Uncategorized, Volunteers and Visitors / 22.07.2014

Inspiration comes in many shapes and forms - the medium from which we craft our thoughts and feelings, too, are many. On his last visit to the Osa Peninsula Neil Deupree wrote this lovely poem in his journals, and he has so graciously decided to share  it with everyone so we too can experience a bit of the inspiration the Osa Peninsula has to offer. Thank you, Neil. *** OSA PENINSULA Sitting on the front porch at Piro The surf is distant thunder  - be sure to pack the poncho. The cicadas are way more than white noise in the background. The tortuguitos...

Uncategorized / 15.07.2014

Escrito por Luis Albero Williams Fallos Programa Humedales: hacia una nueva relación ONG-Actores locales. Nos encontramos en mitad del proyecto “Conservación y manejo de recursos boscosos e intermareales en el Humedal Nacional Térraba Sierpe”. Nuestros socios locales: APREMAA, una Asociación local de piangüeros y pescadores, ubicados en Ajuntaderas, una pequeña comunidad en el pacífico sur de Costa Rica. Son un grupo recién formado que busca el bienestar de su comunidad y la conservación del Humedal. APREMAA, así como gran parte de organizaciones comunales en el país, mantiene un alto grado de...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Marine Conservation / 15.07.2014

Written by: Luis Alberto Williams Fallas Translated by: Florencia Franzini We find ourselves in the middle of a project titled “Conservation and Management of Marine and Forest Resources in the National Terraba Sierpe Wetlands.” Our associates are APREMMA: a local community of fishermen and piangüeros working out of the Ajuntaderas area, a small community off the Southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica. This newly formed group is looking for a method to develop a healthy relationship between their community and efforts to conserve the local wetlands. APREMAA, like many of the...

Environmental Education, Uncategorized / 07.07.2014

[caption id="attachment_6447" align="alignleft" width="300"] "Many termine species have soldiers with enlarged heads that have sharp, defensive mandibles. Worker termines, by comparison, have smaller heads with chewing mouthparts. The Mexican burrowing toad (Rhinophrynus doralis) feeds almost entirely on termines. It spends most of its life underground, emerging only to breed after heavy rains."[/caption] "They are creatures of interiors. Social but reclusive, all but a few shun the light of day, avoiding even the moonlight. They live underground, in logs or sealed nests, and conduct their social lives within dark labyrinths often...

Uncategorized / 23.06.2014

Escrito por: David Parreño Duque [caption id="attachment_6262" align="alignleft" width="300"] Los estudiantes reciben una charla sobre los ecosistemas locales.[/caption] Esta semana hemos tenido el placer de contar con la presencia de un grupo de alumnos de La Paz Community School de Guanacaste. Por un lado, trabajaron conjuntamente para analizar la calidad del agua en los ríos Piro y Coyunda mediante diversos tests de análisis químico. Así mismo, observaron la diversidad de macroinvertebrados de agua dulce presente en estos ríos, [caption id="attachment_6263" align="alignleft" width="300"] Estudiantes trabajan en grupos usando reds para recoger macroinvertebrados que...

Environmental Education, Science and Research, Uncategorized, Volunteers and Visitors / 23.06.2014

Written by: David Parreno Duque Translated by: Florencia Franzini [caption id="attachment_6262" align="alignleft" width="300"] Students receive a "creek talk" about the local Osa Ecosystem.[/caption] From June 12 to June 17 we had the pleasure of being able to work with a group of students from the La Paz Community School of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The main on-going project that the alumni focused on was comparing water quality assessments of the Piro River and the Coyunda River – students examined and related the chemical composition of these two rivers, while also examining the different macroinvertebrates between the...

Uncategorized / 27.05.2014

Written By Manuel Sanchez Translated and Edited by Florencia Franzini [caption id="attachment_6178" align="alignleft" width="300"] A Spider Monkey Foraging for Food.[/caption] The Geoffrey's Spider Monkey (ateles geoffroyi) that inhabits the Osa Peninsula has a major role in the forests on the peninsula: these charismatic creatures are both crucial for seed dispersal and also double as health indicators for forests. A common day in the life of a spider monkey consists of a family group of 20 to 40 individuals whom separate into smaller groups of 3 to 8 that forage during the day,...

Uncategorized / 27.05.2014

[caption id="attachment_6178" align="alignleft" width="300"] Un mono araña forrajeando.[/caption] El mono colorado (Ateles geoffroyi) tiene un rol importante en la dispersión de semillas en los bosques que ocupan en el Osa. Estas criaturas carismáticas también son indicadores de bosques que están en buen estado. Un día común en la vida de estos monos suelen formar grupos de  20 a 40 individuos que  durante el día se separan en pequeños grupos  de 3 a 8 para comer, y después se reúnen en la noche juntos de nuevo para dormir. Cuando se encuentran forrajeando en el bosque es...

Uncategorized / 13.05.2014

Escrito por: Pilar Berna Publicado por: Florencia Franzini El pasado 23 de abril fui invitada a participar como expositora en el 10mo conversatorio de biodiversidad de la Península de Osa. Iniciativa del Área de Conservación de Osa (ACOSA) para promover el intercambio de conocimientos y dar a conocer la biodiversidad de la zona, a un público sensible e interesado en temas ambientales. Los conversatorios anteriores habían sido en temas terrestres como árboles, primates, murciélagos y aves, siendo este conversatorio el primero en el tema marino. [caption id="attachment_6145" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Una foto...

Uncategorized / 13.05.2014

Written by: Pilar Bernal Translated & Edited by: Florencia Franzini On April 23rd I was invited to participate in the 10th annual Biodiversity Symposium of the Osa Peninsula, sponsored by the Conservation Area of Osa (ACOSA), in order to promote the exchange of ideas and give rise to awareness of the newly marked biodiversity zones, to a sensitive and environmentally active public. The previous years talks in the symposium had included mainly land issue topics focusing on trees, primates, bats, and aves, but this year we kick-started the conversations with...