Who We Are

Jennifer Leigh Smith was raised in Southwest Louisiana where she earned her Juris Doctorate degree at Louisiana State University in 1993. After practicing law for 7 years in Louisiana, Jenny decided to get out of the office and into “hands on” work more directly involved in her mission to help offset environmental problems, including global climate change. Jenny learned on her family’s established sustainably managed farm that planting trees and conserving forest as part of good land stewardship was a first rate profitable business for all involved, flora and fauna included.

Already fluent in Spanish, Jenny made her new home in Costa Rica in 1998, to plant trees and to help preserve the remaining stretches of rainforest on the Central to Southern Pacific coast. She is a full time legal Costa Rican resident and has created a socially responsible reforestation company in a tropical area where the effects of carbon sequestration to balance global warming could be compounded.

Jenny cultivated a long-standing active relationship with ASANA, the most established grassroots environmental organization in the area, and instrumental in creating the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor. Serving on the Board of Directors for over 5 years, and then driving ASANA as President for two years during a period of rampant development in the area, Jenny learned firsthand that the social problems faced by Ticos simply could not be ignored if lasting conservation work is to succeed in Costa Rica and other developing countries like it.

Jenny has devoted over 10 years to finding and brokering appropriate parcels of land for reforestation projects, planting over 260,000 trees linking together fragmented pieces of rainforest and creating food corridors for both animals and humans. Jenny has worked with many foreign clients on private reforestation projects. But realizing it is not enough for foreigners to come and plant trees on their own land, Jenny’s integrated work relationship with local Costa Ricans inspired her to create Community Carbon Trees Costa Rica as one creative solution to the gambit of environmental and social problems in Costa Rica and the world at large.

Juan Angel Mendiola hails from Mar del Plata, Argentina. For over 8 years, Juan has been instrumental in developing the reforestation capacity of Community Carbon Trees Costa Rica. Juan is also a full time legal Costa Rican permanent resident. He is responsible for the creation of systems for the safe and efficient transportation of trees, and the planting of large reforestation projects in difficult-to-reach locations. Some projects require infrastructure work such as road and bridge building or repair, water drainage or supply systems, and Juan designs and builds or organizes whatever is needed. All projects require fences, another area of his expertise. Practical on-the-ground solutions are Juan’s specialty and his skill as a trouble shooter is invaluable in keeping everything running smoothly.

As Work Crew Administrator, Juan is responsible for payroll and insurances for the work crews. He also keeps the crews organized and equipped, healthy and motivated. He is the main link with Luis Arias Alfaro, on-site work manager, to organize the general work team management for day-to day project planting and maintenance.

Luis Arias Alfaro, native Costa Rican, has been working with Jennifer and Juan for over 8 years, planting diverse large reforestation projects in the Southern Zone. Luis is Captain of the work crew and is relied upon to transport all workers to work site each morning and stay on site until work ends. Luis guides the reforestation crew in day-to-day planting or maintenance work, and insures that safety and quality are paramount. He implements developed systems for efficient transport and planting to enable crews to plant the maximum number of trees in the most effective way. Luis also serves as a liason among the Costa Rican families participating in the program. Safety, good worker communications and respect are of utmost importance, and Luis serves as part of the glue for Community Carbon Trees in Costa Rica.

Alvaro Cerdas, native Costa Rican, has also been working with Jenny and Juan for over 7 years. He is in charge of the largest native tree nursery in the area. He participates in seed collection from healthy trees of designated species, germination of the seedlings and transfer into rooting bags. Specialized knowledge for germination is required as is lengthy periods of development. Alvaro, like the other smaller nurseries must maintain the saplings until planting season. Alvaro helps to organize boxes of trees for transport to the planting site and maintains an accounting of which trees are planted in various zones. Alvaro is passionate about finding new and rare species to attract and feed wildlife, and help preserve the natural biodiversity. Over the years, Alvaro has developed a seed collection network among many local Ticos, who collect seeds from a wide variety of trees for propagation by Community Carbon Trees. As a result, the nursery currently grows saplings from over 80 different kinds of trees. Alvaro also helps to identify and interview Host farm participants and serves as a liaison between Community Carbon Trees and host farm families.

Cristian Mena, native Costa Rican, works in the tree nursery managed by Jenny. Cristian prepares healthy dirt from local compost, and produces saplings of over 50 species, with seeds primarily collected by Jenny and her seed network. Cristian is charged with care of nursery trees as they develop, generally requiring at least 8 months maduration prior to planting on site, sometimes up to 2 years. Other smaller Costa Rican family nurseries are scattered among communities where Jenny and Juan have reforestation projects for private clients. These viveros are also supported by Community Carbon Trees and Jenny always encourages local communities to produce local trees for future projects. Notably, work in the tree nursery is ideally suited for women and children and can be a complementary aspect of all projects.

Matias Ciarfaglia is a talented graphic designer who combines his art skills with everyday know how when it comes to getting things done in Costa Rica. He designed the logo for Community Carbon Trees, maintains the new CCT interactive portal website, and also helps with administrative details with Order Forms and Thank You Certificates. . Always motivated, Matias makes an important contribution to the growth of CCT.

Allison Moore is a passionate tree lover and collector of flora. She has planted and maintained over 3000 native trees on her farm in the Pacific coastal mountains of Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica. Allison is certified in perma-culture design and has served as assistant Director of True Nature Education Center since 2004. Fluent in Spanish and French, she holds degrees in International Economics and Environmental Science. Allison is thrilled to be part of a reforestation effort which includes diverse species and truly works hand in hand with the Costa Rican people.

Community Carbon Trees work crews are made up of young local men ranging in age from 17 on up, living in San Juan de Dios area. Randy and Liandro have been planting trees with Jenny and Juan since 2004.Other workers and seed collection network and community nurseries supported by Community Carbon Trees have been in existence since 2000. While planting season sometimes sees extra workers added to crew rosters, permanent positions are highly prized as they provide good wages, great benefits with bonuses, and good people with whom to work.