SPECIAL THEME: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH IN ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

Developing the Bioliteracy of SchoolChildren for 24 Years: A EundamentalTool for Ecological Restoration andConservation in Perpetuity of the Area deConservación Cuanacaste, Costa Rica

Rosibel Elizondo Cruz and Roger Blanco Segura

ABSTRACT

The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Rica in CentralAmerica was created to protect in perpetuity the rich natural diversity found there. The ACG contains an entire range ofinterconnected ecosystems from the Pacific coastal-marine zone, through dry and cloud forests, to the Caribbean rainforest. Generations of human pressures on the area, including ranching, agriculture, fires, timber extraction, and hunt-ing, have degraded these ecosystems, which are now in a process of regeneration through protection from destructivehuman use. Although protection is an important part of conservation, the ACG's most potent tool for the long-termconservation of its natural resources is the "biocultural restoration" of its neighbors. The ACG's Programa de EducaciónBiológica (PEB, Biological Education Program) promotes the bioliteracy of local students, parents, and teachers throughfield-oriented workshops in its different ecosystems. Through the education of the surrounding community about itsnatural resources, PEB is restoring the biological understanding of its neighbors with the aim of creating a communitythat can make better-informed environmental decisions in the future.

Keywords: Área de Conservación Guanacaste, biocultural restoration, bíodevelopment, bioliteracy, Costa Rica

' I ^eÁrea de Conservación Guana-

JL caste (ACG) consists of one con-

tinuous biogeographic transect of pro-

tected area totaling 158,000 ha (Figure

1), extending from the marine area

around the Islas Murciélago archipel-

ago in the Pacific Ocean, to the Santa

Rosa plateau, up to the summits of

Orosi, Cacao, and Rincón de la Vieja

volcanoes in the Guanacaste moun-

tain range, and ending in the Carib-

bean lowlands of Costa Rica (Blanco

Segura 2004). This unique biological

corridor represents 2% of Costa Rica

and contains approximately 335,000

species of terrestrial organisms, total-

ing 2.5% of the world's biodiversity.

Ecological Restoration Vol. 28, No. 2, 2010

ISSN 1522-4740 E-ISSN 1543-4079

©2010 by the Board of Regents of the

University of Wisconsin System.

Ubicación del Area de Conservación GuanacasteSitio de Patrimonio Mundial

Nicaragua

Mar Caribe

nA m T«rrMtr« ProtsgldaArta Marina ProtegidaCosu Rica

I- I Agropalsaje

^Panamá

Figure 1. Location of Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACC) In northwestern Costa Rica. Mapcreated by Waldy Medina-

June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2 193

Figure 2. Main entrance to Sector Santa Rosa of Guanacaste Conservdliün Area (ACG) in Costa Rica showing the dramatic restoration of the jaragua{Hyparrhenio rufa) pastures in 1988 (brown patches, left) to forest by 2006 (.right), brought about by the different dispersal agents from surroundingforest patches. Photos courtesy of ACC , [

The ACG became a World HeritageSite in 1999 because it is important forlarge-scale biological and ecologicalprocesses within terrestrial and marineenvironments (Blanco Segura 2004).

The process of creating the ACGbegan in 1986 with the 10,400 haParque Nacional Santa Rosa (formedin 1971) as its core, with the goal ofrestoring a complete dry forest eco-system. Then about 74,000 ha of oldlivestock farms were acquired withthe objective of protecting and restor-ing them through the processes of fireprevention and human impact mitiga-tion (Janzen 1986) (Figure 2). Withthe expansion and consolidation ofthe protected area into surroundinglands, tbe ACG's objective becamerestoring and conserving in perpetuitya complete tropical dry forest eco-system along witb its adjacent cloudforest, rain forest, and costal marineecosystems, thus representing fourof tbe five principal tropical ecosys-tems in Central America. Restorationefforts are not limited to dry forestbecause adjacent ecosystems are alsokey to the survival of many dry forestorganisms that migrate towards thesewetter and cooler areas during thedry season. It became obvious thatthis larger goal was achievable onlyby integrating society with the ACGthrough what we call biodevelopment(non-destructive use).

Fire prevention, scientific research,forest restoration and silviculture,integration of the local society, andprovision of environmental servicesare some of the experiences and inno-vative processes developed as part ofthe active management of the ACGthat have been fundamental in reach-ing the goals of restoration and con-servation. The most important ofthese innovations has been promot-ing the bioliteracy of school childrenin the communities that surround theACG (Janzen 2001a, 2001b, 2002a,2002b).

From the beginning, the ACG staffhas recognized that along with effortsto consolidate, restore, and conserveecosystems, we must also developstrategies to implement "bioculturalrestoration" of the society, especiallythe younger generations. We focus onyoung people because they will inheritin one way or another the power tomake the decisions that will impactthe ACG and the environment intheir communities and the country. Inorder to reconnect people with nature,the environment, species and theirnatural history, ecological interactions,processes of ecosystem restoration, andbasic biology, the ACG establishedthe Programa de Educación Biológica.

History

The Programa de Educación Biológica(PEB) took its first steps in 1986,thanks to a donation by the NoyesFoundation (USA), making it possibleto bring students from the neighbor-ing Colonia Bolaños school to the dryforest for the first time. The programofficially began one year later, in 1987,with 4th, 5th, and 6th graders fromsix neighboring schools, ranging inage from 9 through 12, who partici-pated in the bioliteracy program alongwitb their teachers. Then in 1988,PEB received legal standing with theschool systems through an agreementsigned by the Ministerio de Educaciónand the ACG, allowing it to legallytake children from their classrooms toPEB's natural bioliteracy classrooms ina variety of habitats and ecosystems inthe ACG.

Between 1994 and 1995, PEB wasable to extend the program's outreachto more schools and communitiesthanks to a grant from the Danish gov-ernment. Following this achievement,PEB won more funds from new pri-vate donors (Ecodesarrollo Papagayo,Escuela Agroecológica Hylton, Inno-cent Foundation) and also addedfunds from ACG's endowment andthe Costa Rican government. The pro-gram now consists of eight bioeduca-tors, three buses and drivers, four rural

194 «»' June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2

Ubicación de Centros Educativos en el Programa de Educación BiológicaArea de Conservación Guanacaste - Sitio de Patrimonio Mundial

logien

C«ntro( Educallv«

T Esculla ( Elwiwntary School )

Cotagio I High School )

BaDorû: WsUy MtuKnaAna da ConservacMn OuanacosMSaUambre. ZOOS

Figure 3. Education Centers in the Biological Education Program (PEB) of the Área de Conservación Guanacaste. Map created by Waldy Medina

vehicles, and iour operating centers(one each in the dry forest and marinezone and two in the wet forest) andextends to 2,540 students from 52schools (45 elementary and 7 middleschools) in 46 communities (Figure3). The entire student population sur-rounding the ACG is now immersedin the process of biocultural restora-tion parallel to the conservation andrestoration ofthe ecosystems.

What is BioculturalRestoration?Biological education is teaching biol-ogy and ecology in the field utilizingspecies, forests, rivers, tide pools, man-groves, and all the ACG's habitats aslabs where the students can see, feel,learn, experiment, and touch this livingtextbook. Ihe students are then able

to identify and comprehend throughtheir own experience the dynamics ofan ecosystem and the natural envi-ronment in which their communityis immersed. This type of hands-onlearning allows students gain a greatersensitivity toward environmentalissues, thus developing better criteriafor making environmental decisionsin the future. The last goal of biologi-cal education is to change communityattitudes toward natural resources; thissocial process is called biocultural res-toration. Through the various activi-ties, students also identify some humanactions that alter the natural equilib-rium ofthe forest and propose positiveactions society can institute.

Traveling in the program's vehicles,students, teachers, and parents havethe opportunity to visit the differ-ent ecosystems in the ACG, where

Figure 4. Students measure the diameter of atree in a mature forest site. Sector Santa Rosa,Area de Conservación Guanacaste. Photo byR. Elizondo

bioeducators guide them systemati-cally in the learning process througha series of field trips planned eachsemester. Each student has the oppor-tunity to take at least four field tripseach school year, with an average of 16outings in the four years the studentis involved in the program.

June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2 195

T "

Figure 5. Students analyze the damage caused by fire in the control site (/eft) and compile an Inventory of species present {right} in the regenerationsite. Sector Santa Rosa, Área de Conservación Guanacaste. Photos courtesy of ACC (left) and by R. Elizondo (right)

Teaching EcosystemRestoration throughBiological EducationField trips (7 a.m.-3 p.m.) are struc-tured as a series of activities thatexpose the students to a range of topicsfrom basic biological principles andspecies natural history to more com-plex themes such as dispersal, préda-tion, connectivity and fragmentation,hiogeography, and restoration. Uti-lizing educational materials (guides,note cards, games, and experiments)they've developed, the hioeducatorsguide student participation in activi-ties according to the curriculum foreach ecosystem.

One of the first field trips, for stu-dents beginning their study ofthe dryforest and the effects of hundreds ofyears of human use, is visiting twodemonstration sites initiated in the1980s by Dr. Daniel Janzen thatdocument the process of restoringdry forest from jaragua (Hyparrheniarufa) pastures through the suppres-sion of anthropogenic fires. Jaragua,an African grass introduced by ranch-ers in 1940, is highly combustible,thus facilitating the spread of fibresand suppressing forest regeneration,which is the principal problem facingthe tropical dry forest (Janzen 1986).The control site is burned annuallyin the middle ofthe dry season (Feb-ruary/March), and the regenerationsite is protected from fire. The controlsite remains covered in jaragua and a

few other plant species, while wind-dispersed and later animal-dispersedplants slowly colonized the regenera-tion site, forming the 25-year-oIdsecondary forest present today.

Students learn about the suppres-sion of fires and the recolónization ofthe plants and animals through theirvarious dispersal strategies and howthe shade created by the new arrivalsand the continuing suppression of fireeliminates the non-native species. Tounderstand the differences betweenthe two sites, the students completea comparative table with the follow-ing instructions and questions (Figure4): identify plants found in the site;describe how the trees look; are therefruits; are there animals or evidenceof them; and what other organismsare there (Elizondo Cruz and Romero2000). Afterward, the students visitdry forest sites in later stages of resto-ration to learn how the forest structurechanges over time until reaching themost natural state possible.

In this way and through other activ-ities, the students learn how naturalsuccession occurs in the dry forest andcome to appreciate the harm done bysetting fires and the time it takes forthe forest to recuperate (Figure 5).

Other Restoration-RelatedEducation Efforts

Since 1989, Sector Horizontes oftheACG, headquarters of the EstaciónExperimental Forestal Horizontes

and the Programa de Restauración ySilvicultura have conducted researchon native dry forest timber species.Students are brought here to comparethe establishment of tree plantationswith the natural restoration process ofthe dry forest.

In the student activities in rainforest areas, PEB takes advantageof the ACG's efforts to consolidateterritory and mitigate the effects oflocalized climate change caused byhistorical land uses, including highersoil temperatures and reduced riverflows. Students also study the res-toration of pasture to rain forestthrough the elimination of star grass{Cynodon nlemfuemis), an introducedAfrican species. The well-studied andfast-growing gumhar tree {Gmelinaarhorea) is planted to create denseshade and kill the grass wbile alsocreating perches to attract birds andsmall mammals that disperse coloniz-ing plant species from nearby forests{Figure 6).

Mangroves, intertidal zones, andother coastal habitats of the ACGare also studied. Again students learnabout the species, ecological processes,human impacts, and natural restora-tion. For example, when visiting themangroves, they learn that this eco-system is a natural nursery for manyeconomically important species andthat they can benefit from these fish-eries when they mature and disperse,as long as the protected area is main-tained and the ecological equilibrium

196 June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2

Figure 6. Cmellna arbórea plantation in the Rincón Cacao Biological Corridor in 1999 (left) and 2008 (right). Photos courtesy of ACC

is respected, thus providing an exampleof biodevelopment.

Throughout the ACG's history bio-logical education has allowed students,through hands-on observations andinvestigations in the field, to under-stand the natural and anthropogenicactivities that facilitate the recupera-tion of the ACG's ecosystems, whichwere altered by former generations

who today are trying to restore them(Figure 7).

The ACG will continue to use bio-logical education or bioliteracy as afundamental tool for the bioculturalrestoration of the present generationof our Costa Rican neighbors, com-plementing our efforts of consolida-tion and ecological restoration ofthisWorld Heritage Site. The 24 years

Figure 7. A bat researcher interacts with students at a workshop on biodiversity in Sector SantaRosa, Area de Conservación Guanacaste. Photo by P, Vazquez

of the PEB have yielded importantresults. Schools involved with the PEBare participating in national sciencefairs with environmentally themedprojects. Students who participated inthe program have gone on to becomeemployees of ACG. Local communi-ties now inform ACG when problem-atic activities like hunting, burning,or timber harvesting occur in pro-tected areas, and these activities havedecreased over time.

AcknowledgmentsWe warmly thank Tihisia Boshart-Masisfortranslation and James Aronson for usefulcomments on previous versions of themanuscript.

ReferencesBlanco Segura, R. 2004. Guanacaste:

Del machete y la carabina a la com-putadora; En el Area de Conserva-ción Guanacaste Patrimonio Mundial37:36-47.

Elizondo Cruz, R. and L. Romero. 2000.Plane.s de contenido y actividades delprograma de educación biológica:Bosque seco. Liberia, Costa Rica: Areade Conservación Guanacaste.

Janzen, D.H. 1986. Guanacaste NationalPark: Tropical Ecological and CulturalRestoration. San José, Costa Rica: Edi-torial Universidad Estatal a Distancia.. 2001a. Good fences make goodneighbors. Parks n(2):4l-49.. 2001b. Lumpy integration of trop-ical wild biodiversity with its soci-ety. Page 133-148 m W.J. Kress andG.W. Barrett (eds), A New Century of

June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2 197

Biology. Washington DC: SmithsonianInstitution Press.

_. 2002a. La sobrevivencia de las áreassilvestres de Costa Rica por medio desu jardinificación. Pages 81-105 inF. Chapela (coord), Manejo Comu-nitario de la Biodiversidad Biológicaen Mesoamérica. Puebla, Mexico:Universidad Iberoamericana.

_. 2002b. Tropical dry forest: Areade Conservación Guanacaste,

northwestern Costa Rica. Pages 559-583 in M.R. Perrow and A.J. Davy(eds), Restoration in Practice, vol. 2oi Handbook ofEcobgical Restora-tion. Cambridge UK: CambridgeUniversity Press.

Rosibel Elizondo Cruz is Professor of Bio-logical Education, Area de Conservación

Guanacaste, Guanacaste, Costa Rica,Central America, relizondo@acguanacaste

.ac.cr.

Roger Blanco Segura is the Research Pro-gram Coordinator for Área de Conserva-ción Guanacaste, Guanacaste, Costa Rica,Central America, rblanco@acguariacaste

.ac.cr.

198 June 2010 ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION 28:2

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