Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Sea Turtles, Volunteers and Visitors / 01.11.2013

by Pilar Bernal, Environmental Education & Community Outreach Program Manager Video by Lindsay Metz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNaCw6OrDU4&feature=youtu.be On October 6th, we celebrated our fifth annual Sea Turtle Festival on Carate beach. Over 150 gusts joined us for these festivities highlighting the past year of sea turtle conservation. The sun shone brightly throughout the event while families began pouring in as early as 8 am and stayed throughout the day. We began the festival with the release of infant sea turtles from the Corcovado Turtle Committee (COTORCO) hatchery. Afterwards, we played games and held events encouraging...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Science and Research / 11.10.2013

By Andrés Jiménez, Wetlands Program Coordinator   Recently I had the opportunity to spend time with Doctor Jurgenne Primavera, a world-class mangrove scientist from the Philippines. A quiet yet cheerful scientist, she shows a special glitter in her eyes every time she talks about mangroves. After more than 40 years of working with these trees, she still smiles when showing a picture of herself climbing one. I have to admit, at this moment I had no idea of what was happening in the Philippines. The only vague concept I had about...

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...

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...

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...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Marine Conservation / 21.05.2013

[caption id="attachment_5018" align="aligncenter" width="300"] tomada por Pilar Bernal[/caption] by: Pilar Bernal On Saturday, May 11th, we celebrated the Festival of Water in the community of Puerto Jiménez. The event began with an opening parade, in which the students carried signs with messages promoting conservation awareness and the responsible use of water resources and were accompanied by a happy band of students from Puerto Jiménez Technical High School. Students from more than six different schools in the Osa Peninsula participated and entertained themselves with plays and presentations by other students. The ICT’s...

Community Outreach, Environmental Education / 18.02.2013

By Pilar Bernal [caption id="attachment_4883" align="alignleft" width="300"] The Esquinas River which feeds into the Golfo Dulce[/caption] This year has been declared the International Year of Water Cooperation by the United Nations. As students return from vacations this month for another academic year, we at Osa Conservation are preparing environmental education materials and activities which will be taught in fifteen schools throughout the peninsula and surrounding areas. The environmental themes that we will be focusing on for this year are: terrestrial and marine ecosystems, deforestation and climate change, and waste management....

Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Miscellaneous, Sea Turtles / 30.11.2012

[caption id="attachment_4712" align="alignleft" width="300"] RFA's and interns pose for a photo at our annual Sea Turtle festival this past September[/caption] November is the peak of the rainy season here in Osa, an ideal time for staying in, curling up with a good book and listening to the sheets of rain pelt the tin roof. Not so for the OC staff and our brave visitors and volunteers who have been working rain and shine to help us with various conservation projects! This month we're finishing up the Sea Turtle season and will be saying our goodbyes to our amazing Research Field Assistants that have made the program possible. Sai, Emily, Bre and Katie, we are incredibly grateful for your dedication and contribution this season. Thank you also to Katharine, Jamie and Alyssa, our field assistants who joined us for the first half of the season and all of our volunteers.
Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Sea Turtles / 01.10.2012

It was a beautiful sunny day in Carate, where the fourth annual Osa Peninsula Sea Turtle Festival took place last Sunday, September 23. The Sea Turtle Festival aims to raise community awareness about the importance of joint efforts in the conservation of sea turtle species that frequent Osa beaches in the nesting months, and to share the objectives and results of Osa Conservation's Sea Turtle Volunteer program with the community. People from Carate, and other surrounding areas such as Piro, Rio Oro and Puerto Jimenez made their way out to the festival around 10 am, where they found music, food, drinks, face paint, and educational posters about Sea Turtle activity and Osa Conservation's work in Piro, Pejeperro and other beaches on the peninsula.
Birds, Environmental Education / 07.09.2012

As part of conservation efforts for the Scarlet Macaw, artificial nests have been installed in two colleges and five schools. In each school, trees with easy visibility were chosen for students based on  characteristics of diameter and height for the installation of the nests. Students of these schools attended a workshop on ecology, life cycles and the importance of conservation of the species Ara macao. Students from the 5th, 6th, and 9th grades are in charge of monitoring macaw activities and noting events such as flights and perching near the nests and when a macaw investigates the inside of a nest. They also monitor the activity of other species near the nest.