Headed Home on the Green Highway 

“There were some howler monkeys that were trapped in a little island of trees,” Garcia said. Looking up into the canopy, Garcia could see the monkeys clustered together, clinging to the remnants of their habitat. And when he looked down, he saw something even more concerning. 

“I could see their footprints in the ashes. Keep in mind, monkeys don’t like to walk on the ground. It’s too dangerous for them. For a monkey to do that, it means they were desperate,” Garcia said. Desperately searching for food and water. While the trees offered some safety for the monkeys, the small pocket of shelter did not have nearly enough resources to sustain them long-term.

Their struggle is reflected in the lives of the thousands of wildlife species who have seen their habitat shrink as both human and climate-caused threats encroach upon their ecosystems. Once-huge swaths of continuous forestlands have been broken up into standalone segments, existing almost independent of one another. These fragmented habitats leave animals disconnected from the resources they need to survive and deprive them of the security that makes a home.

That’s why, in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation, Garcia and his organization Planalto are working to bridge the gaps that exist in Campeche’s forestland, by establishing biodiversity corridors with nearly 10,000 trees. These tree-lined pathways are designed to help unite clusters of trees, blending them together. Like a living highway, the corridors provide animals with a safe means of passage to find food and water resources.  

“We build these corridors in a way that they are part of a system,” he said. “It’s like, when you plant a seed, something is going to grow. So here, we start with something small, but that keeps growing.” 

While native to Mexico, a recent census revealed fewer than 5,000 jaguars remain in the entire country largely due to habitat loss and high rates of poaching. The jaguar has a deep cultural history, once hailed as a deity by ancient civilizations of Mexico. To this day, the animal remains a cultural symbol. 

They also play a large role in strengthening ecosystems. Known as an “umbrella species,” conservationists believe that protecting the jaguar will indirectly protect the many other species that share its habitat. This is in part because the jaguar’s habitat is so large. According to the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, a single jaguar needs between 2,500 to 10,000 hectares of habitat in order to thrive. Within that range are thousands of other smaller species that benefit from the habitat’s maintenance.

“When we first started monitoring our land, we wouldn’t get any images of jaguars. In the first year, we would only get ocelots which are smaller felines, but not jaguars,” Garcia said. 

But by creating forested highways to give jaguars and other animals more space to safely travel and access the nearby river, they began to see a difference. The image below was captured by one of the wildlife cameras placed along a corridor.

“It’s not only the jaguar population that’s increased but the animals the jaguar depends on, they’ve also increased their numbers. So now there are more deer in the area and wild boar and birds,” Garcia said.

It’s a positive ripple effect Garcia hopes will continue as his team begins to explore planting forested corridors to connect their land with neighboring properties.

“We are protecting this area, so it can be like a home again,” he said. “It’s like a safe house.”