Happy Tonics is Migrating to Costa Rica for an Eco Adventure by Mary Ellen Ryall

view of Lago Arenal in view of the Arenal Volcano and the valley of the Rio Cano Negro and is surrounded by the Children Eternal Forest and the Arenal Forest Reserve

We are pleased to announce that Sandy Stein and Pat Shields, husband and wife, will be in Costa Rica for much of December.

Stein is secretary of Happy Tonics, Inc. a nonprofit environmental education organization and public charity.  Pat Shields is a board member and facility at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College.

They will be staying at Rancho Margot, a 300 acre self sufficient working ranch at tp://www.ranchomargot.org/our_ranch.html

The Reserva Biologica de Monteverde is just 15 km from the ranch.  The natural paradise setting of the ranch is on Lago Arenal in view of the Arenal Volcano and the valley of the Rio Cano Negro and is surrounded by the Children Eternal Forest and the Arenal Forest Reserve. 

Costa Rica has the most species of butterflies anywhere in the world outside of Ecuador.  We hope the team is able to photograph butterfly species that are unfamiliar to us.  A video camera will record interviews at the organic ranch.  Happy Tonics mission is:  Sanctuary for the Monarch Butterfly and Food Safety Issues.  We are looking at other countries to see what we can learn about staying small, producing our own local and organic food, promoting biodiversity of habitat for butterflies and eco tourism.  Be sure to keep up with the blog news in December here at Insectamonarca’s Blog.

Water Is a Life Giving Gift by Mary Ellen Ryall

Sweet free flowing water in northwest Wisconsin. Copyright Mary Ellen Ryall

Have you seen the documentary film “Flow” yet?

 The film eloquently points out what is happening around the world with water privatization by multinationals. The film explains how the World Bank plays a part in displacing people from their homelands to build big dams that will burden the people even more with water costs.  Learn more about the film at http://www.flowthefilm.com/

Flow is a must for environmental advocates who want to protect Mother Earth.  Visit http://freeflo.org/article31  Read about ARTICLE 31: Sign the petition to add a 31st article to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, establishing access to clean water as a fundamental human right.

We need to protect Mother Earth’s blood which is the free flowing water within and above ground.  Water is a precious gift of life to all species. Water is not a commodity.