30 Nov Thank You to all our Staff and Volunteers

RFA’s and interns pose for a photo at our annual Sea Turtle festival this past September

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.

Staff member Augustín Mendoza and a guest from neighboring El Remanso Lodge

This month we’ve also had the good fortune of uniting with a couple of very dedicated, conservation-minded guests staying at the neighboring El Remanso Lodge who, during their vacation of all things, devoted many hours to helping us plant trees, conduct sea turtle patrols, and teach English in the Piro school. Marcia and Mike, you guys are awesome and set an incredible example for responsible local tourism. I hope many other visitors will follow in your footsteps.

We also had a great few days with Karen Ross who visited the Greg Gund Conservation Center. Karen is a conservation biologist and author with extensive experience and expertise on the Okavango Delta region of Africa. In addition to being just lovely, she entertained us with endless tales of life in Botswana, which included giant crocs and stampeding elephants!

In addition, we had a great Thanksgiving up at Cerro Osa, cooking a very Thanksgiving-esque (Tico style) feast for our staff. Thanks to Andrea for being the improvisational culinary visionary and to Manuel, Alex, Pipo, Annia and Augustin for willingly subjecting yourselves to our US holiday fare.

Guide training on newly opened Osa Conservation interpretive trail

Last but not least, we hosted a workshop at Piro with local guides to inaugurate our new interpretive trail. It was a great day of information sharing and exploring of the amazing diversity of ecosystems and flora that the trail offers. In addition to strengthening an alliance with the local guides and community members, Mario, Donny, Eida and Hannia helped us to identify some unknown tree species on the trail and all enjoyed a great night walk to the lagoon with our research assistant Manuel Sanchez. Thanks to everyone who participated and special thanks to Pilar for organizing the event!

It’s been a great month and we’re looking forward to welcoming our December visitors.

Saludos desde la Osa and hope to see you soon.

By Emily Angell, Education and Outreach Coordinator, Osa Conservation