On July 14, 1999, Dorene Medlin arrived in San Jose to participate in the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation's (WWNFF) Environmental Science Institute. While in San Jose, the participants visited the National Museum for a special viewing and authentic native cuisine. 
     At the hotel, several speakers, representing The Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS) conducted orientation sessions, including an exciting presentation on snakes indigenous to Costa Rica.

     I should never complain about the price of bananas again!  After a trip to the Dole Banana Plantation, I saw the time and effort that goes into growing my favorite breakfast food.  Each banana tree only blooms one time and then the workers chop it down so another one will grow in its place. 
     Carlos walked us through every step of raising bananas.  The banana starts in the lab, being cultivated from slips of tissue.  That gets planted, grows, flowers, is bagged, matures as bananas, gets cut down, washed, checked, boxed and shipped to different markets. 
     Looking down the row of banana trees, I could not help but wonder how many man hours went into each banana.  In fact, I believe bananas might just be worth their weight in gold!

Plans were under way to begin the research projects.  Our fearless leader, Tom Langan, challenged us to reach standards worthy of the National Science Foundation (NSF) criteria for inquiry based research.  The team I worked with decided to study the Heliconia plants in the secondary and primary forests.  Our team collected the flowers, brought them to the lab, dissected them and collected critters.  None of us found any magic cures, but we saw plenty of ants...

     Walking around the tropical rain forest at La Selva Biological Station  made me wonder how man must have felt when first seeing the magnificent tree canopy, the lush vegetation and the exotic animals are right at home here.  Look around - we take so much for granted, but the changes we are making to our local and global environments impact our present, as well as our future. 
      At La Selva, I saw life teeming around me...on the ground the ants worked diligently; in the air, birds dove to catch insects and monkeys jumped from tree to tree; sloths lounged around in trees and iguanas rustled everywhere.  Life in the rain forest is one adventure after another! 

     Volcan Poas.  Just looking at the majesty of the rocks, the lakes and the clouds settling on this volcano inspires awe at the time nature has invested in this work of art.  From where I stood, sky, rock, forests, water assaulted my senses and sparked questions about cloud formation, types of volcanos, air quality and pH. 
     Costa Rica has many such volcanos.  Our group was able to visit several, including Poas and Arenal.  Volcanos always create interest for students and having great shots like this will make it easier to show in our classrooms!

     Palo Verde Biological Station is in the northern part of Costa Rica and is one of the few dry forests left in the world.  Philippe our OTS facilitator, was a source of inspiration in our next research study.  Our group studied nuclear trees and the effect they have on reforestation of the dry forest.  We trudged out into areas disturbed by cattle, undisturbed areas and places that were so hot the only thing glowing was us!  Palo Verde was my idea of a perfect place for researching, team bonding, horseback riding and living the Pura Vida!
     Oh, and did I mention getting up close and personal with a HUGE hairy spider??  Or what about the morning I checked my shoes and the snake slithered out of one and went under the bed? 

     The ten hour trip to Las Cruces Biological Reserve was divided into two days.  I left Palo Verde with warm memories and dirty clothes (no washer!), so when the bus pulled into the hotel in Dominical I put on my only clean attire - Yes! A bathing suit!  The pool was cool, clean and totally relaxing.  I  had my  first "fancy" meal in weeks and pretended I was a tourist with not a care in the world. 
     Seeing Costa Rica from the ecotourist perspective is much different from seeing it as an ecosystem that is vanishing at an astonishing rate!  The two camps must come together and live with each other since both are integral parts of this very special culture. 

     The last station I visited in Costa Rica: Las Cruces Biological Station which houses the Wilson Botanical Gardens.  The beauty of the station comes from the juxtaposition of cultured (the gardens) and the wild (the cloud forest).  Our first days consisted of walking around the gardens, walking down to the Rio Java, walking in the river, walking back up the steep terrain..and missing snakes at our feet!
     Jim (ants) and Andrea (bats) Wetterer were the OTS site facilitators.  Jim explained how ants are taking over the world.  Andrea showed me the mysteries of bats.  And our group decided to compare the tree ecology of palms in the gardens and the forests.  And, you got it!  That meant we had to walk up and down that mountain AGAIN! 

     I've heard of camping out in tents, but had no idea that bats did that too!  Andrea Wetterer, bat researcher, introduced me to the wonders of the little creatures...first hand.  I saw the day time bat tents and decided they are really "bat condos."  The bats were dreaming special bat dreams and, there I was, taking special bat pictures. 
     Dougherty County School System (DCSS) teaches a unit on bats, but seeing the critters in real life is great!  They build tents in palm fronds and, even though they camp in one, there are at least half a dozen in the camp.  It really made me wonder what would happen if I cut the extra tents down...do you think the bat would rebuild those tents?

     Has it really been three weeks?  Back to San Jose, then back to Albany, Georgia.  I'll have to hang up my researcher hat, put up my rubber snake boots and go back to being "Dorene Medlin, Secondary Science Supervisor, Dougherty County School System."  Going back to my "real life" means I will continue to bring inquiry centered,  research based learning to the classroom through outreach programs.
     There were seventeen talented teachers in the group.  Teachers from Colorado, California, Kentucky, Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee and Georgia.  Science and mathematics teachers who, for twenty-one days, have learned from and with each other.  We made it!
     Each of us came to Costa Rica with an idea.  I came to learn about a country that was special to my parents.  I leave this land with a vision that I may not be returning to civilization...I may be leaving it behind.