Blogpost by Mariam Weyand, Sea Turtle Biologist Osa Conservation relies on the help and support of volunteers to maximize our conservation impact, like many non-profits. Fortunately, we have diverse people coming to discover, help and get involved in our programs. We can separate them into two important groups: short term participants, such as students, families and tourists, and long-term volunteers. In 2018, we had the luck that many individuals came and helped us with field work in the Sea Turtle Program. They all came to discover the great experience and hard work...

Blog Post by José Luis Molina Quirós, Alvaro Ugalde Scholarship Awardee Costa Rica has a great diversity of species and marine ecosystems that protect and provide food to hundreds of organisms in various phases of their life cycle. For example, El Golfo de Papagayo and Golfo Dulce are just a few of the many hot spots that harbor this diversity of marine species and ecosystems, but these species have not been completely protected. [caption id="attachment_11784" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Sampling of species (Lutjanus guttatus, L. peru and Centropumus viridis) product of artisanal fisheries.[/caption] Currently, our country...

Blogposts written by Research Field Assistants Mariam Weyand, Bryan Graybill, and Alexandra Mörth Rewarding Research Working as a research field assistant (RFA) for the Sea Turtle Conservation Program with Osa Conservation is really different from the other places I have worked for, and so far, it has been really rewarding. Every day, we conduct morning patrols to register any activity from the previous night and relocate nests that are at risk to the hatchery. I wake up between 3:45 and 5:00 a.m. depending on which beach I am going to patrol and on the...

Blog Post by Breanna Hart Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Osa Conservation has allowed me to both live and learn in a beautiful environment that no other place in the world can contest with. The spectacular view of the ocean and rainforest back-to-back lead me to a tropical wilderness and the fascinating creatures within it. One magnificent creature that spends time on the unique beaches is the turtle, and this is my experience with them: 4.30...

Blog Post by James Purcell, Restoration and Rewilding Intern The daylight was rapidly disappearing, as we clambered through the thick undergrowth, over vines and palm leaves bigger than me, then across a muddy stream and still more dense brush. Then, we heard it again -  a long, mournful series of calls that sounded like a child laughing, or perhaps crying, in the distance. We all stopped, holding our breath; the only sounds were the omnipresent croaking of the frogs and the pumping of our excited hearts. Then, as casually as...