Service: Amanda, Brian and Nathaniel

Amanda, Brian and Nathaniel are our three students at Estación Biológica located at Laguna de Apoyo. While the location is breathtaking and the picture of relaxation, the work that the three have been doing is far from a vacation. After a 20-minute downhill hike through the forest, Brian and Nathaniel join Amanda at the worksite for breakfast and work details from Pablo, their supervisor. Their daily tasks vary from digging large pits used for composting, filling in those same pits with organic plant matter, planting trees or collecting moths and bats for research. Much of their work involves the use of machetes, which tends to make a difficult task seem more enjoyable for them. An added bonus to their work is the chance to dive in and wash off the daily grime from work in the beautiful volcanic lake.

Another task the students will experience this coming week is an overnight bat collection. This requires the students to spend three days and two nights sleeping in hammocks out in the open with only a piece of plastic and their machete for protection. As challenging as this sounds, all three of the students are eagerly awaiting this excursion. We are sure they will have many tales to tell after this experience.

Jen and Lisa