EcoChronicle
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Recycling Center: The Hidden Gem of Nosara
NOSARA, Costa Rica – Dida Rios Castillo finds that smashing glass bottles relieves a great deal of stress. Hellen Rojas Porras enjoys knitting, teaching others and the camaraderie she shares with her nine female co-workers. Melissa Arrieta M. crafts beautiful baskets both large and small out of newsprint. These women are just three of the … Continue reading
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SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Why did the sloths cross the road? “It’s not that they have to cross, it’s where they were already living,” is the answer Esmeralda Arevalo-Huezo gives. A biologist and member of the Comité Científico de Vías y Vida Silvestre, she is among a core group of people spearheading an effort … Continue reading
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – Situated on Costa Rica’s central Pacific Coast is the small community and wildlife preserve of Playa Ostional. Famous as the destination of the Olive Ridley turtles’ arribadas, the town also works toward sustainability, including the management of its water resources. Tomás Chavarría, president of the community-managed water service in Ostional, … Continue reading
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – A large hummingbird mural shimmering with aqua blue and lime green hues welcomes visitors to Chietón Morén, a two-room museum and shop devoted to indigenous cultures. Once inside, the only sound hinting at the busy San José street outside is the beeping of car horns. Andrea Morales is there four … Continue reading
GUANACASTE, Costa Rica — Annual rainfall has decreased by 52 percent this year in the Guanacaste region, according to the Instituto Meteorologico Nacional, affecting the hatching rates of turtles in Ostional, a mass nesting site for the Olive Ridley species.
MONTEVERDE, Costa Rica – A new orchid garden being cultivated at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is projected to open in September. Orchids are one of the many unique organisms found in the richly biodiverse ecosystems in Monteverde. But they face threats from poaching and climate change. Gabriel Barboza, an orchid specialist at the … Continue reading
MONTEVERDE, Costa Rica – Bat expert Richard LaVal places plastic tarps onto the hood of his 2002 Kia Sportage in preparation for a night of mist-netting, or trapping. He has been researching bats, including the impacts of climate change in Monteverde and surrounding areas, for nearly 40 years. Now 77, he is not interested in … Continue reading
MONTEVERDE – Small and soft-spoken, Gabriel Barboza leans over a fallen tree to point out a hint of greenery protruding from damp bark. Barboza, known in the small mountain community of Monteverde as “the orchid guru,” is an expert on this tiny epiphyte found only in Costa Rica. “I appreciate and love orchids. More than … Continue reading
