Vanessa Caldarelli is the president of EcoEra, a conservation group protecting 7,500 acres of rainforest in one of the most biodiverse regions of Costa Rica. Their mission is to protect the rainforest's ecosystems by preventing poaching and deforestation, and to re-connect people to nature, which they are also doing through their sister project Posada Natura, a wellness retreat devoted to holistic healing located at the base of their conservation lands.

We talked about how Vanessa’s family got involved with this land, the ecological function of the rainforest, the species they are trying to protect from poaching, the factors that contribute to tropical deforestation, and we covered some tangents like globalism and Zen Buddhism. It was a really nice chat, and I want to thank Vanessa and Eco Era for reaching out to spread the word about their efforts down in Costa Rica. To learn more, you can go to EcoEra.org!