Costa Rican Environmentalism
By Ananya Krishnan
In high school, I had no idea what major I would pick when I finally went to university. I knew what I didn’t like, but I couldn’t imagine picking one thing to focus on for the rest of my life. Ultimately, I picked my major and future career path because of a trip.
In 2018, I had the opportunity to spend Labor Day weekend in Costa Rica volunteering with three marine and environmental conservation groups. My high school’s AP Environmental Science class hosted a trip every year organized by a family at our school who used to live in Costa Rica (I ended up going to Cornell with two of their kids).
We spent most of the trip on the Osa Peninsula and worked with Latin American Sea Turtles (LAST), Osa Conservation, and Reserva Playa Tortuga. We barely slept, had little access to Wifi, almost never had air conditioning, and were perpetually damp. We lived mostly at the conservation reserves on the Osa Peninsula, and assisted them with tasks all day and night. On our first night we even saw bioluminescent plankton while patrolling the beach.
The best part was working with Green Sea Turtles, an endangered species extremely affected by climate change.
One night, we got to watch endangered sea turtles come onto shore and hatch their eggs. We hiked through the dense rainforest in the middle of the night, trudging through streams and swatting off mosquitoes until we made it to the beach. We switched our headlamps to red light so as to not disturb the turtles, and were so excited to see two mama turtles dig their holes, lay their eggs, and return to sea. After the turtles went back out, we’d wait 20 minutes and then dig up their eggs to place them in a hatchery where the reserve protected the eggs. That night, it began to pour and there was lightning and thunder. We were on an open beach, putting the eggs carefully into the hatchery, and finally had to take shelter in a wooden shack next to the hatchery before it was safe to head back through the rainforest to the reserve.
But the best part was watching the baby turtles hatch and later releasing babies who were a few days old. We probably released over 100 hatchlings, and that’s an experience I’ll never forget.
We also spent a day in the Golfo Dulce completing data collection and planting mangrove trees. We boated around the bay of the gulf learning about the areas LAST tracks turtles in, and also set out a net to catch turtles. We caught and gathered data on 3 sea turtles, taking note of their gender, age, weight, length, and any injuries or health issues they might have. If they didn’t have tags we would tag them too because as an endangered species the Costa Rican government keeps all turtles in the region on record.
We also hung birdhouses in the rainforest, so Osa Conservations forest cams could observe and track more species. One morning, we even painted a mural at a school that specializes in teaching elementary schoolers about conservation.
Costa Rica is a model nation for environmentalism. After decades of deforestation for capitalistic demand, they managed to reforest more than one-fifth of their country’s area, proving to the world that deforestation can be reversed. After my experience in Costa Rica and learning about the country’s efforts, I finally picked my major: Environment and Sustainability. Even though I ended up choosing a business route, it was this volunteer trip that influenced my decision and I’m so thankful for the experience.
About the Author: Ananya Krishnan is a junior from Saratoga, California, majoring in Environment and Sustainability and minoring in History and Business. One of her favorite travel destinations is Pokhara, Nepal, because of the stunning Himalayan scenery, delicious food, and unique architecture.
