News + Stories

Miscellaneous, Sustainable agriculture, Volunteers and Visitors / 13.11.2015

Our Finca Osa Verde consists of 600 acres of pasture and forest, as well as 1.1 miles of sea turtle nesting habitat. Osa Verde includes a small farm that supplies Osa Conservation’s field station kitchen and dining halls with all types of fruits and veggies; from lettuce, to peppers, yucca, bananas, and rice. This week we collected peanuts from the Finca Osa farm and volunteers, research assistants, and staff members joined forces to create organic peanut butter for the very first time. The process is quite simple and the peanut butter...

Environmental Education, Miscellaneous, Science and Research, Volunteers and Visitors / 06.11.2015

Read about Grace Leppink's experience in the Osa as she makes exciting fungi discoveries! Fungi are found throughout the world, but some of the most amazing and diverse fungi are found in Costa Rica.  The combination of deeply shaded forests and a warm, humid climate makes Costa Rica the perfect incubator for fungi.  As a new mycologist, the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica was one that I could not pass up.  On my first day at the Piro Research Station I had an exciting and lucky encounter with fungi. [caption...

Marine Conservation, Sea Turtles, Volunteers and Visitors, Wildcats / 23.10.2015

Hello my name is Kenroy and I am a student at the Professional Technical College Sabalito (Costa Rica), a school in which students can study rural tourism. Over the past three years of studying in this program, I have learned the importance of tourism in Costa Rica. At the end of our three year program, students choose a place for supervised practice, in my case I chose Osa Conservation. This organization carries out projects related to volunteerism and research, in addition to the monitoring and conservation of wildlife. Osa Conservation...

Uncategorized / 23.10.2015

Hola me llamo Kenroy y soy estudiante del Colegio Técnico Profesional de Sabalito (Costa Rica), un colegio, en el que estudiantes como yo  eligen estudiar Turismo Rural  desde décimo año. Durante los tres años que llevo estudiando, he podido  aprender la importancia del turismo en Costa. Al final de estos 3 años se elige  un lugar para hacer la práctica supervisada, en mi caso elegí Conservación Osa, esta organización lleva a cabo proyectos relacionados con el voluntariado y la investigación, además del monitoreo y la conservación de la vida...

Aquatic Health, Environmental Education, Marine Conservation, Sea Turtles, Volunteers and Visitors / 16.10.2015

The fluttering of papery wings; back and forth, back and forth. They open and close their tiny mouths. Nocturnal hungry bats, paired with the incessant whir of cicada wings and the low, ominous drone of Howler monkeys are the evening calls of the Osa. These sounds signify the awakening of all things that dwell in the night. Usually, it also signifies our bedtime; unless it’s an evening of turtle patrol. When I took herpetology as a senior in college three years ago, my professor used to joke that, “Herpetologists...

Uncategorized / 09.10.2015

They say that life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans. Read about how one Osa Conservation research assistant ended up working with us in a happy twist of fate! My name is Casey Walker and I am a recent graduate from the Environmental Studies program at the College of Idaho in the United States. Sometimes it does not matter how much you plan out your life because life has a plan for you already. [caption id="attachment_8483" align="alignleft" width="228"] Research Assistant Casey Walker[/caption] I have always known...

Birds, Environmental Education, Science and Research / 05.10.2015

Read about Esmeralda Quirós Guerrero's research on the singing patterns of birds in the Osa. The intense biodiversity around our stations provided her with a perfect place to conduct her research. We love learning more about the incredible birds of the Osa! Did you know that many species of birds sing duets? Vocal displays are one of the most researched interactions between and within species. There is a great diversity in the structure of singing behavior. I have been investigating the learning process of duets in Osa songbirds. Duets...

Uncategorized / 25.09.2015

Research Field Assistant - Erin Peeling Arriving at the field station on Day One: I was accepted to be a Research Field Assistant for the Sea Turtle Conservation program in late August 2015. Within two weeks, I was already off to Costa Rica. Because everything happened so quickly, I was nervous about what my job would be like and how I would adjust to living in a new country. Despite my worries, I could not have asked for a better time volunteering here on the Osa Peninsula. [caption id="attachment_8354" align="alignleft" width="305"] Me...

Volunteers and Visitors / 11.09.2015

Cesar Barrio-Amoros holds a PhD in biology and is a notable taxonomist, herpetologist, author, and photographer. Following his experience in the Osa, reflected below, Cesar has planned to lead a reptile and amphibian workshop at Piro Biological Station next May or June, the beginning of the wet season. I have traveled throughout most of Latin America in search of amazing herping spectacles. In the Galapagos, I saw marine iguanas (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) and Galapagos giant tortoises (Chelonoidis nigra). I witnessed an astonishing diversity of poison frogs in Peru and made some...

Uncategorized / 04.09.2015

[caption id="attachment_8196" align="alignleft" width="366"] Pilar (far right) explains and demonstrates the dissolved oxygen test.[/caption] Last week, the Osa Conservation Rios Saludables team joined four staff members from the Lapa Rios Ecolodge for their second monthly chemical and biological assessment of Rio Carbonero's stream health. Pilar Bernal (Education Outreach Coordinator) led the chemical portion of the monitoring, walking us through testing water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, conductivity, alkalinity, and nitrates. Julieta Chan, the Lapa Rios Ecolodge Experience Manager, took detailed notes and filmed most of the workshop. Jim Palmer,...