The ESC-205 Tropical and Marine Ecology class traveled to Costa Rica for two and a half weeks starting on May 11-until May 22. After arriving in Costa Rica, students and faculty were met by a local guide named Inti Hughes who served as the trip leader and the group kicked off their experience by immersing themselves into the culture of downtown San Jose.
The group visited several areas of Costa Rica, including Las Tortugas, the Aventuras del Sarapiqui, Cafe Monteverde, and Rincón de la Vieja where they participated in activities and experiences that exposed them to both nature and culture: visiting a butterfly farm, rafting on the Sarapiqui River; taking a nature walk on the Arenal Volcano trail and a four mile hike in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park; going on boat tours, ziplining, walking on a canopy tour, tubing, shopping, and trying local cuisine. They also were able to learn about different species of animals in the environment and their impacts, the background and making of pure chocolate, and the cultivation and growth of coffee on a farm.
Rising senior Nathan Peach enjoyed the canyon float and liked seeing the up-close interactions within the stream system. “In the canyon, I got to see lots of different species of fish that were endemic to the canyon as well as interactions within different species such as bats and birds.”
One of the highlights of the trip for the class was their visit to the Las Tortugas Turtle station to volunteer and work with the turtles. They patrolled the beach from 10:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. and helped one leatherback turtle hatch over 100 viable eggs. The class was able to release over a dozen hatchlings into the water after returning the turtles to the ocean safely. During this experience, the students received hands-on learning about sea turtle nesting and successful egg hatching as well as how to measure the size of the turtle and assess its overall health.
Once students were back on campus, they gave individual research presentations.
Rising senior Taylor Seal said she was fascinated by the majority of the things on the trip since she is a criminal justice major. “I had no idea about anything in nature, but now I feel like I know a lot, surprisingly. I learned that I am not afraid to try new things and experiences. This may influence my future to step out of my comfort zone in many different situations.”
