Your Everyday Heroes flew to Costa Rica to feature the outstanding work that the residents are doing to protect the environment and endangered wildlife in one of the most biodiverse areas on the Earth.
We followed a group of people in Costa Rica who are the physical embodiment of the country’s national motto “Pura Vida,” a uniquely positive outlook, that translates into English as “pure life,” and is the foundation of Costa Rican’s ethos and national identity.
Meet the Heroes of Costa Rica
Our first featured hero is Jeremy Levine, an American ex-patriot who founded Wild Sun Rescue, a non-profit organization dedicated to the rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing the local wildlife that has been harmed by human activity encroaching into their natural habitat.
Wild Sun Rescue takes care of all the injured animals in the surrounding area, but their primary goal is fostering the survival of the howler monkey species, whose populations have been decimated by deforestation, urbanization, and the destruction of their habitats.
Close by, in Cóbano, Costa Rica, biologist Vernon Arias and the non-profit organization ASOPROLAPA are working hard to bring back the scarlet macaw from extinction.
The skies of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula were once filled with the magnificent red birds, but the erection of habitat-disturbing real estate, along with the acts of poachers, almost drove the cherished species to annihilation.
Vernon and the ASOPROLAPA team have been exhaustively working to bred and release more than 200 scarlet macaws back into the wild, and educating the local community along the way to ensure that the species’ survives and thrives.
Another American ex-pat, Tracey Lemon, has spent her retirement years protecting sea turtles in her new home. Ensuring the survival of sea turtles is highly important, as they are a keystone species essential to the functioning of the planet’s ecosystem.
Despite their importance to the ecosystem, sea turtles are endangered due to being nearly poached into extinction.
Tracey works with the nonprofit Tambor Bay Turtles to ensure the protection of the remaining sea turtles and increase their population. The organization is able to accomplish this feat by guarding of turtle nests from poachers and other wildlife, while educating the local community about the endangered species along the way.
At the end of the documentary, take a look at Alejandro Morales‘ LECO Project, which is dedicated to keeping the beaches of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, clean through recycling the plastic waste that washes up on shore into Eco-friendly sustainable products and construction material.
Your Everyday Heroes of Costa Rica Individual Episodes
For more information about the heroes of Costa Rica, watch each of their individual episodes in Season Two of our docuseries.
Watch Jeremy Levine’s featured episode: “Rehabilitating Monkeys At Wild Sun Rescue.”
Watch Vernon Arias featured episode: “Bringing Back the Scarlet Macaw From Extinction.”
Watch Tracey Lemon’s featured episode: “Protecting Tambor Bay’s Turtles.”
Watch Alejandro Morales’ featured episode: “Turning Beach Trash Into Treasure.“
Your Everyday Heroes of Costa Rica awards:
Winner: Best Documentary @wildsoundfest
Winner: Best Cinematography @InfluxMagazine
