Meet the Great People of Butterfly Haven...

I have heard it said that employees will make or break an enterprise. If that is true, then Butterfly Haven has it made...Everyone here is reliable, hard working, pleasant and makes this an enjoyable place to be. Please meet our great people... 

Cleo Perez is our tour guide extraordinaire. Always friendly and laughing with visitors, he is constantly dreaming up new ways for visitors to have a great experience. In addition, he works hard maintaining the exhibit areas everyday. Cleo also paints signs, creates enhanced photos for visitors (see below) and has just started making butterfly wing jewelry. He has been married to Chanet for 21 years and they have 5 children. 

Andrew Jenkins is an Alabama native and recently joined us working 4 days per week as a lab technician where we reproduce butterflies. An Environmental Engineer by training, he just completed a 2 year stint with the Peace Corps in the Darien Province, Panama where he installed drinking and waste water treatment for the Embera Indians. He is always looking for ways to improve the lab and he has introduced log records to the lab. In addition, he is bilingual and leads visitor tours.

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Joanna also recently joined us and is working 2 days per week in the lab. She is also bilingual and leads tours as well. She was formerly a scuba and water activities instructor and will be with us through January. She brings a caring, conscientious spirit to Butterfly Haven. 

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Amaya is our contractor. A native of El Salvador, he left there 14 years ago to find work. Walking through Mexico in 45 days, he worked in the US and Belize before coming to Panama where he now has a wife and 2 daughters. Working for the past month on many odd jobs, he has helped me whittle down my giant project list.

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At last we have a great gardener! Pastor brings hard work and and a fun spirit to our beautiful gardens. He has 4 children.

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Though not an employee of Butterfly Haven, Erin rents the cafe and casita and cooks up wonderful and creative breakfasts and lunches several days a week. She is also passionate about teaching yoga.

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Our latest big project is a gift shop. It is 8 x 12 ft and is situated in front of flight house entrance. It will showcase butterfly gifts such as tee shirts, jewelry, etc.

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Lastly, I wanted to include this beautiful photo. My friend Chuck who is a professional photographer was doing a photo shoot in our back yard. I invited him to use the flight house and when we went inside, I immediately spotted a crippled butterfly at the bench where Arisbeth was seated. I handed her the butterfly-no one had to tell her to smile...