Sarah Dean first came to Las Casas de la Selva at age fourteen. Twelve years and three visits later, we walked familiar trails, sheltered beneath a durian tree in the rain, and planted a rare native tree, a day that held so much of what makes a long-lived project precious: friendship, shared work, and the joy of coming back.
Thirteen years after planting, a Cornutia obovata at Las Casas de la Selva is producing its first abundant fruit crop—a joyful milestone rooted in our collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its seeds offer a fresh opportunity to investigate propagation methods and engage more growers in nurturing the next generation.
El Yunque’s 150th anniversary brought together the people, science and history behind one of Puerto Rico’s most treasured forests. The celebration honored Dr. Frank H. Wadsworth, whose guidance helped inspire Las Casas de la Selva’s work in sustainable forestry & rainforest enrichment and the post-Maria work of Puerto Rico Hardwoods.
An all-women team of Mechanical Engineering students from Ohio Northern University came to Las Casas de la Selva for the first phase of their Capstone Project. Over four days, they investigated infrastructure, examined hurricane damage, dug a drainage ditch, planted 12 trees, gathering the knowledge needed to begin designing a small engineering project with lasting value.
A Global Works team of 24 students from across the United States recently joined us for a full day of hands-on forest-road 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
When we walk through a tropical forest, our attention is naturally drawn upward—to the canopy, the leaves, the vines, and the immense variety of trees. Yet beneath our feet lies another extraordinarily diverse world: a living network of fungi that helps shape the entire forest ecosystem.
The razor grass had occupied every available opening created by Hurricane Maria. Its long, sharp leaves tangled together with vines and other vigorous vegetation, concealing the ground and obscuring even substantial trees. Clearing it required patience and close teamwork.
There are places in the forest that become almost mythical. You know they are there. You remember planting every tree, carrying seedlings up muddy slopes, and imagining what the forest might look like years into the future.
Every seedling in our nursery carries forward a vision that began more than forty years ago.
We welcomed not one but two remarkable groups through the Shoulder-to-Shoulder (SStS) program.
Planted at Las Casas de la Selva, Patillas, during the mid-1980s, many of these trees have now reached over three decades of growth
Some relationships are measured not in months or years, but in landscapes.
The group explored our Ethnobotanical Trail with Erid Román, a young botanist and member of the Eye on the Rainforest Botanical Team.
Mercury is a second-generation Boricua artist and activist.
Cathedral School from California, planting Pisonia horneae in the Sierra de Cayey.
Progress made despite the heavy rains this season!
A day of service work to keep the forest road open, safe, and functional in a place where growth never stops.
Gregg Dugan is currently in residence at Las Casas de la Selva, Patillas, PR for a three-week writing residency.
Mercury is a second-generation Boricua artist and activist based in Hartford, Connecticut, working across disciplines with a focus on site-specific installation.
Two Days, Lasting Impact! Ethnobotanical Trail Work in the Rain
The students got straight into practical work.
From Volunteer to Educator: Dedham High School at Las Casas de la Selva
Comp Sci. High from NY brings global energy to the rainforest in Patillas, PR
A Day of Service on the Ethnobotanical Trail
