Aero: Ashley Hager – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity

Aero: Ashley Hager – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity

Aero: Ashley Hager – Costa Rica 2014 – Biodiversity

Ashley Hager

When I think of Costa Rica’s biodiversity I think of sunny 80-degree weather, which is a lot better than -30 degrees in New York State in the month of January, and I also think of all the volcanoes, plants and wildlife that make up such a beautiful place. Flying into San Jose you could see lots of green mountain sides and the tops of volcanoes. Instantly I thought “oh I can’t wait to see the beautiful nature and wildlife and how did I get to experience such an amazing opportunity.” It wasn’t too long before I got to experience what Costa Rica had to offer.

In the fourteen days we were in Costa Rica we got to visit many locations that allowed us to explore Costa Rica’s biodiversity. We went to Jaco beach were we got to experience the nice warm sunny weather and the palm tree lined beach on the Pacific Coast. We also got to visit volcano Poas and Irazu which was a different experience from being at the beach or in the city of Alajuela.  The chilly climate was the number one difference near the volcanoes. It was definitely thinner air and we were so close to the clouds it felt like we could touch them. The diversity of the amount and types of plants located near the volcanoes was amazing. We also visited La Paz Waterfalls where we got to see the beauty of nature with the plants and wildlife and the natural flowing waterfalls. We also got to experience many nature tours with bilingual tour guides that taught us about plants and wildlife and the push to preserve and protect the environment in Costa Rica. Our tour guides kept mentioning how they teach children in school at a young age how to protect and treat the nature and wildlife. It was very touching to know that the people are trying their best to preserve the natural beauty of their country. The people of Costa Rica try their best to attract tourists but also have protected zones for plants and wildlife. They don’t tend to clear land and build just to attract the tourist or for an increasing population. When we went to Monteverde Cloud Forest for an overnight stay and a nocturnal night tour we rode in a tourism bus. We soon discovered that the ride to Monteverde was very rough bumpy roads for the last 20km of the ride. Our tour guide told us that they don’t want to pave the roads because then they would attract more tourists and it would become very difficult to preserve the natural environment.  The tours in Monteverde were amazing. We got to see the cloud forest during the day and the activity at night during a nocturnal night tour, which allowed us to compare. It was incredible to see the wildlife come alive at night. We also had the opportunity to zip line through nature and observe the hill sides and the clouds. There was one part of the zip line where you could see the volcano in the distance.

Costa Rica 2014
Flickr Photo Gallery

We also got to experience and learn about the number one agricultural business Costa Rica is known for, their premium coffee. We went to “Doka Estate” which is one of the many Coffee plantations in Costa Rica. In the coffee plantation there were banana trees to help control the amount of water in the soil near the coffee plants in certain times of the year.  It was nice to see that they have created their own natural irrigation system that is helpful for the environment. It was also very different to see the coffee fruits being picked by hand instead of using machines.  It amazes me to see how successful Costa Rica is with little use of technology, compared to the United States where we heavily rely on it. The number one thing I learned about Costa Rica is how much the people care about the environment and nature and will do what they can to protect and preserve it. I feel very fortunate to be able to experience such an amazing opportunity and experience what Costa Rica has to offer.

Learn More: Study abroad with Modern Languages @ FLCC: Costa Rica!

– Ashley Hager

The LEAF Project
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