At Finca Cántaros we believe in the power of environmental education to improve lives; create sustainable landscapes and livelihoods; and foster an appreciation of the landscape and the wildlife that lives here. We lead with our values of family, respect, integrity, and community.
All of our work is rooted in environmental education. For over five years, our founder, Lilly Briggs, has brought environmental education to children and their families throughout the hemisphere. At Finca Cántaros we developed three branches to focus our work in: forest landscape restoration, birds and gender. Each branch is necessary for a strong community to thrive.
Finca Cántaros is located in the southern zone of Costa Rica on the Pacific slope, in Coto Brus county of the province of Puntarenas. The fairly high elevation provides a cool, comfortable, tropical highlands climate which supports an amazing array of wildlife and is perfect for visitors. This site is a part of formally recognized biological corridor, the “AmistOsa Biological Corridor.” Biological corridors are also known as wildlife or migration corridors, providing connectivity between protected wild areas as well as human-modified landscapes in order to conserve biodiversity and address community-based needs.
Our site and the different areas of land appear on the global restoration platform, Restor. Please visit our Restor profile (see below) in order to better situate the location, the land and the work!
A biological corridor (also referred to as a wildlife corridor or migration corridor) is defined as a territory that provides connectivity between protected wild areas as well as human-modified landscapes in order to conserve biodiversity and address community-based needs.
This land will create a strategic connection between our original "Bosque Mágico" and a neighbouring project called "Bosque Micelio."
Adding the missing piece between "Bosque Mágico" and "Bosque Micelio"!
Finca Cántaros acquires 52 hectares previously owned by the Sansonetti family (Vito Sansonetti led the Italian immigration to San Vito in the 1950s). This land connects to the "main Finca Cántaros campus" of 15 hectares, and we will be launching extensive restoration efforts in 2025.
Finca Cántaros continues to build strategic biological corridors
Finca Cántaros acquires a property of three hectares called "360" that connects to the properties acquired in 2022 and 2021, upon which we have already initiated forest restoration projects.
Finca Cántaros acquires more land
Finca Cántaros acquires 40 hectares of cattle pasture, on which it initiates multiple forest restoration projects with the community and as part of global research efforts (which are detailed on the forest restoration page). These hectares connect with the properties acquired in 2021.
Finca Cántaros acquires more land
Finca Cántaros acquires 15 hectares that includes both secondary forest and cattle pasture that is not connected to the "main campus" where the office is based, but connects to the Las Cruces Biological Reserve, an important piece of the AmistOsa Biological Corridor.
Finca Cántaros acquires more land
With its transformation into the Finca Cántaros Environmental Association, the craft store was closed. The nature reserve remains open to the public by reservation and the majority of land will be converted into additional active and passive reforestation projects. We will continue to maintain the beautiful forest trails. We are fully dedicated to environmental education activities and forest restoration activities.
Finca Cántaros becomes Finca Cántaros Environmental Association
When Lilly Briggs bought the property in 2019, Finca Cántaros was a well-regarded tourist destination of approximately 7.5 hectares of forest and gardens, found in international tourist guidebooks every year since 1997. It was a public nature reserve and housed an artisan craft store. Lilly added the adjacent 7.5 hectares of property that are currently undergoing active and passive reforestation as part of the organization’s mission.
Finca Cántaros is purchased from Gail and Harry Hull by Lilly Briggs
Founder & Director
Wildlife Research Manager
Environmental Art
Project Assistant
Head Of Property Maintenance
Maintenance Team
Maintenance Team
Head Of Infrastructure Maintenance
Head Of Cleaning
BirdSleuth Instructors
Security
Finca Cántaros Environmental Association works with a diverse array of committed partners to achieve its goals of promoting environmental education through the three pillars of forest landscape restoration, birds and gender.
Special Partners
We are pleased to consider Community Cloud Forest Conservation a partner organization. Their work provided a great deal of inspiration and experience for FCEA Director Lilly Briggs, as she conducted her PhD research at their site, focused in part on the impacts of their environmental education efforts. See the video above for more details!
We are also pleased to partner with Costa Rica Focus, which specializes in custom birding and nature tours across Costa Rica, and is tailored for travellers looking to experience the country’s incredible biodiversity with expert local guides. With over a decade of experience, they connect visitors to the best birding hotspots, ecolodges, and conservation-focused travel experiences. Learn more at www.costaricafocus.com.
The San Vito Bird Club is a community-based not-for-profit group in southern Costa Rica that engages all ages in activities aimed at inspiring interest in birds and supporting bird conservation, from bird walks to local youth-oriented environmental education programs. We partner with the San Vito Bird Club on multiple environmental education outreach initiatives.
Birds Canada is a non-profit charitable organization whose mission is to conserve wild birds through sound science, on-the-ground actions, innovative partnerships, public engagement, and science-based advocacy. It manages the Motus Wildlife Tracking System program, an international collaborative research network that uses coordinated automated radio telemetry to facilitate research and education on the ecology and conservation of migratory animals. We partner with Birds Canada and Motus Wildlife Tracking System through our Motus Station, the second to be installed in Costa Rica.
The Morton Arboretum is an internationally recognized outdoor tree museum and tree research center, committed to scientifically-informed action, locally and globally, and encouraging the planting and conservation of trees. It manages The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program, the only global program to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards. We partner with Morton Arboretum on forest restoration projects and Finca Cántaros is officially accredited as an arboretum.
Osa Conservation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the globally significant biodiversity of the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. They also lead multiple forest restoration projects throughout Coto Brus, including the creation and maintenance of tree nurseries that support the propagation of native tree species for planting along the AmistOsa Biological Corridor. We partner with Osa Conservation through the tree nursery based at Finca Cántaros, which creates a rich environmental education space for the multiple audiences that we work with through our various programs.
Proyecto Cerúlea is dedicated to studying the Cerulean Warbler, particularly its natural history during important stopover points in Costa Rica on its migration route. It conducts annual surveys as well as public outreach events. We have a partnership with Proyecto Cerúlea through our co-managed Motus Station, detailed further in the Birds Canada/Motus Wildlife Tracking System partnership description.
