainforest rewilding & restoration project on an initial land node in the Diamante Valley - to promote local rainforest ecosystem recovery, freshwater ecosystem recovery, education, community health related to healthy ecosystem recover and long-term ecosystem & community sustainability.

We started this project in July 2024 due to the ongoing pressure of development, deforestation & decline of aquatic ecosystem health on the fragile rainforest, freshwater & marine ecosystems within the bioregion of the Costa Rican Pacific Rainforest. Satellite imagery showing the scale & extent of local & bioregional rainforest ecosystem loss, absence of healthy coastal reefs between Quepos, Dominical & Uvita, sediment-laden rivers (especially the Baru River) & unhealthy (sick) local communities, were all drivers for initiating this project.

Between 1 July 2024 & 30 June 2025, we started with Year 1 of an initial 3-year rewilding phase, vitally needed for long-term rainforest ecosystem reforestation. This 3-year process started with addressing/stopping immediate issues contributing to ecosystem loss/degradation (i.e., soil erosion & river sedimentation), increasing native/endemic habitat & biodiversity, soil creation/generation & mycelium network creation/growth to allow for ecosystem processes, services & functions to improve, prior to rainforest tree planting. This allowed for nature & the specific ecosystem to guide the process in a more holistic & sustainable way, rather than imposing human will & rushing restoration work (which often leads to high maintenence efforts or limited long-term success).

Work began with setting clear intentions with the landowner & staff on what the rewilding outcomes in Year 1 would look like, what was to be expected & the physical maintenance & training efforts required to make it successful. We started off with a small section of the land & over the course of the year expanded this across the entire property in strategic places (mostly eroded areas or areas with high water flow. We used the existing cutting, chopping & weed whacking landscaping methods to re-imagine the trail, pathway & road network on the land, to rewild ditches, drainage pathways & steep slopes, to leave areas for native plants to grow & to increase biodiversity by increasing the amount & availability of suitable habitats. Leading & participating in this first year was fantastic, especially witnessing new species of plants, insects, birds & animals come to the land. Watching nature recover, adapt & fill-in areas which were previously cut to ground level was also encouraging. My greatest joy was showing others on the land how ecosystem recovery works, how weeds & grasses help stabilize & create soil, how they help create conditions for mycelium, flowers, shrubs & trees to take root & how the insect, bird & animal life explodes with the creation of new native habitats. It is especially important to remember patience when working with ecosystems & learning from nature as a guide in the process.

This is my first rainforest-focused ecosystem restoration project, so I leaned heavily on my previous experiences in other types of habitats & learnt that the project works very fast in a rainforest climate. I was amazed to see how quickly & how responsive the habitats were formed & how well the slowing down & filtering of water on the land contributed to less erosion of dirt, the creation of the first layers of topsoil & the dramatic decrease in sedimentation of the creeks & rivers on & below the land. I also learnt to work well with the property team & assist in their education & understanding of ecosystem health & the role humans have in creating ecosystem recovery.

We faced many challenges within the team - mostly fear of the unknown, fear of nature & a lack of understanding the process. These were addressed & I worked with the team on facing these challenges all through the year.