SAVING FROGS
in Ecuador’s Chocó Cloud Forest
THANK YOU for donating to help Justin save frogs in Ecuador! Your gift to the Rainforest Trust Reserva Youth Land Trust project will protect the Ecuadorian Chocó Rainforest, and the species that call it home.
ABOUT JUSTIN
Frogs are 10-year-old Justin Sather’s favorite animal. His fascination with the species began with a blanket he had as a baby, and has blossomed from there. Now, Justin’s love for frogs has led him on a mission to protect the planet.
In kindergarten, Justin learned that nearly one-third of frog species are on the verge of extinction due to pollution, pesticides, contaminated water and habitat destruction. He discovered that scientists consider frogs an indicator species––a species whose condition provides information on the overall state of an ecosystem.
This knowledge empowered Justin, he wanted to save his favorite species and his planet. With help and encouragement from his mom, Sheri, he set an ambitious goal: to be a critical part of the “30×30” initiative and help conserve 30% of the planet by 2030, for the frogs and beyond. “It’ll started from an idea that turned into an incredible mother-son journey of learning to be brave and staying determined, to create a world Justin envisions for himself and his generation,” said Sheri.
Last year, Justin joined the Youth Council of Reserva Youth Land Trust, an international group of young people that is leading an initiative to create the world’s first entirely youth funded, 244-acre nature reserve in Ecuador’s threatened Chocó cloud forest in partnership with Rainforest Trust and their local partner, Fundación EcoMinga. In celebration of his birthday, Justin raised the $730 necessary to purchase one acre of land for the project, which was matched by the Rainforest Trust SAVES Challenge to pay for a second acre.
Justin has recently started collaborating with a herpetologist who is teaching him about all the many frogs within the Chocó, including one of his new favorite species, the Glass Frog.
In the future, Justin hopes to continue using frogs to educate his peers about the beauties of the natural world and inspire them to help him save it. “I want to learn why other kids like nature and inspire them to want to protect it too,” said Justin. “When they get older they will already know how to take care of the planet. We are the future generation.”
ABOUT THE CHOCÓ RAINFOREST
The global Chocó-Tumbes biodiversity hotspot lies between the Andes and the Pacific in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. This area is one of the world’s most unique biodiversity zones, and yet only 2% of the Chocó in Ecuador remains intact. The area is mainly primary foothill forest and cloud forest, and about 10% pasture. This property protects low-elevation forest, which the adjacent protected area, Dracula Reserve, is currently lacking. Safeguarding this site would not only protect at-risk species, but also help to create a wildlife corridor between two disjointed parcels of the existing Dracula Reserve.
This site is home to iconic species like the Ocelot and Hoffman’s Two-toed Sloth and rare species like the Endangered Black-and-Chestnut Eagle and the Critically Endangered Brown-headed Spider Monkey. The property also contains many local endemics — species found nowhere else in the world — including several new-to-science species, including a blue-eyed Pristimantis frog and the Dracula Anole. The proposed reserve is the only known site in Ecuador for the Endangered Carchi Andes Toad, and one of only two known sites in the world for the Critically Endangered Rio Faisanes Stubfoot Toad, once thought extinct.
Size/Acres: 244-acre expansion of a planned 1,219-acre reserve • Habitat: Low-elevation forest, cloud forest • Local Partner: Fundación EcoMinga • Financial Need: $178,296 • Price per Acre: $730.72 • Metric Tons Carbon Storage: 1,420,000 • Key Species: Ecuadorian Brown-headed Spider Monkey (CR), Rio Faisanes Stubfoot Toad (CR), Carchi Andes Toad (EN), Black-and-Chestnut Eagle (EN), Terborch’s Dracula, New-to-science Blue-eyed Robber Frog
Habitat for Hundreds of
Species Protected
33 Million +
Acres Saved
30 + Years of
Conservation Successes
Protecting the most threatened tropical forests.
Our unique, cost-effective conservation model for protecting endangered species has been implemented successfully for over 30 years. Protection requires swift action, and we implement scientifically-based conservation plans that are not only timely, but also resilient and sustainable. With your support, we work tirelessly to permanently protect rainforests and other vital habitat throughout the world.
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Photo credits: Header, The Glass Frog, by Ana Dracaena-Shutterstock; Bottom, Pristimantis, by Juan Pablo Reyes.
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