About CAVU
Our mission is to educate and engage stakeholders about natural resource management.

We use the power of flight and the medium of film to bring individuals, communities, organizations and governments a new perspective on the fragility and scarcity of their land and its resources.

In conjunction with our strategic partners, we aim to create a broader understanding of the importance of biological corridors and their potential as sustainable economic resources. Further, we aim to inspire and educate civil society so that its citizens might become better stewards of their local environments.

At its core, CAVU is made up of pilots, film makers and conservationists, but through its work and strategic partners it attempts to engage all stakeholders, indigenous peoples and ranchers, farmers and developers, fishermen and tour operators, grassroots leaders and policy makers, and biologists, botanists, economists, hydrologists, and social activists.

What's in a name?
In a pilot's world, CAVU is that meteorological dream, Ceiling And Visibility Unlimited. CAVU's founders modified the acronym to have relevance on a sociopolitical level as well. In a world of political discord, turbulence and social unrest - Calm Air; in a world clouded by greed, industrial pollution and burning forests - Visibility Unlimited. On either level, meteorological or philosophical, CAVU is something to hope for.


Vision and Purpose
For more than a decade CAVU's founders have been conducting low-level aerial surveys documenting environmental and social health issues in the United States and throughout Central America. Passengers on these flights have included conservationists, geographers, members of the media, representatives of nongovernmental organizations, policy makers and government officials.

In Central America, having viewed nearly the entire isthmus from a thousand feet, as well as having gained an intimate familiarity with many of the issues people face on the ground, CAVU's founders felt uniquely positioned to have a significant impact on the preservation and restoration of the region's biological corridors. These corridors are the pathways between increasingly fragmented tropical forests.

Tropical forests are by far the most biologically diverse regions on the planet and predate man's imprint. These forests, which today cover less than 6% of the earth's surface, regulate global climatic systems and are the lungs of the earth, producing 40% of our oxygen. Biological corridors connect these forests, allowing countless species of endemic flora and fauna to migrate among them. This cycle maintains the health of the forests, and subsequently our planet.

Yet these corridors and forests are now under the gravest threat. Practices such as illegal logging, uncontrolled resource extraction, human encroachment, unsustainable agriculture and over development are shrinking and suffocating the vitality of our earth.

CAVU believes the future to protection and restoration of these corridors is ultimately in the hands of the people who inhabit them. Therefore, CAVU uses its unique tools - flight and film - to help educate individuals, communities and organizations about the larger significance of their land. Additionally, through its strategic partnerships, CAVU aims to inspire local residents and organizations to develop innovative economic solutions allowing them to become better stewards of their natural resources. Finally, CAVU's process encourages all people to become involved in the decisions that shape their lands.

More than just a Flight...
On countless flights over the years CAVU’s founders have witnessed the profound impact the power of flight has had on their passengers, many of whom have never been in a plane. As if with new vision, these people see their land from the air for the first time; with this landscape perspective, they “connect the dots” and instantly grasp the larger issues facing their community. Flight as a conservation tool is unique and invaluable.

CAVU currently works in eight countries and receives numerous flight requests from a variety of organizations in each one. The requests are considered by CAVU’s staff on the basis of scientific merit and urgency, then organizational “fit” and scheduling logistics.

CAVU’s aerial perspective has assisted GIS mapping, helped understand migratory patterns (humpback whales and great green macaws), and established baseline data on nesting sea turtles. From a thousand feet in the air, we have tracked jaguars and Baird’s Tapir (outfitted with radio transmitters). We have been instrumental in focusing attention on illegal timber operations, illegal resource extraction, illegal fishing inside protected waters, drainage of protected wetlands, and destruction of coral reef systems due to unregulated coastal development, siltration and commercial pesticide runoff.  Increasingly, CAVU flights focus on water issues as the critical factor in any healthy ecosystem.
Passengers on CAVU flights are as varied as the mission, and are as apt to be indigenous peoples, subsistence farmers and fishermen, as scientists, geographers, government officials and members of the press. All benefit from CAVU’s landscape perspective. Before a flight is over, every passenger will, quite literally, see “the big picture”, and gain a profound new understanding of the larger issues at stake.

Films as awareness builders...

CAVU's first tool is flight; its second is film. One perfectly complements the other. With film, CAVU can reach a much larger audience, have broader impact, and be involved in creating community dialogue that solves local problems.

Filmmaking as a process is a community builder and an instrument for social change. While CAVU is filming in a community, all are encouraged to participate. By sharing their thoughts and ideas and through interviews on camera, community members begin to create a new dialogue, discussing issues they face and considering possible solutions.

Days before the film's premiere, posters go up throughout the region, inviting all to come together for a grand cultural event. CAVU's team arrives with sound and projection equipment and a twelve foot collapsible screen, all of which are set up in a community building or large hall. The evening may begin with traditional dance, a play or music performance, and a feast of local foods. The viewing of the film is the finale. Often, this is the first real "movie experience" the local population has ever had - and they are the stars! Truly the visceral impact of such an experience is overwhelming. (Each time we have done this, a wildly cheering crowd has demanded an immediate second showing.)

Subsequently, several hundred DVD copies are distributed at cost throughout the community, as well as in other communities that may be facing similar issues. It is our hope the films will continue to be seen, enjoyed, and utilized � and that they will continue to educate and encourage dialogue at all levels. For its part, CAVU's staff will follow up with community leaders and our strategic partners to ensure continued support.