Rocky's Environmental Action Club travels to Costa Rica
Goodbye Costa Rica
Morning dawns and the air is full of the sights, smells and sounds of the tropical rainforests of Costa Rica. Yes, we are a long way from home. It was June 6th when ten Rock Island High School students along with their Environmental Action Club sponsor, Mrs.Wolber, left the Rocky parking lot at 5:30 AM and since then, the adventure has been non-stop. Our ten-day whirlwind tour of the land tucked between Nicaragua and Panama entailed everything from butterfly farms to dancing with school children, turtle patrols at night to scarlet macaw counts at 5:30 AM, and organic farms to several soccer games. It seems hard to believe, looking back, that so much happened in so little time but it did.
Along the coasts of Costa Rica, there is an illegal trade in the eggs of sea turtles. The Costa Ricans believe that the eggs are aphrodisiacs, so our group walked the beach, half the group going in one direction, the other in the opposite direction. We kept watch not only for turtles laying eggs but also for poachers who would be stealing them. No one warned us that walking up and down the beach for four hours was extremely exhausting. There were times that it didn't seem worth it, the trudging, and the darkness but then something happened that made it worth it. We came across several females laying eggs in the dark and were able to help collect the eggs, transport them to the hatchery, and measure the females before they returned to the sea. Later that night at the hatchery we noticed a tiny disturbance in the sand... you had to watch carefully to see it, but once you saw it, it was impossible to miss... turtles were being born. Measured, counted, weighed and released. We held them in our hands, their little flippers beating frantically in a rhythm that they instinctively knew and we set them down and guarded our charges until they made it safely to the sea. We saw 90 into the ocean and while we couldn't identify them if we saw them again, there was a connection to the ones that we held in our hands.This trip showed the students more than the Tortuga Turtle Reserve. It showed them how people in another part of the world live without many of our so-called "necessities" like cell phones, the internet, and quick transportation. Even though the scenery was extremely beautiful, many of us would go back just for the people. Our guide, Humberto and bus driver, Minor were excellent. Their knowledge of the animals, the ecosystems, and the culture were amazing. They made the entire trip one that we will not forget anytime soon.
Turtle release
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