Juniors spearhead environmental trip to Costa Rica

Ten former AP Environmental Science students took a four-day trip to the Sea Turtle Conservatory in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, on Sept. 24 to study the endangered sea turtles species there. The trip is facilitated by AP Environmental Science teacher Kristen Thomson and biology teacher Kristofer Orre. 

According to Costa Rican-born junior Daviana Berkowitz-Sklar, who is helping to organize the trip with her twin sister, Danielle, students are learning are learning about the characteristics and habitats of sea turtles and how different species fit together in the web of life. During patrols, they will be fully engaged in gathering biometric data, monitoring the nesting sites, counting eggs of the nesting mother and evaluating the physical health of the turtles.

“[We are going to be] meeting our former classmates [from Costa Rica], visiting other wildlife and waterfalls and enjoying the traditional gallo pinto and fresh, tropical coconut water,” Danielle said.

In Costa Rica, the Berkowitz-Sklar twins started a group “to promote evidence-based research, hands-on work with wildlife and community service for conservation for pre-college students,”   Daviana said said.

On the trip, students will learn about the objectives of Costa Rica’s Sea Turtle Conservatory (STC) and their unique and professional tagging and satellite program.

This tagging allows scientists to find out all sorts of valuable information, such as turtles’ migration routes, geographical coverage and the population of these species. The information the students collect will then be shared with scientists the world over, who will collaborate to help monitor, maintain and preserve our turtle population.

Senior Michelle Shen is especially excited  to observe the habitat and behaviors of sea turtles.

“Recently, hundreds of tourists saw a large groups of turtles nesting at the Ostional Wildlife Refuge,” Shen said. “They refused to listen to park officers and interrupted the nesting spot by taking flash pictures, even putting their kids on top of the turtles' shells. Those sea turtles never got a chance to lay their eggs.”

Although Shen was saddened by the story, it proved to her the importance of studying and monitoring these creatures, which the students will be doing on their night patrols.

Berkowitz thinks that this trip will be not only fun, but also a great learning experience. 

“We believe that the combination of academic investigation and hands-on work in the field [can] create a powerful and passionate student campaign to promote the delicate balance between socio-economic development and conservation of biodiversity,” Daviana said.

*This interview was conducted prior to the release of the issue