News + Stories

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...

Environmental Education, Land Conservation and Forest Restoration, Marine Conservation / 14.04.2014

Written by: Juan Carlos Cruz Diaz Edited by: Florencia Franzini One of the most charismatic animals of the rainforest is definitely the river otter. These animals, related to the weasel family, live in large family near rivers and streams where they form social groups of up to fifteen individuals. [caption id="attachment_6047" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Otter in the Piro River, Photo Credit: Manuel Sánchez.[/caption] River otters can also be found in bodies of water that lie close to rivers, such as estuaries and beaches with rock formations. They are active from early hours of the...

Uncategorized / 14.04.2014

Escrito Por: Juan Carlos Cruz Diaz Editado Por: Florencia Franzini Uno de los animales más carismáticos del bosque lluvioso es sin duda la nutria de río. Estos animales de la familia de las comadrejas viven en grandes grupos familiares en las cercanías de ríos y quebradas donde forman grupos sociales de hasta 15 individuos.   [caption id="attachment_6047" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Nutria en el río Piro. Foto Por: Manuel Sánchez.[/caption] También están presentes en cualquier tipo de cuerpo de agua además de los rios, como esteros y playas con formaciones rocosas. Están activas desde tempranas horas...