Thursday, March 29, 2012

My Students in the Rainforest!

Long time readers of this blog (hi Mom!) may assume that the title of this blog is a lead up to an analogy. But I'm being quite literal. For the past 20 years, my school has sent a group of students to the Costa Rican Rainforest in order to conduct scientific research. You can read more about the project on our website. It's an amazing project in many ways.

And I'm going to be a part of it! Wendy Welshans, the project leader, approached me right before the group left on this year's expedition and asked if I wanted to go to the rainforest. After clarifying that she meant next year (you never know. . .), I responded with an enthusiastic yes! I'll be going down with them in order to help them share about the research they're doing while they're there. We'll be blogging and sharing photos and videos, hopefully. As you can imagine, it's quite remote, and we're just beginning to figure out the logistics involved.

For this year, we're working on sharing the results and process of the group that's just returned. We've started a Forman Rainforest Project blog, and a Flickr group , and a YouTube channel (all in the beginning stages, with more to come). The blog includes a separate page for each different project, where we've posted the papers they wrote before heading off to the rainforest, and where we'll eventually share their final dissertations. We'll also be adding interviews with students about their experiences in the rainforest.

This is where I'd like to enlist your and your students' participation. Please, share the blog with teachers and students in your school, and encourage them to comment and ask questions. These students have a ton of great information to share, and their work deserves a wider audience. So share it! Share like crazy! And ask us questions!

Check out our Flickr slideshow and an awesome video of some leaf cutter ants below--if that doesn't pique your interest, I don't know what will.




1 comment:

  1. Hello Friends!
    La Gran Vista, located just outside San Isidro de General in South Pacific Costa Rica, is an Environmental Conservation Project where students, volunteers, and visitors can learn how a tropical organic farm functions. We are an Educational Institute where individuals can learn how to milk a cow, harvest a mango tree, or use medicinal herbs. La Gran Vista gives everyone an opportunity to learn about life at its most basic form and exist in a fully sustainable community.
    We are happy to receive volunteers, student groups, families, and environmental interns from abroad. In addition, eco-tourism organizations send groups of volunteers to La Gran Vista every year to participate in the project.
    We offer opportunities for undergraduate groups, ASB, graduate students, and researchers to pursue specific interests or field work pertaining to sustainability and organic farming. Students looking to pursue a career in sustainability will have the opportunity to have practical experience that will be invaluable to their future endeavors.
    We believe that the best way to preserve our Planet is for everyone to be active and lend a helping hand to Mother Nature. The problems are right in front of us, from greenhouse gases to massive landfills, pesticides in our food, and unclean drinking water, making it EVERYONE’S responsibility to wake up and live a more responsible life.
    We cannot change the world in a day, but if we all do our part we can change the course of history. So start today and join us in our attempt to create a more sustainable future.
    Thanks for your help and please contact us for more information about La Gran Vista.

    Ing. Agr. Donald Villalobos
    Manager
    La Gran Vista Agroecological Farm
    San Isidro del General, Costa Rica
    www.lagranvista.com
    E- Mail: lagranvista@hotmail.com
    Tel: (506) 89248983
    We are on Facebook “La Gran Vista Agroecological Farm”

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