Press

by thrity February 3, 2022

Latest Videos, Press, & Publications

For Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation, 2021 began with Naples Botanical Garden in Florida securing a grant from the Association of Zoological Horticulture to fund the building of a new tree nursery at our project in Patillas, Puerto Rico, after the devastation of all our tree nurseries in Hurricane Maria in 2017. Following this, the 2021 Botanical Gardens Conservation International & Global Tree Campaign agreement and grant opportunity to survey for two threatened endemic species was a huge accomplishment; a proposal for the conservation of two Puerto Rican endemic trees, Garcinia portoricensis & Ravenia urbanii. Thrity Vakil, director of TVREF, immediately set about creating a diverse team comprised of plant and tree experts, and experts in the fields of ecology, biology, taxonomy, bryology, mycology, and zoology. (TVREF is also known as Eye on the Rainforest, which is the name of its website).

Take a short drone flight over Las Casas de la Selva, Sustainable Forestry & Rainforest Enrichment Project, established in 1983 in Patillas, Puerto Rico. August 2021.
Footage by Brent Foley, Production by Alfredo Lopez.

Earthday Botanical Survey 2021, at Las Casas de la Selva, Sustainable forestry & Rainforest Enrichment Project in Patillas, Puerto Rico. Filmwork: Raymesh Cintron, Narrator: 3t Vakil, Soundtrack: Andrés Rúa

“Re-examining Crises as Opportunities for Change: Sustainable Forestry, Log salvage, and Hardwood production after extreme social, ecological & technological disturbances in Puerto Rico.”
Since 2014, the Yale University Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters (ISTF) has awarded an Innovation Prize at its annual conference to honor outstanding initiatives and ideas related to tropical forest use and conservation. Thrity was selected as one of three finalists to tell the story of Las Casas de la Selva, Puerto Rico Hardwoods, and the Institute of Ecotechnics. February 2021
Images and footage: 3t Vakil, Andrés Rúa, Tom Marvel, & Greg Byers.

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm on the morning of 20th September 2017. Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry and Rainforest Enrichment Project established 35 years ago, lay directly in her path. This is 3t’s visual story of the impact of Hurricane Maria on the rainforest project in Patillas, on the land known as Las Casas de la Selva, southeast Puerto Rico.

Film and photos by 3t Vakil, and Andrés Rúa. Edited by Corinna MacNeice. Use headphones to appreciate the soundscape.

“Seas, rain forests, and saving coral reefs” Long Lost Friends talks with 3T Vakil

“Painting and saving forests in Puerto Rico” Long Lost Friends talks with 3T Vakil

“Saving Endangered Trees” Long Lost Friends talks with 3T Vakil

PRESS & PUBLICATIONS

In 2021, the Global Tree Campaign has partnered with Eye on the Rainforest, a Puerto Rican NGO, with the aims of conserving tree species most at risk of extinction by increasing the technical capacity of project partners and improving the conservation status of these tree species. https://globaltrees.org/projects/securing-the-conservation-of-endemic-trees-in-puerto-rico/
3t made a virtual presentation to the Rotary Club of San Juan in September 2021.
Conserve Magazine: https://www.naplesgarden.org/wp-ontent/uploads/2021/08/Conserve.pdf
See pages 16 to 20. 3t’s photo of the Las Casas forest made the front cover!

Events Press Waste management Wood

by thrity July 20, 2016

Sustainability Award, May 2016

Puerto Rico Hardwoods Inc (PRH) is delighted to have won the prestigious 2016 EnterPRize business award for Sustainability, sponsored by Grupo Guayacán and the Aireko Foundation.

Hardwood trees that are felled by government and other agencies for public safety in Puerto Rico are currently dumped as ‘waste’ in the islands landfills. PRH rescues these trees and processes them into valuable timber for export and domestic use. PRH also harvests and sells timber from 30 year old plantations at Las Casas de la Selva, Patillas, and promotes sustainable harvesting of timber from other plantations in Puerto Rico.

PRH maintains that sustainability must start with minimizing waste and the intelligent use of local resources rather than importing timber which contributes to the devastation of forests in other countries. In the context of global increases in deforestation, PRH demonstrates long-term methods for economic utilization of previously disturbed secondary forests in Puerto Rico. This is essential in helping to reduce pressure on the exploitation of pristine rainforests elsewhere. PRH is built on a renewable and recyclable resource model and as one of the first of Puerto Rico’s hardwood distributors, believes that sustainability is much more than just a marketing device; it is a practice that ensures a healthy future for our lives and businesses.

PRH is located on the land known as Las Casas de la Selva, home to the Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry Project established 30 years ago by The Institute of Ecotechnics in the southern mountains adjacent to the Carite State Forest, in Patillas, Puerto Rico.

PRH was created and developed by Andrés Rúa and Thrity Vakil, also both Directors of Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry and Rainforest Enrichment Project. As founders of the Agroforestry Development Advisory Council (CADA), their broader vision is to promote sustainable forestry in Puerto Rico and convert unwanted trees into a valuable resource.

Here are some images from the award ceremony, 24th May 2016

Winners of Sustainability Award: Puerto Rico Hardwoods, and Crosstech
Above: L-R: Keila Lopez, Grupo Guayacan Program Manager, Andrés Rúa, CEO PR Hardwoods, 3t Vakil, President PR Hardwoods, Jose David Torres, Crosstech, Jose Humberto, Crosstech, and Francisco Uriarte, Chairman of Grupo Guayacan.

Below: All the semi-finalists on the night.

EnterPRize’s objective is to strengthen startups through a rigorous educational curriculum, mentoring and access to capital. In this 10th edition, EnterPRize broadens its offering through two phases focused on promising startups that are capable of growing locally and internationally. This new generation of entrepreneurs has the capacity of launching innovative projects with a global economic mindset and we’re proud to be part of the start of their entrepreneurial journey,” said Laura Cantero, Executive Director of Grupo Guayacán. EnterPRize seeks to identify startups and entrepreneurs with significant potential and to spur their development by providing access to the tools and resources they need to scale.

With Johnny Dolphin, founder of the Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry Project, directed by 3t and Andrés in Patillas, PR.

The PRH team: Alex Figueroa, Magha Garcia, Andrés Rúa, 3t Vakil, & Ricardo Valles. 2016

Grupo Guayacán, Inc. is a private sector driven non-profit organization founded in 1996 with a unique model that has coupled private equity investment with a series of programs aimed at developing, strengthening, and advancing Puerto Rico’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Aireko Foundation’s vision is that Puerto Ricans develop and sustain leading organizations and enterprising initiatives recognized in and outside Puerto Rico for their sustainability. Our mission is to promote the development of individuals, businesses and non-governmental organizations in a measurable and sustainable manner in Puerto Rico, in order to achieve positive social, economic and environmental change. We value and support education, charity, entrepreneurship and solidarity, integrated with a dynamic search for sustainability.