Alberto Brenes: A Hidden Gem of Research and Discovery

During our condensed semester in Costa Rica, my peers and I had the pleasure of visiting Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve (RBAMB). The reserve is part of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range Conservation Area and is nestled deep within the highlands surrounding San Ramon. Alberto Brenes was first established in 1975 as a forest reserve. In the 1980’s, it was lowered to a protected zone, making it vulnerable to the extraction of resources, primarily mining and logging. Recognizing the irreplaceable worth of the area, the University of Costa Rica lobbied to raise the status of the area to a biological reserve, the highest status of protection possible. Two years later, in 1993, Alberto Brenes was established as a biological reserve by executive order in order to protect and conserve biodiversity around the canton of San Ramon in Alajuela. This limits the region to research, conservation and education, excluding tourism and its potentially adverse effects. It is primarily managed and funded by the University of Costa Rica and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), with the additional support of SINAC.

The continued success of Alberto Brenes as a biological reserve cannot be trivialized. Though the establishment of a site as a biological reserve is a great feat in and of itself, it does not ultimately envisage future success; the success or failure of a protected area ultimately depends on the extent to which ecological processes that support biodiversity can be sustained. This requires careful design and adequate implementation. As my peers and I witnessed, Alberto Brenes utilizes wise use of natural and human resources, both by capitalizing on the resources contained within its boundaries and by serving as a learning site for students to explore and demonstrating approaches to conservation and sustainable development to students. One example within the reserve is deploying the abundant rivers within RBAMB to generate hydroelectric power. 47%, (7600 Ha) of the upper basin of the San Lorenzo River is located inside RBAMB. A turbine in the nearby San Lorencito River is used to generate hydroelectricity to power the reserve station. In addition, continued success of a reserve is also aided by long-term commitment from international and national research institutions with conservation priorities that parallel that of the reserve. I was told that at the moment, funding for the reserve is challenging, as it requires visiting and requesting aid from different departments within the University of Costa Rica. The reserve is currently working on establishing an official budget that will stand for each year.

 

While only 7800 hectares, Alberto Brenes is highly representative of the rich diversity of Costa Rica.  Alberto Brenes is characterized by a rugged mountain system; altitudes ranging from 600m to 1700m enable a wide diversity of organisms suited to different climates to reside within the reserve. Temperatures are moderate, staying around 21 degrees Celsius, and an average rainfall of 138 inches. This warrants 80% of the park as premontane, 10% as low montane and another small fraction as very humid montane. As a natural laboratory, dozens of flora and fauna have been discovered within the reserve, as well as a new family and several novel genera of plants. While at the reserve, we learned some of the plant taxonomy of flowering plants and we were exposed to a wide variety of reptiles, amphibians, and arthropods. Insects and arachnids were our omnipresent guests, both outside as well as inside the station! We learned that in order to promote genetic diversity and species richness, it is important that a reserve does not stand in isolation, but has a buffer zone of protected area around it. Currently the persistence of migratory species relies on them surviving a portion of their migratory cycle in forest fragments outside of the protected zones. The University is working on trying to establish surrounding areas as protected zones in order to sustain migration and limit populations from being stranded in isolates where they would encounter the adverse synergisms of habitat degradation, poaching and resource exploitation. Despite the benefits of reserve expansion, overcoming the sociopolitical, financial, and institutional constraints necessary to establishing buffer zones is a challenge in itself.

The successful implementation and continued success of Alberto Brenes must be ascribed to the persistent dedication of a small group of passionate individuals who, despite insurmountable odds, work tirelessly on behalf of the reserve, raising funds, negotiating legal work, establishing a physical presence within the park and garnering local and national support. During the evening, we were given a presentation on the reserve and shown photos of previous student groups from decades past. While looking at a vintage photo of the first group of students that ever visited the park in 1979, it suddenly became apparent at just how quickly technology and the world around us is changing. As somebody that appreciates nature, it makes me anxious to think that our environment is changing just as quickly and we are restricted in our ability to halt the degredation. However, before our departure from the reserve, we also posed for a group photo. It was at that moment that I became hopeful. Because even though we were smiling into a DSLR lens camera that would fully capture our unkempt states with full precision, I realized that just like the first group of students in 1979, we are students with similar interests leaving with incredible memories, insight and inspiration. Hopefully decades from now, future students will garner these same feelings when looking at our photo.

AUTHOR: Heather Haj

Organic Bird Friendly Coffee Farm

ORGANIC CERTIFICATION: This week I visited an organic coffee farm on the outskirt of San Ramon. The farm is owned by Patricia, someone who cares about nothing more than growing quality café. Her three acre plot of land has had to jump through a few hoops before receiving the organic status, more hoops than one might think. To get organic accreditation, an agency must visit the farm and make sure everything is up to par, in Patricia's case, the agency was Ecologica. They make sure that there are absolutely no chemical inputs going into the production of this coffee, from the pesticides to the fertilizer. Patricia explained that this can be challenging because it intensifies manual labor by a shocking amount. One small example she gave me was in regard to the weeds that grow on the property. While most conventional farms would use herbicides, she uses a weed eater. There are many little differences such as this one that increase the workload. As if this added labor isn’t enough there is another large aspect maintaining organic certification. Patricia has to keep books of absolutely every single thing she does on a day to day basis for Ecologica to be able to see. These books include keeping all the receipts of the products she uses on the farm so she has a verifiable audit trail. This ensures that everything she uses n the farm is 100% organic. The cherry on top of this organic certification is that it cost around $1,200 every year for Ecologica to visit the property and see that all is natural. It makes you wonder why anyone would go through all the trouble of being organic when there are so many obstacles and check points.

ORGANIC FERTILIZER: Located on the western edge of the farm is a chicken coop. This is where the 100% organic fertilizer is made. The three different types of animals responsible for its production are chickens, cows, and one horse. Patricia told me that when using organic fertilizer it is necessary to constantly check the temperature. If the pile is too dry she just adds water. When the pile is too wet she adds more dry materials. Ingredients of the fertilizer include vegetable matter, trimmed branches and other cuttings, rice hulls, shredded sugar cane, and all left over food peelings. Those ingredients mixed with the animal waste make for a healthy fertilizer that Patricia's coffee plants just can’t get enough of. Fertilizer is a mixture of carbon, nitrogen and green materials. Getting the right combination of all three is similar to getting a cooking recipe right. When all come together correctly heat is released and organic material begins to get broken down. Throughout the process of fertilizer being made there are different stages that include different organisms, these organisms are responsible for breaking down the organic material. Another large aspect in the creation of the fertilizer is oxygen. Too much moister is bad so the fertilizer needs to be aired out from time to time. Understanding how the fertilizer is made truly puts the effort organic farmers exemplify into perspective. 

             

BIRD FRIENDLY: This is the very first bird friendly coffee farm in Costa Rica located on the outskirts of San Ramon. The Smithsonian approved agency that gave the farm its bird friendly title is Ecologica, the same agency that gave them their organic coffee farm certification. Coffee grown in shade of tree canopies, rather than on land cleared of vegetation, allows a number of species of birds to thrive in the area. Baltimore Orioles are among the migratory birds in the area.  The shade in the farm offers food and shelter for the different species of birds. With the amount of birds living in the area, it provides a great breeding spot as well. The farm meets the basic requirements for successful breeding: plenty of places to build nests, nests that are safe from predators, and plenty of foraging areas. The field maintenance is very important to the success or failure for nesting birds. The birds are often seen foraging on the grass and trees in the shaded canopies around the farm. This farm does not use any pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides, which is great for the birds because it does not harm them in anyway. In addition to birds, shaded coffee plantations offer habitat for orchids, insects, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.  

 BIRD FRIENDLY TREES: Trees are the main component of a farm being bird friendly certified. There are two different types of shade that make up the cool conditions birds and coffee plants thrive in. The first is rustic shade, which is shade that consists of natural forest species. Patricia explained to me that she had to plant a variety of native trees in her farm to gain bird friendly status. This is a traditional polyculture in that there are many different species of trees with different ages and heights growing amongst each other. Planted shade is the other type; it usually consists of a backbone of shade produced by a certain species of tree. In Patricia's case this is the poro tree, which provides year round shade and is a nitrogen-fixing legume. Another requirement of bird friendly farms regarding trees is a strict policy on the number of species in a certain area. First there has to be trees that meet a certain height requirement and secondly there needs to be at least 10 different species of trees planted within 50 meters of those that meet the height requirement. Patricia's bird friendly certification is another example of her going out of her way and creating more work for herself in order to better the environment. 

                                           

   ORGANIC BUSINESS:  It is difficult for a small organic coffee farm to compete in the farming industry to make money. By being a small organic coffee farm it does not bring much money in for the farmer and there is little help from the Costa Rican government. With more sunlight larger farms are able to grow more plants. The coffee in the larger sunlit farms grows in mass quantities but the quality of it is not as good as small organic shade-grown coffee. Larger conventional farms use lots of fertilizers to produce more crops. The chemical fertilizer damages the soil, and the only way to continue growing coffee is to buy and use more fertilizer. When big conventional farms continue to use fertilizer, the companies that sell fertilizer get more business. The reason why conventional farms use chemical herbicide is because it is faster for their crops. In this small organic coffee farm, Patricia has to hire workers in order to harvest and care for the coffee. This takes away money that she receives from selling it. Patricia is the type of owner who doesn’t care too much about the money, but cares about helping out others and with her love for nature. She has not been able to make a profit from her farm because it is hard to compete, so she continues to grow her coffee because she loves what she does.          

LAND WORTH: Patricia’s neighbor had recently sold their land. They found out it was the most economically sound idea to sell the farm. They were not making a profit from the product they were selling. Patricia is having thoughts about doing the same thing with her farm. She has some mixed feelings about it and doesn’t really know what to do right now.  She wants to keep the farm organic, but thinks that a developer will just buy it and not keep it organic. Patricia thinks this might be the best idea because she is struggling with keeping the farm running. It is very difficult for her and she wants to keep the farm more than anything. Her plan is to sell it as soon as she can so she doesn’t have to worry about it anymore.  The biggest thing she wants is to keep it organic, but she really thinks that’s not possible at all. It will be sad for her to see it go because it has been in her family for many years, but she knows its for the best and will help her out in the long run. 

                                                                                     AUTHORS: Blake LeCroy & Jordan Kalebaugh

  

Arenal Hanging Bridges: Ecotourism in Relation to Conservation and Environmental Education

Ecotourism in Relation to Environmental Education: 
Just outside the small town of La Fortuna, tourists from all over the globe have been flocking to the Arenal Hanging Bridges. On this 440 hectare plot of property around 230 hectares are protected and actively conserved, the remaining land is used for small-scale cattle farming and agricultural purposes. Twelve years ago the bridges were completed and Arenal opened its gates to the public, allowing people to get a truly surreal glimpse into one of Costa Rica’s many tropical edens. Eco Tourism is a vital component of environmental education and its popularity has been rapidly growing for the past few decades. As visitors fill this trail riddled with the 12 hanging bridges they are soaking in the true beauty of their surroundings and learning every step of the way by experiencing all that the rainforest has to offer. Whether they are seeing howler monkeys transverse the canopy or leaf cutter ants march over their feet, the connection with nature at Arenal is very real and educational.

“Environmental education is one of the five criteria that must be fulfilled in order to perform ecotourism and is the key step towards the process of understanding the natural ecosystems and our role in them,” there are a variety of tours offered at this site designed to do just that (Arsenijevic and Bohanec). In particular, the Natural History Walk Tour, which focuses on all aspects of life in this particular ecosystem. The tour is guided by an expert naturalist capable of sharing their wealth of knowledge pertaining to the rich biodiversity of the area. That includes information on the flora and fauna as well as diverse collection of species such as different types of insects, reptiles, mammals and birds. A study done by the International Ecotourism Society in 2013, included statistics recorded by travel agents in regards to international transport. Costa Rica was reported to be the most popular destination by international travelers, with 49% of all international eco-tourists heading to this rich coast. This high percentage of ecotourism means that Costa Rica is doing a fantastic job educating people on the importance of human impact on the environment. The hanging bridges do their part by offering up unforgettable experiences and a straw to tap into the fountain of information that makes up the tropical rainforest.

Eco Tourism Revenue – Profits and Costs of Conservation: 

Ecotourism became a globally known term in the 1990’s as travelers started becoming more aware of their impacts on the environment. For the past twenty years, the largest environmental corporations on Earth have been paying close attention to environmental management and ways they can evolve into more sustainable companies. The hanging bridges at Arenal practice an extremely savvy business model in terms of overhead vs. profits. The property has been owned by the same family for over eighty years so the only overhead costs would come in the form of labor, conservation, and supplies needed for the restaurant located on the premises. 

   
The prices for entrance into the park are as follows: Adults- $24, Seniors- $19, and Students $14. There are two special tours offered at the park: The Natural History Tour which costs a minimum of $26 for students and the Early Bird Watching Tour which costs a minimum of $37 for students. Prices for adults and seniors are higher. With tens of thousands of visitors coming to the park each year profits are definitely being made. This is truly a win-win for all; the environment is being conserved, tourists are being immersed in nature, and the business is making a profit.  

Conservation Efforts:

Hanging bridges conservation area is a substantial example of conservation within Costa Rica.  The park is located just to the North West of Volcán Arenal.  The land has been under ownership for the past 85 years and has been a tourist destination for the past 15 or so.  Twelve years ago a 2 mile trail was constructed in a loop through the park.  The trail (seen in the picture to the right) has a concrete grid to keep all the soil in its place.  These concrete grids have prevented erosion over the past 12 years.  Erosion on trails can be a very significant problem. It starts with erosion from hikers walking over the same area repeatedly.  This creates a small trench in the middle of the trail.  Water then flows through this small trench to begin a negative feedback loop.  As water flows, the trench gets wider and deeper, allowing more water to flow through this small trench.  The process is repeated and the ecosystem is changed.

Two hundred forty hectares of the park are strictly protected.  The park has overnight guards that prevent poachers from coming anywhere near the area.  The owners of Hanging Bridges often hire biologists to take an inventory of species in the park.  The biologists recommend new conservation strategies to the park and the employees do what they can to facilitate these strategies.  Another aspect to the conservation within Hanging Bridges are the bridges themselves.  Much of the path, especially through the richest areas of the park, is on a bridge.  The bridges prevent disturbance of the sensitive forest floor by keeping hikers high above the ground and sometimes above the canopy. The protected area of Hanging Bridges is only 60% of the total land area.  The other 40% is used as farmland and residential area for the family that owns the land.  Although Hanging Bridges Park is a beautiful spectacle it is far from a flawless example of conservation.  The park needs to be much larger and human presence needs to be lower.  The owners are doing what they can, but it is more of an ecotourism destination rather than conservation.

Ants in an Ecosystem:

Ants are a very important part to any ecosystem.  They are the most abundant species within a rainforest ecosystem.  The biomass, or combined weight, of ants within a rainforest ecosystem is higher than that of a group of any other species.  There are 3 common types of ant: Leaf-Cutter Ants (seen in picture), Army Ants, and Bullet Ants.  Leaf-cutter ants are known to be the farmers of the ant world.  Leaf-Cutter Ants make organized highways to transport pieces of leaves to their nest.  Within the nest they use the pieces of leaves to grow a fungus which they feed on.  There are a few different types of leaf cutters: 1. Minims: The smallest workers of the colony.  Their job is to tend to the growing fungus within the nest, 2. Minors: The first line of defense.  They patrol the surrounding area of the nest. 3.Mediae:  Generalized foragers. They cut leaves and bring the pieces back to the nest.  and 4.Majors:  The largest workers.  Move large items and defend the nest.

After Leaf-Cutter ants come Army Ants.  Army Ants are very aggressive and savage.  Army Ants march throughout the day and eat anything in their path.  There are three types: workers, males, and the queen.  Workers are typically sterile females that are in charge of attacking and hunting.  Males are meant for breeding with the queen so she can do her job, lay eggs.  The most dangerous type of ant to humans is known as the Bullet Ant.  In some places in Central and South America the Bullet Ant is known as “Hormiga Veinticuatro” because of it’s painful sting that lasts around 24 hours.  A colony of Bullet Ants nests at the base of a tree.  The colony will depend of that tree for food.  Ants climb up the tree in search of nectar and small insects for food. Ants are an important and large part to any rainforest ecosystem.  They are food for several species and aid in the decomposition.  The loss of ants within an ecosystem could have astounding negative impacts.

Components of the Rainforest:

The Rainforest is a very lush ecosystem consisting of as many as 15 million species.  All of these species work together as a community.  Hanging Bridges park is a great example of a functioning community.  The components of a community include producers, primary consumers, and secondary consumers.  Thanks to the conservation of Hanging Bridges Park I was able to observe how these biotic factors work together. The first component of the rainforest are the producers.  Producers of the rainforest harness the energy of the sun and convert it to useful energy.  Trees, shrubs, and epiphytes are all producers.  These plants use photosynthesis to convert sunlight into glucose for energy. Next are the Consumers.  Consumers cannot make their own food; therefore they eat other living things to gain energy.  The word “Consumers” is separated into primary consumers and secondary consumers.  Primary consumers are animals that eat producers.  Secondary consumers are those that eat primary consumers for energy.  Some are top predators such as snakes, jaguars, and lions. Last are the decomposers.  Decomposers are the most important type of species because of their ability to process organic matter.  The decomposers of the rainforest are the fastest working out of any ecosystem.  They include termites, earthworms and fungi.  Outside of all these biotic factors, abiotic factors are hard at work recycling nutrients and critical elements.  Examples of these abiotic factors include the water cycle, nutrient cycle, pollination, filtration, and others.  These processes are vital to all life.

Educational Advantages Specific to Suspension Bridges:
While we were on our hike through the rainforest the suspension bridges allowed us a peak into the dense vegetation that we could not have gotten otherwise. The hanging bridges provide a truly unique learning experience, giving visitors a 360-degree birds-eye view. There are four layers that make up a rainforest: forest floor, understory, canopy layer, and the emergent layer. The trail covers all four layers from bottom to top. Little grows on the forest floor as it receives two percent of the total sunlight. There is a thin layer of leaves, branches, seeds and other organic material on the forest floor that quickly get decomposed. The understory is still very dark; small trees and leafy plants that can tolerate low light grow in this layer. The canopy layer is home to 90% of life in the rainforest because most organisms are seeking sunlight. Located 60-90 feet above ground, many plants are found here. We observed a variety of epiphytes in this layer. Epiphytes grow along the outer layer of trees in order to hitch a ride to the sunlight, but they are not parasites. The emergent layer is home to the largest trees in the rainforest. These trees are exposed to the greatest amount of sunlight, highest temperatures, low humidity, and the strongest winds.  Without the aid of the bridges scientists and students like ourselves would not be able to get such in depth looks at the rainforest in Arenal. 

AUTHORS: Matt Richards, Blake LeCroy

Micro Hydro at Alberto Brenes Reserve: Energy, Environment, & Design (TSP Case Study)

No Reservoir: 

The impacts of a micro hydroelectric plant on the environment are much lesser than those of a macro project. One of the most apparent differences is the absence of a reservoir in most micro designs. We visited Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve a couple weeks ago and were able to take a good look at the micro hydro plant that powers their station. There was no reservoir present as a typical micro design was applied in the construction of this project. Much less flow is taken away from the river because of the absent reservoir.
Instead of depending on a concentrated source of flow by storage of water the micro plant at Alberto Brenes depends on a pipe that was installed at the edge of the river. A small barrier was constructed to concentrate flow but not stop it. The artificial barrier acts as a funnel, directing a minuscule portion of the flowing water from the river into the pipe that leads to the plants turbine. This design also allows for sediment to keep flowing through the river naturally, providing nutrients to the different walks of life that thrive on it. The minor alteration of river flow is nothing in comparison to macro projects.

Impacts on Wildlife:
Micro hydro projects do a fantastic job at preserving plant, fish, and animal communities. Most designs, including the one at Alberto Brenes, require minimal alteration to the natural environment and therefore hardly alter the rivers they are found in. It is more common for the turbines used in macro designs to injure or kill aquatic life as creatures get caught in the blades. This problem is almost nonexistent when it comes to micro-hydroelectricity. The only incident recorded at the Albert Brenes plant regarding wildlife being harmed was when a baby coati accidentally got sucked into the intake pipe and made it all the way to the turbine. This was a very unfortunate event but very minimal in terms of impact, especially when compared to other projects.
Wildlife is also dramatically affected by reservoirs because as sediment collects the nutrients allow for a wealth of growth. As algae and other plant life begin to flourish they create unnatural competition for different plants an animals. Ecosystems remain far more balanced in the presence of micro hydro plants, as they do not have to suffer from these large surpluses of nutrients. Other than an increase of sediments and nutrients, macro plants introduce far more chemicals into the water that are necessary for the involved machinery. Animals that depend on the rivers located past these hydro plants can suffer from these chemicals. Micro projects have a much lesser impact in general.

Impacts on River:

Hydroelectricity takes a toll on the rivers and streams where hydro projects are located. Fish face drastic changes in their ecosystems when rivers dry up at certain spots, which is common when dealing with hydroelectricity. This problem is also much more relevant when talking about macro projects opposed to micro. It is more common with macro projects because reservoirs hold more stagnant water that is more easily evaporated, so when the flow is taken away the water has a chance to heat. The Albert Brenes Biological Reserve does its best to have an extremely low impact on nature, its main purpose being research of an unaltered environment. It is for this reason that a micro plant is the only acceptable form of hydroelectricity on site. A macro plant would severely alter the state of the river. 

Changes in the water levels along with lack of vegetation on the bank of a river can easily lead to erosion. The lack of vegetation makes it possible for water to begin cutting into the banks of reservoirs and rivers alike. As erosion increases there is a larger chance for nutrients to make their way into the water. In this sense, erosion also leads to increased sedimentation. Most problems involved with hydroelectricity are interrelated; the reservoir collects water, the water evaporates, evaporation leads to erosion, and erosion leads to increased sedimentation. Micro plants deal with these problems on such a minimal level that the difference between micro and macro seem like night and day. 

Micro-Hydro facility turbine at Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve

Micro Hydro Design:

            The design of a Micro hydro-electric facility follows the same idea of a large commercial hydro-electric plant (such as the San Lorenzo facility).  The only difference in design is that micro-hydro stations are typically built to have a minimal environmental effect.  Therefore these facilities will typically be run of stream, or only have a very small reservoir at the top of the whole facility.  In the case of the micro-hydro plant in Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve, hundreds of feet of pipe are used to divert only 20% - 30% of the total flow of the river.  The pipe, known as the penstock is approximately 130m long.  The penstock veers away from the river in order to gain head above the turbine.  The penstock has a few small features that are critical to it’s maintenance and efficiency.  Most important is a grate placed at the very beginning of the penstock in order to block flotsam and rocks from entering the system.  The other two features are holes drilled in the top of the penstock to let air escape, and a shut off valve, which can be turned to cut off the water flow while no one is on the reserve.  After the penstock the water falls downhill approximately 30m towards the turbine.  As the water falls, the pipe gets smaller and smaller to increase the speed of water flow.  The water exits from the pipe through a nozzle close to that you would find on a fire hose.  At this point the pressure of the water is extremely high.  The stream of water hits the turbine and the turbine runs the generator.  The type of turbine used at Alberto Brenes is called a pelton wheel.  Through a set of flywheels and pulleys from the turbine to the generator the rotations per minute go from 84 rpm to 756 rpm.  Through this DIY micro hydro-electric facility Alberto Brenes biological reserve is 100% self sufficient when it comes to energy.  

Energy and Electrical Components:

Electrical intake box at Alberto Brenes Reserve.

             Micro Hydro-electric projects are hydro-electric projects with up to 100 kilowatts of productivity.  A Micro Hydro project with this output can power around 50 homes, each with a few lightbulbs and a television or radio.  In technical terms the Alberto Brenes Micro Hydro facility is not actually Micro Hydro, because it does not produce enough power.  The hydro facility in Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve is actually a “Pico-Hydro” plant.  A Pico Hydro plant produces under 5 kilowatts of energy.  This is usually enough energy to power a few remote houses, or in this case a Biological Reserve field station.  The use of a Pico Hydro plant in Alberto Brenes is so useful that sometimes they have too much energy.  A certain amount of lights must be kept on the entire time the plant is running in order for the circuits and such to not go over capacity.  At any given time that the hydro plant is running, the reserve field station has 100 volts of energy available.  To find the total wattage of the reserve’s facility I would need to multiply the total Volts x Amps.  Unfortunately the number of amps was unavailable.  I assume the total wattage is just above 1 kilowatt.

What does it take!? Why should it be used? Micro-Hydro:

             In order to make a Micro-Hydro facility like the one found in Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve the first and most important component is…..water.  Yes of course it’s water, but a substantial source must be chosen, and the source cannot fluctuate in water level too much between seasons.  After a good water source is found, the surrounding geography must be right.  The river must have a decent slope to it in order to build head.  Creating head can be a strenuous task.  Usually hundreds of feet of trench or pipe must be laid.  From then on more pipe must be laid for the water to fall the distance of the head to the power station where some electrical knowledge is required.  The turbine and generator must be mounted and required electrical equipment is set up.  Making a micro-hydro electric facility is a very easy task and should be a strategy implemented in more communities around the world.  A Micro-Hydro facility can power anywhere from 1 lightbulb to 100 homes.  It is a great source environmentally friendly energy at the community level.  Building a facility can be done cheaply and properly by anyone in any community.  Micro-Hydro electric facilities are an asset that is not used nearly enough throughout the world.

AUTHORS: Matt Richards, Blake Lecroy

Medicinal Farm and Volunteer Work

The Farm
    The Berrocal Sandoval family owns a large and well-known farm located in Zeta 13 near La Fortuna. The owner, Cristina, primarily uses the farm for growing medicinal plants, but also uses it to raise chickens and grow vegetables. In addition to maintaining her farm, Cristina is also part of The Ecological Group of Women Abanico (GEMA). GEMA is an organization that was created to have a community of women who come together and share lessons that were passed down by their mothers and grandmothers on medicinal plants and remedies. To this day, there are 10 women who are part of GEMA and Christina is one of them. On each farm there are approximately 29 different medicinal plants. The women use GEMA’s machinery to package the medicinal herbs and teas to sell them. Christina specializes in making a homemade shampoo through a process she performs right on the farm. The eggs from her chicken coops are used at the local eco-hotel that her sister owns. Christina strives to make the farm as sustainable as she possibly can.














Medicinal Herbs and Uses
    Medicinal plants have been used for centuries to cure diseases as well as relieve physical suffering.

These medicinal herbs are also known to be trophorestorative, which means that they reach to the deepest level of positive energetic qualities and healing. In a study, it was concluded that these medicinal plants actually benefit us by transferring information to our bodies on a genetic level.   Using medicinal plants as medicine rather than modernized medicine is much healthier for the body and brings balance to it. This is because our bodies are more used to natural options than the chemicals we find at a pharmacy.
    The medicinal plants on the farm ranged from plants that could simply help stress and relax you to plants that could relieve the pain on arthritis. Christina explained the taste of each medicinal plant as well as what it can do for you body and how to prepare the herb. Some of the medicinal plants included: Naranjo agrio (Bitter Orange) - used for the brain against altered nerves, insomnia, and headaches;
Hierba Buena (Spearmint) - strengthens the stomach against colic in children and adults; Oregano - condiment that relieves bronchial infections, asthma, and coughs; Malva (Common Mallow) - used as digestive tonic to work against inflammation of tonsils; Salvia Virgen (Salvia) - helps asthma and calms the nerves when it relieves headaches and other sicknesses.




Volunteer Work
 

 


The volunteer work that was participated in was cutting down plants for the chickens, feeding them, and supplying water for them. The plants that were fed to the chickens needed to be cut down with machetes. Once they were cut, four different piles were created which were then tied together to hang within the chicken coop. The plant that was used to feed the chickens holds many nutrients that keep the chickens healthy. With helping hands from the volunteers, feeding and giving water to the chickens was an easy task compared to normal. It was extremely helpful for Christina to have the volunteers because on a regular day she would be doing it alone.

                                                                                                                     AUTHOR: Sierra DiMartino

Volunteering at the Sunlight School (SLP)

Private School VS Public School
The Sunlight School is a small private school that offers preschool through 12th grade classes. In Costa Rica, much like any other country in the world, there are both private and public schools.
There are significant advantages associated with private schools that public schools cannot support. The largest differences between them is the size of the classes and, in turn, the attention given to individual children. At the Sunlight School, classes have no more than 12 students. At public schools, classes have 30 students or more. The size of the classes directly coincides with the attention given from teachers to students on an individual basis. The Sunlight school, as well as many other private schools, pride themselves on being able to give each student individualized attention. Each student is able to receive assistance in a way that is unique and personal for them. Not every student understands and learns at the same speed so by receiving one-on-one attention with the teacher, the student is able to better understand and grasp the material at hand. In public schools, individualized attention is unfortunately not offered.

This is due to the larger amount of students which makes it virtually impossible for the teacher to address each student's doubts and questions. When a child is able to receive individualized attention with their academics, it leads them to be more confident in their work and communicating. On the other hand, if a student rarely has their questions answered or doubts taken away, they are left feeling frustrated and will be more prone to giving up.  Another key component and difference between public and private schools is that at the Sunlight School, children are learning to pronounce their syllables and form words as early as 4 years old. In the public school system, children are learning to pronounce their syllables and form words as late as the 4th grade. During my time volunteering at the Sunlight School I worked with the 7th and 5th grade English classes.

7th Grade Worksheet

The 7th Grade English Class
The 7th grade English class touches on many different aspects of English and how to approach the language, with a primary focus on writing and speaking. In the past few weeks, the students have been studying occupations and professions as well as personal information and spelling. When approaching the idea of occupations and professions, the children completed worksheets in their English book and
would come up with sentences for each workbook scenario. Once the sentences were completed, they were shared with the class in order to improve the students speaking at the same time as working on writing. When it came to personal information, the students wrote and presented on their daily routines, members of their families, and other general information using primarily simple present-tense. Having the children present their work encourages them to do their best. Additionally, when they speak the language, the children are learning the connection between what they write and speak, and not only focus on book work. This allows the children to learn the language more rapidly and understand it better at the same time, assuming there is ample time for questions.

As a volunteer in the 7th grade English class I helped out in many different ways and was able to sit back and observe the way the children were learning English and how they reacted to troubles and successes. The class had 6 students and I was able to work with each one on one. Each student had different level of understanding English and I was able to cater to each one's needs. I was put to work helping the children with pronunciation, spelling, and usage of present and past tense. Once the children worked on a subject for a certain amount of time, they would present their work to the other students, the teacher, and me. I would then help them with sentence placements and how to speak properly. The children who were not as advanced spent extra time with me going over their work, and I was able to challenge the higher-leveled students by giving them a few extra exercises to do. The only girl in the English class had traveled to the United States so she was able to speak and understand English very well. I helped her by giving her English words to spell for an upcoming spelling bee.

Being able to sit back and observe the students was very interesting. The most surprising thing I saw and thought was fantastic was the way that the students who were more advanced in the English language would offer their assistance to the students who were less advanced without even being asked. There was a great sense of community within the classroom, even with only 6 students. I also noticed that the teacher would explain everything to the students in English and would do so unless they really did not understand. At that point she would proceed by telling them some of it in Spanish to help, but still let them figure it out on their own for the most part. I thought that this was a great way to teach because it encourages the students to be attentive to what is going on without taking the easy way out of lessons or activities. Lastly, I noticed that the 7th grade was less confident and willing to take a risk when speaking English and asking questions than the 5th graders were.                        
                                         

5th Grade Worksheet 

The 5th Grade English Class
Much like the 7th grade class, the 5th grade English class touches on many different aspects of English and how to approach it, with a primary focus on learning different tenses and doing bookwork, with occasional games involved in the lesson plan. In the past few weeks, the students have been focusing on the past and future tenses, as well as singular and plural nouns. The students were able to practice these lessons through bookwork, handouts, and board work. One of the children’s favorite activities was playing Hot Potato with a fake bomb. When the ticker went off, the student with the bomb would be given a past tense word that they would have to use in a sentence. Unlike the 7th grade, the 5th grade did not present their work to the class; rather they would go over things individually with the teacher.

As a volunteer in the 5th grade English class I helped out in specific ways and was able to observe them just as I had with the 7th grade class. In the class there were 12 students and they were assigned seats with two to a desk. I was put to work helping the children with pronunciation, spelling, sentence formations, and writing. During the class I would walk around to each child and help them one-on-one. Before a lesson I would explain things in English. When helping the children, I found that occasionally, because of the language barrier, the teacher would have to explain directions or use certain words in Spanish to allow the student to better understand what I was saying. This process was very similar to my interaction with the class and teacher in the 7th grade classroom. I was also in charge of checking all of the children’s work once they were finished.

When observing the 5th grade English class I noticed how different they were from the 7th grade English class. While the 7th grade class was more hesitant to ask for my help or to really engage in the language, the 5th graders were eager and very excited to ask for my help. The 5th graders were eager to speak to me in English as much as possible to get feedback and just have fun connecting. Just like the 7th grade, the 5th grade was a community when it came to helping one another. Although they did not focus as much on speaking English as a way to reinforce their skills, doing book work, worksheets, and playing games was an easier way for these students to learn and pick up the language. The experience allowed me to realize how different children learn at different ages and the way they react to what is presented to them. I had such a wonderful time working with both classes, and knowing I contributed to them learning English means a great deal to me. They ended up teaching me a lot as a result of me connecting with them. I felt like I was a part of the school rather than just  a visitor.

Written by Sierra DiMartino

San Lorenzo Hydro Plant: Aspects of Energy and the Environment (TSP Case Study)

Impacts on Native Species: 

The hydro plant clearly affects multiple different species in its vicinity. The first and most apparent impact is had on the aquatic life in the San Lorenzo River. The dam creates a blockade so that the fish found in the San Lorenzo are not able to continue their migration. This profoundly impacts fish populations in many different ways. Some aquatic life gets stuck in the dam’s machinery, some predators prey on fish species in the reservoir, and sediment from the river gets trapped in different areas of the plant, which causes a shortage of nutrients for some species resulting in multiple negative impacts. Fish are not the only aquatic species affected by the plant, there is a variety of snakes, frogs, and other water life impacted by this project. 

This hydro plant has a very specific impact on one of its native inhabitants that is not directly related to the project. In the past, monkeys have been able to cross the river at a certain point just before the dam, by using two trees that virtually connected the opposite banks. The trees created a natural land bridge that was crucial to the monkey’s migration. One of the trees that make up this land bridge recently fell into the river causing geographic isolation for this certain species of monkey. The staff responsible for running the hydro plant realized the importance of the trees for the monkeys and made plans to construct a bridge so that they may continue their natural migration. This is an example of a positive impact had on the environment because of hydro-plants presents. 

Issues with Sediment: 

One of the main tasks the employees are constantly dealing with at the hydro-plant is in regards to sediment in the river. Sedimentation is probably the most technical problem dams face today. When a dam is constructed sediment from the river becomes trapped at the bottom of the reservoir. The reason this creates such a large problem is because the sediment takes away from overall water storage space and poses a threat to the turbines and other machinery necessary to operate the hydro plant. At this particular site there is a door located at the bottom of the reservoir, in the rainy season the door opens and filters out the sediment. Even with the sediment door there is still a large amount of labor put forth to take sediment out of the reservoir. 

One special feature about this project is its second reservoir, located past the main dam. This reservoir does not have the sediment door feature and it is required to be cleaned once every year. This process requires multiple workers, tractors, and other machinery. The sediment from the bottom of the reservoir is then taken to a large pile located about 100 meters from where it was taken. The hydro plant has no use for the sediment so it goes unused. One worker told us that it would be extremely profitable to design a business that specializes in the removal of sediment from hydro sites. The nutrients found in the sediment could be highly beneficial to a variety of different agricultural projects. 

Problems with Turbines:

When the plant is not producing electricity at its peak hours, aquatic life has to deal with the river fluctuating between 10-100 percent of its flow based on the amount of water needed to power the turbines. The turbines are responsible for a large amount of the environmental alteration that results from the plant. As the water from the San Lorenzo makes its way through the turbines, it is drastically heated. The fluctuating temperature can take a toll on aquatic life and other species that use the river as their source of water. Many species of fish become stressed and even harmed in fluctuating water temperatures. 

Another environmental threat posed by the turbines is the maintenance that they require. In order to keep things running smoothly the employees of the plant need to pump lubricants into the turbines. These lubricants make their way through the machinery and end up flowing through the turbines. The water then makes its way out into the river exposing the lubricants to all sorts of life. The only positive about the lubricants at this particular site is that they use biodegradable lubricants, which have a much lesser impact. Even though the impact is lesser, unnatural substances are still being put in contact with the river water.

San Lorenzo Design:
          One major aspect to a hydroelectric plant is the plant’s design.  The design of a hydroelectric plant must achieve maximum efficiency and abide by environmental laws at the same time.  The first aspect to a hydroelectric plant’s design is the location.  The San Lorenzo hydro-electric plant was built just down stream from where two major rivers converge, the main source being the Jamaical river.  The whole facility is constructed along a distance of about a mile.  Every component of this mile long facility has a specific purpose for increasing efficiency.  The dam starts with a large reservoir to increase water pressure and slow the flow of the river.  The reservoir is an average of 60m wide and 18m deep.  The large reservoir is then channeled into a canal 4 meters deep, and 4 meters wide.  The purpose of this long canal is to increase what is known as the head.  The head is the elevation change between the main reservoir and the turbine.  The head of San Lorenzo is a total of 91m.  After the canal the water goes into the main reservoir at San Lorenzo.  In the main reservoir water settles and sediment that is detrimental to the turbines is collected.  If too much of this sediment is detected in the turbines two doors at the upper reservoir will shut off the water supply.  After the main reservoir the water gains speed by using the elevation change in the head.  The water enters an intake pipe.  The closer the water gets to the turbine the smaller the diameter of the pipe gets which increases the speed of the water.  The water then passes through the turbine and turns the generator.  The design of the San Lorenzo hydro-electric plant is a display of great design with great efficiency as the result.  San Lorenzo does not have a large inflow of water to use to produce energy. Therefore they needed to use smart engineering to get whatever energy they could.

Energy Output:

            The San Lorenzo hydro-electric plant produces enough energy to power about 29 thousand middle class homes, which translates to an output of power for a minimum of  145,000 people.  The facility relies on two turbines constructed and shipped from France.  The turbines are known as Francis turbines.  The turbines combined produce 8.5 megawatts.  Due to the design described above they are able to achieve this amount of energy.  If the facility only had one reservoir the energy output would be much lower.  To calculate how much energy is being produced at any hydro-electric plant the following equation is used: P = p x q x g x h.  The following factors signify: P = power(watts), p = density(kg/meters cubed), q = water flow(meters cubed/second), g = acceleration of gravity(9.81 m/s), h = falling height, head (m).  The last aspect to the energy output of the San Lorenzo hydro-electric plant is of course the amount of water present in the Jamaical river.  The maximum capacity of the facility is 19 cubic meters a second, which is what the plant runs at for the duration of the dry season.  During this period the plant never stops producing energy because they do not need to wait for the main reservoir to fill up.  During the dry season the plant uses around 4 or 5 cubic meters a second.  

Graph drawn by the head business-man at San Lorenzo.  Graph shows the
peak times of energy use.

Economics:

           Economics is one of the main aspects to hydro-electricity.  Other than the search for other sources of energy, economics is a large reason for hydro-electricity in Costa Rica.  The economic goal of hydro-electricity or any other renewable energy source for that matter is the elimination of expensive fuel.  Each hydro-electric facility has certain factors in which need to be catered to in order to maximize economic output.  The San Lorenzo hydro-electric plant has to plan accordingly to maximize their energy sales.  In the dry season the workers at the facility fill up the top reservoir and the main reservoir in order to produce more energy during the time periods which energy is most desired, therefore they receive more money.  The windows of time in which energy is most desired is 10:30am to 12:30pm and 5:30pm to 8:00pm.  One window in which businesses are all open and people come home for lunch, and one window when people begin to start using more lights.  In the dry season this is when San Lorenzo sells their energy to the power grid through ESA.  All energy sold goes through ESA and straight into the grid.  During the rainy season San Lorenzo is constantly producing energy because the plant is always running at full capacity.  The plant always gains money for their energy but that amount varies depending on the time of day.  

AUTHORS: Matt Richards, Blake Lecroy 

Rainforest Conservation & Sustainability (NCSU Alternate Spring Break)

 
 















Hikes in the Rain Forest: The group enjoying various hikes through the rainforest at Alberto Brenes Biological Reserve near
San Ramón.

Aquatic Insect Activity: Studying the relationship between aquatic insects and water quality.  Collection in the river (left), and species identification in the lab (right).

Volunteer Work: Service-learning during the trip consisted of assisting in roping off a parcel of forest 100x100 meters, divided into 10 meter segments.  The parcel is to be used for various research projects in the future (e.g., tree growth over time and species diversity).  Here Ian and Annette are helping Victor measure the distance between marker poles.

Rainforest Fauna: Some of the fauna we encountered in the reserve: A strange gathering of three lizards identified during a night exploration activity (above), and a hummingbird at the field station (right). 

Biological Field Station: The group having an impromptu discussion at the field station.