Willie Smits

Wonderful support from Germany, Lebensraum Regenwald together with Benni Over and the Wiedtal Gymnasium reached and surpassed their goal to raise 100.000 Euro for Benni's Wald in our Masarang Temboan land restoration project! Ganz vielen Dank liebe Freunde!

Meeting up in Manado with good friends Simon Purser and Myron Shekelle. Great fighters for nature.

So happy with yesterday’s rainfall in North Sulawesi! 42 mm over 36 hours. What an important reprieve from the El Nino dry period we are in. In parts of Java the situation is already very bad after five months of drought. Hope all trees planted with TreesForAll will survive

Very sad to see the forest fires and smoke returning to parts of West and Central Kalimantan. The expected super El Nino is only just starting. Very worrying…

Participating with the Reforester team in the X-Prize Rainforest semi final in Singapore. Great team spirit. Promising results. Fingers crossed

In Singapore for the X-Prize semi final with the Reforester team. Great spirit and amazing collection of experts trying to map the world’s biodiversity in fast and innovative ways.

@TheProject_NZ So proud of my school and university classmate and dear friend!

I just heard the sad news that my good friend and promotor for my doctoral thesis, Dr. Theunis Limonard, passed away. He was a wise man and philosopher, speaking many languages. Just weeks ago I was fortunate to still visit him amongst his books. Rest in Peace dear Theunis.

Just heard the sad news that my good friend and promotor for my doctoral thesis, Dr. Theunis Limonard, passed away. He was a wise and modest man, a philosopher and great linguist. Just a month ago I was lucky to still spend several hours with him. Rest in peace dear Theunis.

Elena has officially joined the board of trustees of our Masarang foundation. She and her husband Junior are long time supporters and dedicated to the environment. On the right our Notary Mrs Rufina.

Very impressed with the speakers at the G20 Global Food Security Forum here in Bali. Everything I am hearing here confirms that agroforestry based land restoration as Masarang has, and is developing is the solution to the energy/water/food conundrum.

Yesterday at the ITM University, handing over the first two of four microscopes donated by Frans Weekers from The Netherlands to support our Masarang Temboan project and the ITM University. From left to right Prof. Julius, Dr. Lantemona, me, Ir. Tumbal. Many thanks Frans!

And it is because of these local women that our trees are are planted and maintained so well!

This area we hope to regenerate in 2023, funds allowing. There will be a live camera for people to see it from our newly finished tower.

Hard to believe that 15 months earlier this looked like a part of our Temboan area that we have not yet regenerated as you can see in the next tweet. Birds are back!

Our Masarang Foundation library has one of the most complete book collections about the North Sulawesi Minahasa region with some original books two centuries old. It is a public library free for anyone. It's a pity though so few people still read books nowadays.

Tried the orangutan costume made in Jakarta before sending it to friends of Lebensraum Regenwald.

Fantastic tiger leap into freedom in the middle of the Rimbang Baling jungle from an Indonesian army helicopter. The tigress named Puteri Singgalung finished her rehabilitation at the Arsari Djojohadikusumo Foundation.

Only days before his 85th Birthday my mentor & friend Prof.dr.ir. Roelof (R.A.A.) Oldeman suddenly passed away in Wageningen. I attended his very 1st lecture as forestry professor in Wageningen and he supervised my doctoral thesis. Here with his loyal wife Wil. RIP

Meeting with old and new friends at Profauna’s P-WEC center and giving a short training about biochar.