Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Miscellaneous / 02.10.2013

by Florencia Franzini [caption id="attachment_5469" align="alignnone" width="400"] Members of the Costa Rican government, including president Laura Chinchilla, and representatives from the World Bank sign a landmark REDD+ agreement. Photo Credit: the World Bank.[/caption] On September 10, 2013, Costa Rica and the World Bank, acting for the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, signed a letter of intent stating the terms of negotiation for its Emissions Reduction Payment Agreement. The ERPA would allow for the FCPF to purchase carbon emissions, or “carbon credits,” for up to a value of $63 million – making...

Uncategorized / 25.09.2013

Por: Jim Palmer, PhD [caption id="attachment_5412" align="alignnone" width="500"] Pilar Bernal, Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz y Manuel Sánchez de Conservación Osa agregan reactivos para la prueba de oxígeno disuelto en el agua.[/caption]   El personal y los voluntarios de Conservación Osa pasaron un día en Rio Piro para hacer un panorama general de la saludad del medioambiente acuático durante un taller de campo en Junio 2013.  El taller fue dirigido por el biólogo Jim Palmer, Director de “Creek Connections,” un programa que fija educar personas sobre cuencas. El programa está basado en...

Environmental Education, Science and Research / 25.09.2013

by Jim Palmer, PhD [caption id="attachment_5412" align="alignnone" width="500"] Osa Conservation staff members Pilar Bernal, Juan Carlos Cruz Diaz and Manuel Sanchez add reagents to a dissolved oxygen test.[/caption]   Osa Conservation staff and volunteers ‘kicked around’ in Rio Piro to get a quick snapshot of stream health during a field workshop in the Osa Peninsula in June 2013.  The workshop was led by biologist Jim Palmer, Director of Creek Connections, a watershed education program based at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA.   Staff and volunteers used field water chemical tests and macro-invertebrate kick-net...

Uncategorized / 18.09.2013

Escrito por Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz, Gerente de cienca, y Brigid Prouse, Asistente del programa de ciencia [caption id="attachment_5395" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Brigid Prouse, Asistente del programa de ciencia[/caption] La educación ambiental es un elemento crucial para dar a conocer la importancia de la conservación a comunidades y personas. Teniendo un programa sólido de educación ambiental y de acercamiento a las comunidades se puede promover el respeto, la importancia y las necesidades de nuestro medio ambiente. Por esta razón, hace algunos meses como parte del programa de ciencia e investigación de...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Uncategorized, Wildcats / 18.09.2013

by Juan Carlos Cruz Díaz, Science Manager, and Brigid Prouse, Science Program Assistant [caption id="attachment_5395" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Brigid Prouse, Science Program Assistant[/caption] Environmental education is a crucial element for promoting and teaching the importance of conservation to communities and individuals. By having a solid environmental education and outreach program, we can promote long term appreciation, awareness and respect for our environment. For this reason, a few months ago, as part of the Science Program at Osa Conservation, we started delivering a series of talks to locals, schools and tourists in...

Aves, Birds, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Uncategorized, Volunteers and Visitors / 13.09.2013

[caption id="attachment_5363" align="aligncenter" width="500"] A pair of Vermiculated Screech Owls. Photo by Alan Dahl[/caption]   Fall is fast approaching, and the change of seasons signals something particularly exciting for the Osa Peninsula – the return of migrating birds! The Osa is home to almost 500 resident bird species and many more who migrate to the peninsula from boreal forests in the US and Canada. Now in the middle of September, the migratory bird season is well under way, with species such as the Golden-winged warbler, Olive-Sided Flycatcher, and the Baltimore...

Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Science and Research, Wildcats / 20.08.2013

by Lauren Lipuma Capturing a photo of an animal in its natural habitat is difficult at best, so for the past hundred-odd years camera traps have provided a distinct advantage to ecologists – allowing researchers to capture an image with minimal disturbance to the animal and without risking bodily harm. The first camera traps, pioneered by wildlife photographer George Shiras III in the late 1890s, consisted of a large camera and a trip wire connected to a car battery. When an animal tripped the wire, the battery would ignite...

Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Marine Conservation, Science and Research / 12.08.2013

Taking advantage of a socio-environmental opportunity, Osa Conservation launches new Wetlands Program in the Terraba Sierpe wetlands by Andrés Jimenez [caption id="attachment_5289" align="alignnone" width="300"] Terraba Sierpe wetlands, Costa Rica. Photo credit: Cavu[/caption]   Wetlands have become a focus of interest worldwide recently, not only because of their ecological importance but also because the climate crisis has reminded us of these ecosystems’ capabilities for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. But why should we all turn our eyes to these wet, swampy, mosquito-infested areas? The answer is simple: protecting wetlands is a very...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education / 06.08.2013

  By: Pilar Bernal This past July 30, 16 students from Carbonera, Rio Oro and Piro schools toured the “Discovering the Rainforest” interpretive trail accompanied by two teachers and two persons familiar with the trail. During the tour, the students enjoyed a morning in the forest learning about the ecology of rainforests at each station on the path.   We had an opportunity to observe spider monkeys, Baird’s Trogon, snakes, and to observe and admire giant forest trees like the Ajo, Reseco, Baco, and Ojoche trees. This portion of the interpretive trail “Discovering...

Uncategorized / 06.08.2013

Por: Pilar Bernal El pasado 30 de Julio, 16 estudiantes de las escuelas Carbonera, Rio Oro y Piro realizaron el recorrido del sendero interpretativo “Descubriendo el Bosque Lluvioso” acompañados por dos maestros y dos familiares. Durante el recorrido los estudiantes disfrutaron de una mañana en el bosque,  aprendiendo en cada una de las estaciones del sendero sobre la ecología de los Bosques húmedos tropicales. Tuvimos la oportunidad de observar los monos araña, el trogón de baird, la culebra guardacaminos, observar y admirar los árboles gigantes del bosque como el ajo,...