Karma Saving the Rainforest

Hello fellow Quepolandia readers! It’s Karma Casey, the Kids Saving the Rainforest spokeskid! If you haven’t heard of KSTR, it’s a wonderful wildlife rescue and sanctuary non-profit right here in Quepos! They also plant trees and put up wildlife bridges in the area. For the last two years, I have been writing an article each month for Quepolandia, telling you all about KSTR and how to help the planet! This month’s article is a little bit different than the rest. This is my farewell article, so you won’t be reading my byline at the top of the page anymore!

Well, let’s start from the beginning of my story. I was an eight year old girl who loved animals and wanted to help them, but I was too young to really help them where I lived. I was just reading and researching about the majestic sloth (one of my favorite animals) when I saw the story about Jeannine and Aislin, the two nine year old girls who originally started Kids Saving the Rainforest.

The girls lived in Manuel Antonio, and they could see that the rainforest was beginning to be destroyed. They began by painting rocks and selling other arts and crafts. With the money they raised, they would buy trees to plant. Kids Saving the Rainforest grew and grew, eventually getting permission from the Costa Rican government to open a wildlife sanctuary and veterinary clinic. It has been open for about twenty years now. Wow! That’s a long time!

I was so inspired by this story, that I decided to reach out to the amazing Jennifer Rice, the president of Kids Saving the Rainforest. I told her how it was my dream to come and help all the animals there.

I decided to raise money for Kids Saving the Rainforest. So I painted rocks and piggy banks, made inspirational quotes, and sold my toys. I donated the money to them. You guys can can make crafts to sell, or just donate at kstr.org! Jennifer and I talked for a while, until my Mama and I heard Kids Saving the Rainforest needed a new Volunteer Coordinator! We made a very bold decision and moved to Costa Rica to dedicate our lives to helping KSTR. I arrived when I was nine years old, just like Janine and Aislin when they started the organization!

We spent an amazing two years here, giving tours, helping animals, and inspiring others to respect wildlife. I helped pick leaves for sloths, made enrichments to place in the homes of the sanctuary animals to make their lives better, planted trees, and so much more! I wrote these articles, went to the national park to talk with people about not feeding wildlife, and got to know some truly amazing and wildly wonderful people!

It’s amazing here, but sadly I am moving back to the United States. If you are reading this, I am already in the US. I have learned so very much during my two years here, and become so inspired! Kids Saving the Rainforest has inspired so many people over the years, not just me. I am so happy that you got to read my articles. I hope you learned a lot. I know I did!

I learned so many things at Kids Saving the Rainforest, from respecting wildlife, pooping sloths, animal diets, and how I can work hard and grow up to become a biologist or a veterinarian and help even more animals! I also learned things like writing these articles for you all, public speaking, and I have made so many friends, and learned so many life lessons.

Even though I am moving back to the United States, I will still be in touch with Kids Saving the Rainforest, and help the planet. If you would like to contact me, my email is [email protected]. Here are a few things I learned in my time here that I think you should know.

• Always be yourself
• Don’t feed the wildlife!
• One tree at a time makes a big difference
• We only have one beautiful planet, so save it
• Follow your dreams!
• Every penny counts
• Educate the ones who don’t know
• Inspire people!
• Be the change!
• Don’t litter
• The animals are our friends
• Volunteer with projects like KSTR!
• Never give up!

Even though I’m not going to be writing the articles anymore, the new volunteer coordinator at KSTR will be taking over for now. He also does the radio shows in the Marina outside of Quepos! He is a very knowledgeable biologist! I bet he has a bunch of good stories for you. If you want to donate, volunteer, or look at some animal pictures go to kstr.org!

A big thanks to all the people who help to save the planet. Does that sound anything like you? If not, you can start now! It’s not that hard. Don’t litter, plant trees, respect the wildlife and much much more. Well I hope you enjoyed this article. I will miss you guys so much. I hope I inspired you at least a little bit.

Remember, if you find injured orphaned wildlife, send a WhatsApp message to the KSTR veterinary clinic team at 88-ANIMAL, and they’ll come to the rescue.

Farewell!