Author: Rosannette Quesada

Recently, Canopy Family supported a small fieldtrip with a great value: kids from Darién that belong to the Environmental Brigades, organized by Loira Castillo from the Ministry of Environment, visited Soberanía National Park and Summit Municipal Park, located on the outskirts of Panama City just a few minutes away from the Canopy Tower. The purpose of the trip was to immerse the kids in the biodiversity of Panama and allow them to watch the magnificent Harpy Eagle kept in captivity in Summit Park. Summit Park is an education, conservation, and recreation center, and one of the first wild animal rescue and rehabilitation centers in Panama. Besides the Harpy Eagle, there are currently around 200 individuals representing nearly 100 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles under human care in the park. Among them are charismatic species like Spider Monkeys, White-faced Capuchin monkeys, Jaguars, Pumas, Ocelots, land turtles, and a Tapir.  All participants had a blast during their visit. At Canopy Family, our hearts are full of joy just seeing all these happy faces, and we hope to keep supporting more of this kind of activity in the future!  

The Canopy Family proudly donates a portion of its profits to support birding clubs, conservation organizations, and other environmental initiatives, namely: ANCON (Asociacion para la Conservacion de la Naturaleza) Fundacion AVIFAUNA ADESVA (Asociacion para el Desarrollo Sostenible de El Valle de Anton San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, California Neotropical Bird Club, England Space Coast Birding Festival, Florida British Birdwatching Fair, England

Canopy Tower Family Invests in Planting Empowerment Planting Empowerment, a socially responsible forestry company working in Panama, announced today that the Canopy Tower Family, a renowned group of eco-lodges, has invested in Planting Empowerment. Washington, DC (PRWEB) September 27, 2012 Canopy Tower Family, a Panama-based ecotourism company, announced today that they have made a significant investment in Planting Empowerment, a socially responsible forestry company.  The investment will enable Planting Empowerment to expand its operations in Panama’s Darien province, where it has been growing tropical hardwoods for the past six years. “We invested in Planting Empowerment because we support their mission of profitable, socially-responsible forestry”, said Raul Arias de Para, Canopy Tower Family’s founder.  “They fit our own business well because we both have an interest in managing natural resources more sustainably and conserving virgin forests.  They’re reforesting native tree species in some of the most environmentally sensitive areas in Panama, but also keeping the land in the hands of the local indigenous communities and small farmers.  It’s more sustainable in the long run.” Damion Croston, Operations Director for Planting Empowerment, commented “We lease those plots of land from local communities and reforest with mixed tropical hardwoods and crops.  Planting Empowerment’s model provides income, replenishes the soil, grows food, and cultivates high value tropical timber.” As elsewhere in Latin America, Panama’s natural resources are under constant pressure from logging and subsistence agriculture, which rural farmers depend on to feed their families.  Cattle ranching also accelerates deforestation, leading to loss of biodiversity, soil erosion and spread of non-native grasses.  Unsustainable management of natural resources threatens biodiversity in Panama, and the long term growth prospects for local communities.  Farmers either have to commit more resources to getting the same amount of production from their land, or they move on to a new plot