06/08/2026
Some relationships are measured not in months or years, but in landscapes.
Las Casas de la Selva has always been shaped by long-term commitments: trees planted decades ago that now tower above the forest canopy, research projects unfolding across generations, and friendships that continue to evolve alongside the land itself.
Among those enduring relationships is that between Gregg Dugan and Thrity (3T) Vakil. Their shared history stretches back decades through expeditions, storytelling, conservation work, filmmaking, construction, work with teenagers, and creative collaboration. Gregg is not simply a visitor to Las Casas; he is part of its story.
An early member of the Institute of Ecotechnics, Dugan served as the lead builder of El Teatro in the early 2000s and the open-air gathering space that has become one of the cultural hearts of Las Casas de la Selva. Built through the efforts of teen volunteers, local materials, ingenuity, and persistence, El Teatro has hosted students, researchers, artists, volunteers, musicians, performances, discussions, and countless moments of community life. Like the forest itself, it has weathered storms, adapted, and endured.
But Dugan’s connection to the land goes much deeper than construction.
Some relationships are measured not in months or years, but in landscapes.
