A group of Penn State Behrend students traveled to Costa Rica to study the natural world. They worked on three small research projects while in the Country.

 

The 20 students and three professors departed early on March 2 and arrived back in the U.S. late on March 12. While in Costa Rica, they stayed at three biological reserves. All of the students on the trip are taking either Biology 499A or Geography 299.

 

After landing in Costa Rica, the group endured a seven hour bus ride to a dry forest, Palo Verde. Here they went on a guided hike to the top of a limestone rock formation where they could see for miles in either direction. Later that day, a guide from the reserve took them on a night hike. The next day they studied the relationship between the Bullhorn Acacia plant and the Acacia ant. At Palo Verde, students slept in mosquito nets to reduce their risk of contracting diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. They also had to watch out for venomous snakes and other dangerous animals throughout the trip.

 

When asked what her favorite part of the trip was, sophomore Environmental Science major Grace Schoeniger said, “Going out to the dock at Palo Verde to look at the stars! Because we were in the middle of a national park, there was no light pollution, the stars were amazing!”

 

After another long bus ride over the treacherous roads of Costa Rica, the group ended up at Monteverde, a cloud forest in the mountains. This biological reserve is run by the University of Georgia. The first day started early with a birding hike, followed by a natural history hike, a sustainable farm tour, and a night hike later in the day. On the sustainable farm tour, students learned how coffee and sugar cane, two of Costa Rica’s main exports, are produced. For their last day in the mountains, the students traveled even higher in elevation to the Monteverde Reserve. Some students hiked to the continental divide of the Americas.

 

On their way to La Selva, the final stop of the trip, the group stopped at the Arenal Volcano. The students climbed the lava flows of the active volcano and saw a 500-year-old Ceiba Tree. That night they arrived at La Selva, a tropical rainforest. There they went on several hikes and completed two research projects. The first compared the velocity of leaf cutter ants carrying leaves to those not carrying leaves. The second looked at the difference in biodiversity of water collected from the heliconia plant and the bromeliad plant.

 

Throughout the trip, the students kept scientific journals to document all they were seeing. In the back of the journal, they kept track of the species they saw. Before they left for Costa Rica, the professors tested students on the different plants and animals they would be seeing and hearing, in addition to learning about the history and culture of Costa Rica.

 

“I believe that everyone should go out of their way to learn new things,” said Megan Palko, a sophomore Environmental Science major. “You never know what will happen, and you may be surprised.”

 

Unlike previous years, the students on this trip were predominantly female. Only one of the 20 students was male. Freshman Brad Beck, an Environmental Science major, was the only male student, although two of the professors were male.

 

“I just see it as being with a bunch of other people who happen to be women, all enjoying [a] unique experience together in science and culture,” said Beck.

The last night of the trip, the group stayed in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. They went out to eat and celebrated their last night together. The next morning, the travelers departed Costa Rica, eventually landing in Cleveland around midnight. Before the end of the semester, the students are going to write a research paper and do a final presentation about their time in Costa Rica.