CENTRAL VALLEY
We started off the 34-day expedition with several days of orientation in the bustling metropolis of San Jose. Lectures & discussions on experimental design, statistics, taxonomy, and sociocultural issues were interspersed with outings in the nearby central market and stately downtown buildings.
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| Rooftop classroom in San Jose, learning about statistical analyses |
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| Papaya overlooking rooftops of San Jose |
After four days in San Jose, we headed up into the coffee highlands, settling into cabins in Santa Maria de Dota. There we collected and analyzed data (a chance to practice freshly-learned statistical methods for testing hypotheses!) on coffee yields as a function of proximity to forests. Students also toured the local coffee mill (
CoopeDota, which has created a special emphasis on carbon neutral production), and engaged in some nice discussions about carbon sequestration and global initiatives such as
REDD+ based on their visit and supplemental reading. Students also had an opportunity to offset the carbon footprint created by their flights to Costa Rica by planting trees in the nearby community of Copey, while also participating in an ongoing initiative to plant 10,000 trees by 2018 (and create habitat to bolster populations of the Golden-winged warbler (
Vermivora chrysoptera)
, which breeds in the United States and migrates to Central America). We capped off our short visit with a fantastic evening barbecue dinner in which students had a chance to mingle with local coffee farmers. All in all a busy first week, as students began to slowly immerse themselves more and more into applied environmental research.
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| Cecilia's cabinas in Santa Maria de Dota |
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| Students practicing scientific illustration with Coffea arabica. |
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| Students participated in a tree-planting initiative |
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| Planting trees at Los Altos de Copey |
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