Xpedition Costa Rica: Science from Source to Sea...

Xpedition Costa Rica: Science from Source to Sea

Science

Student Summer Learning Expedition Monteverde Cloud Forest to the Guanacaste Coast , Costa Rica

Source to Sea


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Involving students and teachers in authentic science research and data acquisition in the Cloud Forest and Oceans of Costa Rica

Global Travel Alliance would like to invite you to participate in the student research opportunity of a lifetime.

Goal of Expedition: Students and teachers will work in the field and on the water, along side scientist from the University of Costa Rica and the University of Georgia. The objective is to develop a data collection methodology to be used for future student investigations both in the Cloud Forest and on the Pacific waters of Costa Rica.

Overview: Students will spend 4 full days in the Cloud Forest and 4 full days on the coast. Each day student’s will enter the Cloud Forest and Marine environments working side by side with scientists and teachers assisting in data acquisition and learning about their field of study.

Student Research Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve & Guanacaste Coast, Costa Rica

Dates: May 29 – June 7, 2015 (High School Students) June 15 - 24, 2015 (Middle School Students)

Cost: $2,795 per student (includes airfare and all expenses). See enrollment form for more details

Enroll Now: See your school science teacher, or contact Paul Belanger at Global Travel Alliance P: (855) 204-7720 E: [email protected]

This trip is not a sponsored

St. Vrain Valley Schools District trip


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The campus sprawls across 62 hectares (153 acres) and varies in elevation between 2,355 to 4,709 feet. It is managed for multiple uses. Sixty percent of the 62 hectares are maintained in protected forest reserve as part of Costa Rica's National Network of Private Reserves. Thirty percent of the property is managed for sustainable agricultural production. The remaining ten percent is managed as “built space” which includes facilities for academic instruction, research, food service, residences and recreation.

The University of Georgia is making conservation issues relevant by deepening knowledge and broadening perspectives through conferences and workshops and connecting on the ground science with youth and communities

THE SOURCE: Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica The University of Georgia (UGA) 155-acre property in mountainous San Luis de Monteverde is an international campus for tropical education and research and our home base for the first portion of our learning expedition - the Source. This campus is the largest of UGA's three international centers offering courses representing 35 different disciplines and 9 colleges. The UGA Costa Rica Campus is nestled adjacent to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and guests at the Ecolodge San Luis can take advantage of a wide range of educational and nature-based activities as well as cultural activities on our campus and in the local community

Researchers in the Cloud Forest help with our understanding of the

biological and physical processes of the complex tropical ecosystem.


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Unlike National Parks in the United States, these reserves are owned and operated by private non-profit organizations. Together, along with other adjacent reserves, they protect about 198,000 acres.

Due to its high altitude – some 4,662 feet above sea level – Monteverde receives a steady supply of clouds and the life-giving moisture. This helps to support a complex and far-reaching ecosystem, one that harbors over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, tens of thousands of insect species, and over 2,500 varieties of plants, 420 of which are orchids alone.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve

Monteverde is world-renowned for its cloud forests. These forests, perpetually in mist, harbor an abundance of plants, wildlife and other living things that are of significant scientific interest around the world. There are strangler figs, wild orchids, mushrooms that grow in the dark, huge moths, blue butterflies, monkeys and sloths. Colorful birds like toucans, Resplendent Quetzal, and Three Wattled Bellbird are seen and heard. Only a few yards away, one steps out of the cloud forest into the sunlight.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve is perhaps the best known of three forest reserves in the Monteverde area. The Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve and the Childrens' Eternal Rain Forest are adjacent reserves. The latter was acquired through donations from around the world.

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” - Jane Goodall


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Students as Professionals – Engaging students and teachers in real world issues, deepening the collective knowledge of the Cloud Forest and Environmental Science

Potential Areas of Study

Ecology – Study of Bio Diversity and Ecosystems

Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their abiotic environment. Topics of interest to ecologists include the diversity, distribution, amount (biomass), number (population) of organisms, as well as competition between them within and among ecosystems.

Herpetology & Entomology – Study of Amphibians & Insects

Herpetology is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians including frogs, toads, salamanders and reptiles. Entomology is the scientific study of insects. At some 1.3 million described species, insects account for more than two-thirds of all known organisms on earth and date back some 400 million years.

Ornithology – Study of Birds

Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the study of birds. The science of ornithology has a long history and has helped develop several key concepts in evolution, behavior and ecology such as the definition of species, the process of speciation, instinct, learning, ecological niches, guilds, island biogeography, phytogeography and conservation.

Botany – Study of Plants

Botany is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist is a scientist who specializes in this field of study. A person who studies plants may be called a botanist or a plant scientist. Botanists study approximately 400,000 species of living organisms of which some 260,000 species are vascular plants and about 248,000 are flowering plants.

Hydrology – Study of Water and Water Quality

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist, working within the fields of earth or environmental science, physical geography, geology or civil and environmental engineering.


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"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught... .

- Baba Dioum - Environmentalist

THE SEA: Pacific Ocean-Guanacaste Coast-Costa Rica

The oceans of the world are often described as the last great wilderness where mystery, intrigue, beauty and discovery await the curious traveler. It is also one of the most important biomes that amongst other things shapes global weather patterns, feeds millions of people and is home to hundreds of thousands of amazing plants and animals critical to supporting a healthy environment. Discovering this under water world, developing a more meaningful understanding of the ecosystem and importance to people and wildlife is now possible through building relationships with groups such as Connect Ocean.

Through our partnership with Connect Ocean, students will have the opportunity cultivate an environmental awareness and interest in preserving aquatic environments by assisting researchers with collecting data on marine and coastal ecosystems. In addition, students will do a variety of service work with local Costa Rican youth providing a unique intercultural exchange that helps to foster a collaborative spirit across cultures.


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ConnectOcean awareness courses get students out and about in Costa Rica, exploring the unbeaten track on field trips and exciting educational excursions to meet Turtles, Dolphins, and Ocean critters up close. ConnectOcean Explorer Program The “ConnectOcean Explorer” Marine Environmental Awareness Program challenges students to solve problems and find solutions through hands-on, community-based service-learning revolving around Ocean life and marine ecosystems.

Participants will have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Jacques Cousteau and Sylvia Earle by becoming Ocean Explorers for a day. The program combines elements of exploration with fascinating environmental experiences and research programs.

Participants learn by exploring beaches and tidal zones, estuaries, snorkeling reefs and tracking wild dolphins and humpback whales on the open ocean.

Students are engaged in adventures such as:

Marine Debris and Sustainable Consumption

Ocean Explorers for a day

Shark and Manta Awareness Adventure

Turtle Awareness Adventure

Fish Finder – a guide to sustainable sea food

consumption

Community Journalism and Social Media

Production

Reef Ecology 101

Researchers on the beach and in the water help with our understanding

of the biological and physical processes of our complex Oceans.


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Potential Areas of Study

Students as Professionals – Engaging students and teachers in real world issues, deepening the collective knowledge of the Ocean and Environmental Science

Invertebrate Ecology – Study of Invertebrate Animals

Invertebrate ecology is the biological discipline that consists of the study of invertebrate animals, i.e. animals without a backbone. Invertebrates are a vast and very diverse group of animals that includes sponges, echinoderms, tunicates, numerous different phyla of worms, molluscs and arthropods.

Marine Ecology – Study of Marine Life & Habitats

Marine Ecology is the scientific study of marine-life habitat, populations, and interactions among organisms and the surrounding environment including their abiotic, non-living physical and chemical factors, that affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce. As well as the biotic factors, living things or the materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment.

Coastal Ecosystem Studies – Study of the Intertidal Zone

Coastal Ecosystem Studies is the study of the area known as the intertidal zone, also known as the seashore. The area between tide marks, the seashore area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals, such as starfish, sea urchins, and numerous species of coral. The well-known area also includes steep rocky cliffs, sandy beaches.

Coral Reef Ecosystems – Study of the Rainforest of the Sea

Coral Reef Ecosystems are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals. Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine waters. Often called "rainforests of the sea", coral reefs form some of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, and grow best in warm, shallow, clear, sunny waters.

Estuary Ecosystem Studies – Study of Transition Waters

Estuary Ecosystem Studies - An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world.

Xpedition Costa Rica: Science from Source to Sea...

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