Written by: Holly Fagan When I left England on a cold, dark morning in June I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I touched down in Costa Rica. I knew there was rainforest, but I didn’t really know what that was, and I knew I was going to do sea turtle conservation, but I had never done anything like it before. Now, back in England and reminiscing on my experience, I can say whole-heartedly that it was the best thing I have ever done. I spent one glorious month...

There is an often cited estimate that only 1 in 1000 sea turtles that hatch and make it to the ocean will survive to adulthood. With odds like that one can sometimes feel like the work is futile and has little impact. As Olivia points out in her blog this week - it just takes is one brush with success to remind us that every individual counts. By: Olivia Upon arriving to Osa to start my position as a Research Field Assistant (RFA), I was so excited to start a new life...

[caption id="attachment_9083" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The beneficial mycorrhizal fungus found in large amounts in wild plants on Osa Verde. This fungus is one that gives several benefits to the plant.[/caption] Beginning four months ago, the National University, Osa Conservation, and University of Costa Rica have been uniting forces in order to carry out the establishment and development of organic mother vanilla plants in the Osa. Since the cultivation is very profitable, it would be a good economic opportunity for the farmers in the southern part of the country, many of whom...

A little over one year ago conservation lost one of its finest and both the Osa and Corcovado National Park lost their greatest champion. The founding of Corcovado National Park, the so-called jewel of the Osa, and other national parks was spearheaded by a few tenacious conservationists and visionaries, among them Alvaro Ugalde Viquiz. The contribution Alvaro Ugalde made to conservation extends far beyond this one park and the Osa – but he made no secret of the fact that Corcovado was his favorite park and the Osa was...

The banana is one of the most popular fruits in the world. However, since each banana is genetically identical it is highly susceptible to disease. The Osa Verde Farm is able to combat such disease by planting genetically diverse bananas, not using chemical inputs, and maintaining other sustainable practices. By: Holland Cathey The banana. A fruit that we have grown to love, rely on, and ultimately take for granted may be in danger of going extinct.  A seemingly incurable fungus called the Panama Disease is rapidly spreading to plantations around the world...

The Nation: http://www.nacion.com/vivir/ambiente/Ticos-agua-persona_0_1550044983.html “Costa Ricans will have 65% less water per person by the year 2020” March 22, 2016, Michelle Soto M.   Osa’s Healthy Rivers has been working to conserve the water quality in the Osa Peninsula. [caption id="attachment_9068" align="alignleft" width="300"] Figure 1. Group from The Gamba School monitoring The Gamba River, close to the Golf, May 2016.[/caption] This march in 2016, The Nation published an important article about the quantity and quality of water in Costa Rica, the critical theme in the work of Osa’s healthy river project, which monitors...

The lush and enchanted forests of Piro, Osa Conservation saw the return of their majestic King of the Jungle after two long years. The Jaguar Is Back! In the late hours of 23rd March 2016 the first images of this beautiful creature was captured on the camera traps on the Ajo trail. Since the last sightings of the jaguar on the camera traps here was back in 2014, his return is very exciting. Especially for the big cat programme and its researcher Tabea who ran out screaming “JAGUAR JAGUAR” when...

Bokashi: Improving the Soil through Solid Waste By Yngrid Espinoza In a time of unparalleled consumption, intensive agricultural production, mass exploitation of raw materials and countless other activities that advance 'development' - we in Costa Rica are generating an enormous quantity of solid waste daily. According to the University of Costa Rica, each individual produces a staggering 1.3 - 2.4 pounds of waste daily. 45% of this ends up in illegal dumps and approximately 50-60% of this waste is biodegradable material. With this in mind, the vision of Osa Conservation's Sustainable Agriculture Program is utilize organic waste to generate organic fertilizer for our farm. It is essential...

Written by: Evan Whitfield and Tye Dubrule In February 2016, 13 undergraduate students and faculty members from the University of Alberta’s Augustana Campus in Camrose traveled from snowy Canadian winter, to the Osa Peninsula as part of a year-long tropical ecology and conservation course. This trip was the culmination of five months of preparation that included learning about neotropical biota, developing our field research proposals, and organizing trip logistics. For most of us the dream of an adventure to Costa Rica was many years in the making, and for all of...