We’ve spent the last week at La Selva Biological Station. We drove 2 or so hours north east of San José and spent our first three days here just exploring La Selva. Our first day, we spent some time during the day in a secondary growth forest only a few decades old, yet the trees still towered over us as they can grow 12 meters per year. We learned about some of the important pioneer species, including the rubber tree, that move into cleared areas and grow fast. A blue orchid bee followed me around, probably attracted by my red shirt and perhaps the oils in my bug spray. A great curassow wandered directly through our path, stopping to patiently pose for us as we observed and took pictures. We later saw a cluster of Hondurean white bats sleeping underneath a leaf, among the other species I listed in the following list. Peccaries were plentiful, grazing calmly nearby in the field of the station, their oniony scent wafting our direction.
Later in the day, we took a night hike out in the old growth forest. We saw three different snakes–a cloudy snail eater, a green vine snake, and a fer-de-lance, the most aggressive of the venomous snakes in Costa Rica. Our guide expressed gratitude for seeing them, as he has noticed fewer and fewer snakes over the years as climate change has strained their populations. I noticed clearly the different reflections of eye colors–the orange of the mammal (the opossum), the blue and green of the spiders, and the white of the frogs. Additional species we saw are listed for Night Hike Day 1.
The second day, we didn’t go on any formal hikes, but we did see both howler monkeys (we heard them barking first) and spider monkeys up in the canopy.. We also went on a walk that night, where we saw a beautiful damselfly hanging off the tip of a leaf, its wings draping down like a raindrop of striped purple stained glass. I also have a Day 2 species list.
The third day, we woke up early for a bird hike. We saw a turkey vulture perched atop a tree, and our guide told us about how it was waiting for the sun to come out so they could use the heat columns to glide. We saw a clay-colored thrush, the national bird of Costa Rica, and a golden-hooded tanager who was fighting with itself in a car side mirror. Next, there was a pale-billed woodpecker, and our guide showed up a feather of a related species to demonstrate how they have hooked ends on their tails to help stabilize them on the trees. We watched as another male curassow glided down to a female with two chicks. The male began bobbing its head and making a low humming sound to try to impress the female to mate, but the female ignored him as she showed her chicks what to eat. Some species will mate while they have offspring, while others don’t–it seems at least this great curassow is in the latter group. Again, I listed the species we have under my Day 3 Bird Hike list.
Day four at La Selva, we mostly prepared for the Howler monkey census for Saturday. I am partnered with my classmate Kate three and a half kilometers into the park, which passes right by a lovely river scene. My peers saw an alleged big cat before it ran off. I saw some green and black poison dart frogs, finally deviating from the strawberry poison dart frogs that are so prolific. We were tricked by the clay butterflies some researchers were putting out, and they said hopefully that means the birds will be tricked too.
On morning five, my partner Kate and I woke up at a brisk 2:20a to get to our location at 4a. We were listening for their howls from 4-7 and estimating their location and distance. We heard three troops primarily as a bug harassed us with a disproportionate fury to its tiny body. It was beautiful to see the jungle light up as the sun crested behind the trees. We saw a highway of leaf cutter ants carrying the purple flowers we’ve seen strewn across the forest floor yet not seen up in the trees instead of the leaves they normally carry. It was very wholesome. A toucan flew in front of me to show off its plummage and give me strength as mine was waning at the end. Later in the day, we played a game called Evolution: Climate. I absolutely loved it–I knew I wasn’t going to win, so in the last round, I skewed the climate super cold, wiping out several of my competitors’ species, damaging their populations, and preventing anyone from getting food. It was my glorious victory of the game. We also saw a monster katydid–biggest insect I have ever seen in the wild. It was a solid 4-5 inches long and a few inches wide. I drew it to scale below and had a pencil to help show the scale. The notebook is 5x3in.
The 29th of May, we mostly helped the 10-week students with their research. They explained to us their research, and they taught us about their methodology. While out in the forest, we saw some capuchin monkeys, one of which came close to investigate us as it danced and swung across the branches for us. We also saw a troop of howler monkeys. At first they slept, and then they got up and started crossing to another tree. As we watched, we saw several tiny juveniles climbing about, anxiously pacing before crossing. Adults held the branches and formed a bridge with their bodies to allow them to cross more easily. We saw infants clinging to their mothers stomachs as the males bellowed at another troop that awoke them. Meanwhile, I made some headway in my research as I made a survey for local farmers.
Regarding my research for a moment, I am going to be testing for greenwashing–I’ll be setting up a system to rate the sustainability of the different food systems we encounter–the different farms and kitchens at the stations and the ecotourism sites–then I’ll compare their rating to the language that they use to talk about their practices. For the farms, I’m considering nine themes for the rating. The first is tilling practices, then species diversity of both their crops and the other flora on the farm. Next would be their waste disposal practices, including their animal waste and how they select their produce–whether they throw away or compost their imperfect products or if they use/sell them. Fourth is water usage, especially irrigation practices and the sources from which they pull their water. Fifth is chemical usage including fertilizer use and pesticide and herbicide use. Sixth is animal feed for the applicable farms–where they’re sourced and what their feed is. Sixth is their energy and gas usage, including their use of machinery. Next is where the food’s final destination is–are they shipping it internationally or is it just going to the nearby community, for example. Finally is the suitability of the given species for the climate zone we’re in, especially with the implications of how much water and energy it takes to maintain the crops.
For kitchens, I currently have seven leads on the themes for rating them. First is whether they pay attention to the farming practices of the farms they buy from and whether those farms are sustainable. Next is waste disposal, then water usage including their source of water. Fourth is whether they use reusable plates, utensils, and other such dining ware. Fifth is specifically meat sourcing and quantity of meat used by the kitchen for a given meal considering the greater stress meat consumption places on the environment. Sixth is their energy and gas usage, and finally, the locality of their food.
Because these ratings are not equal in criteria, I am considering averaging their rating for evaluate these food systems. Based on their rating, I will compare it to the language they use to describe their system in their marketing and tours to see if the language used is appropriate for their sustainability rating or if they are over-selling their practices as a form of greenwashing.
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