Twelve Brenau students and three faculty and staff members spent nine days on a biological field study in Costa Rica in mid-June.
The group, led by Jessi Shrout, Ph. D., associate professor of biology, Logan Kageorge, Ph. D., physics professor, and Devon Sheffield, advising coordinator, hiked the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, exploring the forest floor, understory, tree line and canopy during different times of the day. They learned about the creatures and plants living there, from bugs to birds to monkeys. The group also visited a hummingbird sanctuary, learned about harvesting at a family-owned coffee farm, visited a sustainable fishery, explored the gulf of Nicoya, and shared several meals with locals.
“It was easy to see that the coffee farmer was proud of their hard work and all the literal fruits of their labor,” Erin Delaney, a senior dance and exercise science major, said. “It was so meaningful to hear him talk about how important it is to respect the land and allow it to give back its gifts to you.”
The Costa Rica trip was made possible by support from the Miller Institute for Global Education and the Dr. Louise Bauck Endowment for Environmental Science.
