Tropical ecology and conservation in Costa Rica: a wild and unforgettable experience for CMC students
In May 2026, CMC students and faculty embarked on the first ever Tropical Ecology and Conservation program, an immersive 3-week experience in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is perhaps best known for its beaches and resorts, but students experienced a much less traveled, wilder side of the country. Students spent the majority of the program on the Osa Peninsula along the southern Pacific coast. Although you could fit over 200 Osa Peninsulas within Colorado, the Osa Peninsula supports approximately 2.5% of the world’s species and some of the most pristine tropical rainforest in the world. “I was blown away by how much biodiversity was packed into such a small area”, said Mike Dennis (Breckenridge). Not coincidentally, National Geographic referred to the Osa Peninsula as the “most biologically intense place on earth”
The Osa Peninsula and the Osa Conservation station are located along the southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica in Central America.
Students stayed at a remote, off-the-grid field station operated by the nonprofit Osa Conservation, an organization committed to biodiversity conservation, environmental education and community-driven land stewardship throughout the region. Although the field station offered comforting amenities like freshly prepared meals using produce grown on site, showers, WiFi and solar-powered electricity, the heat, humidity and biting insects often felt inescapable. “Your clothes start to get that distinct jungle smell”, remarked Dr. Emily Schultz, one of the program faculty, referring to the fact that nothing ever completely dries in the tropical rainforest.
During their time on the Osa Peninsula, students got a genuine taste for what it’s like to be a wildlife biologist in the tropics. Students worked with Osa Conservation wildlife biologists to study local wildlife in a variety of ways. Students deployed motion-sensitive cameras (“camera traps”) to observe elusive wildlife, such as cats and tapirs (distant relatives of horses and rhinoceroses). Students also participated in dung beetle surveys, which involve baiting traps with rotting meat or dung to attract the aforementioned beetles. Even if they are not as sexy as tapirs, dung beetles are indicators of healthy wildlife populations and well-functioning ecosystems. If students ever needed a reminder that wildlife biologists don’t actually ride around in safari vehicles with the wind in their hair all day, this was probably it.
Left: Haylee Dyjak (Breckenridge) and Cassie Konley (Spring Valley) deploy a camera trap to detect wildlife in the area. Cassie is using her phone to test what a photo might look like. Right: Almend Torres Sagarnaga (Spring Valley) joyfully reacts as she discovers that the camera trap she deployed captured an image of the Baird’s tapir, the largest mammal in Central America.
Students were especially excited for the opportunity to work with Osa Conservation’s sea turtle conservation team. Before seeing any turtles, however, students were tasked with beach clean up, analyzing previous years of sea turtle nesting data and helping with hatchery construction. The hatchery provides a sheltered space for the conservation team to relocate sea turtle eggs away from predators or poachers. After all of this, students were fortunate to spot both green and Olive ridley sea turtles on a nighttime beach patrol. The Olive ridley provided students with the unforgettable experience of seeing her dig a nest and lay eggs before wriggling back into the ocean. “The night patrols, analyzing data, volunteering on beach cleanup and the hatchery were a full-circle moment for seeing how wildlife conservation really works”, said Haylee Dyjak (Breckenridge).
CMC students prepare to help Osa Conservation scientists take measurements and apply a tracking tag to a nesting female Olive ridley sea turtle. The red lights are used because regular lights often disorient sea turtles.
Although not as Instagram-worthy as sea turtles, students also worked with Osa Conservation’s restoration team to study how to rehabilitate former agricultural sites into wildlife habitat. Under the guidance of restoration coordinator José David Rojas, students established research plots to investigate how well different species of trees grow under different environmental conditions. Future cohorts of CMC students will revisit these plots to track vegetation recovery over time and help the Osa restoration team decide what trees to plant in other former agricultural sites in need of restoration in the area. This is a challenging prospect, considering that there are thousands of tropical tree species to choose from and the fact that former agricultural sites are very different from healthy tropical rainforests. “One of my takeaways from this experience is that there is no single recipe for conservation, especially restoration”, reflected Cassie Konley (Spring Valley) at the end of the program.
Left to right: Mike Dennis (Breckenridge), Sarah Axtell (Steamboat Springs), Sayre Harris (Spring Valley) and Almend Torres Sagarnaga (foreground) measure and record information about a tree in a former agricultural site on the Osa Peninsula.
In the end, the Tropical Ecology and Conservation study abroad program was not exactly a beach vacation, but it provided a unique educational opportunity for CMC students that they otherwise may not be able to experience. In addition to the Osa Peninsula, students also visited Carara National Park, the ecolodge Hacienda Barú and the high-elevation cloud forest at San Gerardo de Dota. The program consisted of two 4-credit courses that can count toward the Bachelor of Science in Ecosystem Science & Stewardship at CMC. The program co-leaders, Dr. Emily Schultz (Breckenridge) and Dr. Ian McCullough (Breckenridge), plan to offer the program again in May 2028.
Students and faculty in the páramo, a rare tropical alpine ecosystem found only at very high elevations in the tropics. After weeks in the hot and humid lowlands, a trip above 11,000 ft was very welcome. Standing left to right: Dr. Emily Schultz (Breckenridge), Sayre Harris (Spring Valley), Dr. Ian McCullough (Breckenridge), Almend Torres Sagarnaga (Spring Valley), Sarah Axtell (Steamboat Springs), Mike Dennis (Breckenridge). In the foreground left to right: Cassie Konley (Spring Valley), Haylee Dyjak (Breckenridge).