Rain Forest at La Selva

It is hard to capture the rainforest in a photo. I think that this one shows the vegetation well. It was taken today from the tower when we were working on remote sensing and GIS.

Rainforest at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

Vulca Barva

In spite of the rain, I was able to get a few pictures of the Long Island and Chicago teams using the Team protocol in the cloud forest.

Shelby and Kim at our plot

The Chicago and Long Island teams at the Vulcan Barva site

We still had a steep climb on foot up to our site after we got out of the jeep



Mosses




Cloud Forest

 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Well another exciting day today!! It was time for our group to travel to Braulio Carrillo National Park to do our field work.  Our destination was Vulcan Barva, at 2600 meters in elevation. What a great experience.  We traveled by bus (a nice comfortable bus) as far as we could on the road on our way to the top of the mountain. When we could travel no longer in the nice comfortable bus, we loaded into a TEAM Van to continue the journey. Packed like a bunch of sardines, we felt as though we were doing more team bonding (lots of laughs). The roads were unbelievably steep with giant holes and windy narrow passages. We were all happy to be alive when we arrived at the station only to find that the forest was our relief station, and we had another 40 minute uphill hike! Once we reached our destination, we began our field work. In the pouring rain and cool temperatures, we measured the distance to each tree, and then determined the diameter at breast height. Both teams did a great job, and then we were on our way back down the mountain. The driver was so impressed with the terrain that occasionally he stopped to take pictures. He also stopped to let a herd of cows pass by. Luckily we made it back to Le Selva with more memories and a great story to tell.

Cow crossing!

This was the angle of the road!

Using TEAM protocol to measure the trees at Vulvan Barva

Banana Plantation

Saturday July 14, 2012

Well another great day today! Group B loaded up and headed out to the Dole Banana plantation. We met another charming guide named Carlos. He was incredibly intelligent and kept us entertained while we learned how banana plants are propagated. Carlos liked to  explain everything in terms of three’s, but the one  most memorable facts I learned is that there are zero banana trees on the plantation. That’s correct, The banana plant is a gigantic herb. I learned so much today and I look forward to bringing this knowledge back to the classroom.

 We put on hairnets and had the opportunity to see how the bananas are processed and packaged to be shipped to other countries. At this time, Sweden  is the number one consumer of bananas. So lets go America start eating more bananas- they are loaded with potassium and fiber!  The tour included a quick shot of banana liqueur and a trip to the gift shop. I look forward to searching for recipes for my delicious Lizano Creama De Banano.  

Banana Plantation Pictures

Carlos told us all about the Dole Banana Plantation

These are legumes that are planted between the banana plants because they fix nitrogen, a nutrient needed by the plants





The banana are covered with blue plastic to protect them as they mature.  In this picture, Lisa and Bud think they are about to harvest the bananas.




This is the banana plant.  The growth region is at the base where the leaves and the flower grow.



This is the banana flower, showing the female parts of the flower that will eventually become the banana fruit.

Cane toad!

All AP environmental science teachers and students are familiar with the cane toad. The cane toad is native to Central and South America. It was introduced to Australia to control the cane beetle grub that was destroying the sugar cane crop. The cane toad didn't control the grub; instead it became a classic example of an invasive species.

Birding Hike




Birding with Kenneth and Albert

13 of us got up early for a guided bird walk with Kenneth and Albert. The trip was from 5:45 to 7:45. Since we weren't back in time for breakfast, Kenneth make arrangements at the dining hall for us to get food a little later than usual. We spent some time near the buildings and then walked back up the road out of La Selva. Then we went into the forest on a trail and made a loop that brought us out to where we hiked the first day. The guides were fantastic, and we saw lots of birds! Here is the list:


Gray-necked wood-rail





Gray-necked wood-rail

Olive-throated parakeet

White-crowned parrot

Squirrel cuckoo

Lesser swallow-tailed swift

Band-tailed barbthroat

Violet-crowned woodnymph

Rufous-tailed hummingbird

Violaceous trogon

Black-cheeked woodpecker

Cinnamon woodpecker

Cocoa woodpecker

Great antshrike

Common tody flycatcher

Great kiskadee

Social flycatcher

Gray-capped flycatcher

Tropical kingbird

Cinnamon becard

White-collared manakin
Plain wren
Melodious blackbird
Black-cowled oriole
Montezuma oropendola