A Journey with CNN to Santa Helena, Colombia
This week I took an unforgettable journey with my daughter and CNN to the Santa Helena Preserve, Colombia. We had two goals: capture the stunning biodiversity of this region and document the Proyecto Titi/ReWorld reforestation project. I also wanted to give my daughter an unforgettable experience in seeing the new forest we are helping build!
Our first day was spent tracking and filming the elusive but adorable Cotton Top Tamarin. The Tamarin — also known as “the world’s cutest monkey with the rock-star hairdo” — is a tiny and critically endangered species of monkey. They live exclusively in trees and with a lot of patience, these adorable creatures might cautiously approach you. As our team hiked through miles of forest, we were surrounded by an orchestra of nature: the deep, loud and distant howling of the ‘Howler Monkey’, the chirping of birds, the spectacle of tangled trees and vines, and splashes of vibrant colors from the local flora and fauna. It felt as if we had stepped back in time and were experiencing the world in its original, unspoiled, breathtaking beauty.
Taken after hiking through miles of forest.
After a few hours with a radio-tracking antenna, we finally located a family of Cotton Tops. Our excitement was palpable as a group of Tamarins began to slowly swing down from the upper branches, keeping one eye on us and their other eye on a piece of mouth-watering fruit. The CNN team captured some great footage for their story that will air on August 31st on CNN International.
After a few hours, we found a cotton top family.
Rosamira with the CNN team
On the second day, we visited the site of Proyecto Titi/ReWorld’s reforestation project. Rosamira Guillen, Co-founder and CEO of Proyecto Titi, gave an inspiring tour of her tree-planting operation. Her team’s efficiency, expertise, and commitment to using rigorous, science-based planting methods was impressive. As Rosamira explained:
PT’s reforestation process begins at the seed stage, with the team collecting hundreds of thousands of seeds from local forests and storing them in a temperature-controlled room. When planting season begins, the seeds are planted in rows of nursery beds and carefully nourished until they become a small sapling. The team monitors each sapling’s growth, ensuring they receive the best possible start in life.
Once the saplings reach the right size and strength, they’re transferred by hand into the heart of the tropical dry forest. PT selects the ideal location and spacing between trees, even considering issues such as slope and sun exposure. They regularly monitor and measure the trees during their first few years, carefully recording growth and health. The result is a native forest designed for survivability and optimized for long term health. PT’s science-based approach is a testament to what humanity can achieve when we work in harmony with nature.
Perhaps the most touching moment of the trip was when Rosamira invited us all to plant a tree on a new piece of land that was previously a cattle ranch. I dug a small hole, lifted a young sapling, and gently placed it in its new home; a powerful reminder of how we can heal our planet, one tree at a time. Rosamira asked us to name our tree after someone we love and promised they would keep a name tag on each tree for decades to come. I named my tree “Ella”, after my daughter ❣️.
At the end of the second day, I hiked up a hill to visit ‘our family land’ in the Santa Helena Preserve. Our family bought 20 acres. These acres will store enough carbon to offset our family’s carbon footprint for the next 25 years. Nice.
I’m now sitting on the flight back from Colombia, reflecting on the days we spent in the Colombian tropical forest. In that time, we formed a bond with the land, the trees, the critically endangered Cotton Top, and with Rosamira’s amazing team. Right now, I feel enormous gratitude and hope: gratitude for the beauty of nature. And hope for the future of our amazing, but fragile planet.
My only disappointment? The carbon that I burned in getting to Colombia and back by airplane. Even more important we bought enough land and trees that will offset our carbon for decades to come. Another ‘consolation’ is that I am one of the first investors in Cosmic Aerospace, an exciting startup moving the world quickly toward carbon-free flight. I trust that I am more than compensating for the carbon I am unfortunately burning’.
Join us in building the world’s first community-funded tropical forest and biodiversity region. Buy one acre. Ten acres. Or a tenth of an acre. Every contribution helps. Click here to learn how. Help us rewrite the future that we will hand to our children, to their children, and to the many generations to come.