Sustainability in practice:
Living in Costa Rica has shown me how other cultures focus on sustainability and protecting the environment. Visiting the pineapple farm and banana farm has shown me how farming can be done in a less destructive way, compared to the United States.
The Pineapple farm was HUGE, they were a monocrop farm that’s certified organic and sustainable. Learning that they use no harsh chemicals that can harm the environment around them. One way to help encourage the growth of the plants is by harvesting natural gas they produce, spreading it over the babies to help them grow. They also had protected forest lands around their farms, where they could not take or use anything from them. So instead they use chicken feathers, manure, fishbones, ect to use as a form of fertilizer, rather than objects such as leaf litter. And to help control the weeds they use black plastic, at first I thought there may be a more environmentally friendly way to help prevent them. But after talking to the guide, using it is the most effective and cost effective way. And they do not throw away the plastics, they always recycle it, by giving it to another company to melt down and use.
When we arrived at the banana farm on Friday, I was surprised by the size of it. They focus on bananas but they had multiple crops across their farm. It was a small farm that only operates and sells produce in Costa Rica. They were also certified organic, and used no harsh chemicals on their plants. While there we saw many different plants besides just banana trees. Such as fruiting plants that they eat and are used for medicinal purposes. Like the peel of the “sour orange” plant, it can be used to help with anxiety and depression. They are trying to use their land in multiple ways, such as small herbs under the banana trees to maximize space use.
The effects of sustainability on abundance of wildlife/forest:
Looking back at how the United States uses their farmland, and studies done associating it. We can tell that there is a lack of biodiversity due to some of the harsh chemicals used on monocrop farms. Detering any animals or insects that could cause a problem with their harvest.
While at the pineapple farm we had noticed that the animal life was not super abundant since most was farming land, but we did see a sloth! Proving that the animals are not all gone from the area. We also saw and heard many wild birds, and they had a lot of pollinating plants along the outskirts of the farm. When getting back to the main building, they had their own farm animals such as chickens, and an abundance of flowering plants. This may be for decoration, but it can help pollinators in the area such as bees and hummingbirds.
The banana farm had more life, compared to the pineapple farm we had visited. Instead of only having one crop, they had multiple spanning from fruiting to herbs. Because they are certified organic and can not use harsh chemicals one problem they face is moles eating their produce. They are not allowed to use chemicals to get rid of them so they mainly leave them be. Except for the occasions flushing their burrows out with water.
Coexistence of animals
Going to the waterfall in Fortuna, which is a known tourist destination spot. I expected to see almost no wildlife. Even though there were many people it was still lively, the waters had fish in them and there were spiders along the rocks. Later in town for lunch, there were dogs roaming the streets, and there were parrots flying over us squawking. I was honestly surprised to hear and see the parrots while walking the streets since it was a buisier town.
Arriving at the Arenal Observatory Lodge, you could tell they cater to the wildlife around them. There was a bird watching station where they would put up fresh fruit. And behind my room there were rows of porterweed plants, where there would be multiple hummingbirds at a time. There, was also the closest that any of us have been to a kuati. I was able to see one foraging for bugs in the dirt off of one of the trails.
Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve where we learned that the wildlife here is different then La Selva. This is due to the types of forest, the Cloud Reserve is mostly secondary forests. And the flora and fauna vary, here there are no poison dart frogs, but the chances of seeing any cats here are higher. I got to see my first tarantula, the name of it was the redknee tarantula. We were also lucky enough to see a male and female Resplendent quetzals! It is rare to be able to observe in Costa Rica.
How it effects newcomers to Costa Rica:
Coming to Costa Rica, especially the places we are staying are centered around sustainability and conservation. Everything we use from the water, electricity, to the toilet paper in the bathrooms. One of the biggest is not having central air or heat in many of the buildings. Our lodge had no air conditioning, only one fan and the main windows did not close, leaving just a screen which allows either hot or cold air to get in. Many if not all sinks are push faucets, where the water will turn off automatically after about five seconds. One thing that stood out to me is the waste disposal. In La Selva after eating, there were three kinds in which to divide your trash: napkins/paper, organics/food, and others such as plastics.
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