Road Restoration with Globalworks, 1 Aug 2026
A Global Works team of 24 students from across the United States recently joined us for a full day of hands-on forest restoration at Las Casas de la Selva.
We ventured deep into our timber plantation lands, where the students worked beneath towering mahogany, mahoe, ausubo, grenadillo, and tabonuco trees. Surrounded by these forest giants, the team cleared dense undergrowth and helped restore an area damaged by a landslide during Hurricane Fiona.
One of the day’s principal projects was constructing a debris dam using branches and other natural materials found on site. The dam will help slow the movement of water, capture organic matter and soil, and reduce further erosion. The students also improved drainage along the plantation road, helping direct heavy rainfall away from the most vulnerable areas.
Road recovery is essential to the long-term stewardship of Las Casas de la Selva. These roads provide access to our timber plantations, research areas, conservation projects, and forest-monitoring sites. In Puerto Rico’s steep, rain-soaked terrain, maintaining drainage and repairing storm damage is an ongoing and vital part of caring for the land.
3t Vakil led the forest work alongside crew leader Jon Warwick, with help from our neighbor Mike Alvarez, who also took several of the photographs featured here.
After a rainy, vigorous and muddy morning, Monique Nieves provided everyone with a hearty and very welcome lunch.We were also joined by Global Works leaders Lauren, Jorge, and Fabricio, whose energy and guidance helped keep the large team working safely and effectively throughout the day.
For many of the students, this was an opportunity to experience tropical forestry not as an abstract idea, but as real, physical work: clearing vegetation, moving branches, shaping drainage channels, stabilizing damaged ground, and learning how water moves through a mountainous rainforest landscape.
Twenty-four pairs of hands can accomplish a tremendous amount in a day. We are deeply grateful to this Global Works team for bringing their strength, curiosity, and enthusiasm to Las Casas de la Selva—and for helping us continue the long work of restoring access and caring for this remarkable forest.
Photographs by 3t Vakil, Lauren Gette-King, and Mike Alvarez.
