海角大神

In 1950, 44 American Quakers opposed to America鈥檚 involvement in the Korean War bought a large tract of land in Costa Rica. The land lay in a mountaintop town called Monteverde, located in Costa Rica鈥檚 cloud forest, where they鈥檇 be able to continue the dairy farming that some had practiced in the United States.

But first they set aside one-third of the land to protect a local watershed. Over the years, recognizing the vast biological diversity and unique beauty of the forest, they created conservation foundations and private reserves as well.

Today, although some of those dairy farms remain, Monteverde is better known for its contributions to conservation studies. There, researchers developed 鈥渂iological corridors鈥� that help animals and plants move from one protected area to another. They have pioneered a 鈥渓attice framework鈥� that ensures space for species requiring specific elevations to live and support themselves.

The group鈥檚 efforts started small 鈥� but today loom large. It鈥檚 not unlike what we鈥檙e seeing this week as volunteers in the US and Caribbean distribute food, rescue stray dogs, and clean up debris in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Never underestimate the power of an unselfish act.

Now, to our five stories for today.

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