Day 13 “CLOSING REFLECTION”
Student Trip Blog
Today, we primarily learned about Costa Rica’s conservation policies and their historical significance from our wonderful guest speaker, Karla. Karla runs a dairy farm in Santa Cruz known as La Florita. She also works as a tour guide, in addition to volunteering at Comités de Vigilancia de los Recursos Naturales (COVIRENA) as a conservationist specializing in environmental education for youth.
We think it was especially interesting to listen to Karla’s perspective on humanity and our impact on the environment. She essentially told us that all creatures on this Earth serve to maintain the balance of our ecosystems. The example she provided us involved mosquitoes. She asked us, “What is the purpose of mosquitoes?” Naturally, none of us knew what to say because they are blood-sucking “beasts”. However, Karla had a good point. She explained that although we think mosquitoes are not keystone species (like wolves who control deer populations), they serve to control human populations by carrying the malaria parasite and killing a lot of people worldwide. This broadened our perspective on the world. For the first time, we began to think of ourselves as pests and understand the need to evaluate ourselves and our actions. We ask the following questions for ourselves and for everyone to ponder: “What can we do better? How can we serve this planet the way it serves us?”
PS: A few of us also went on a super fun hike up the mountain by our base house this morning! Some of us may or may not have stopped halfway and sat down… on Daniel’s poncho. ?
Comments (7)
Lambert
What an enlightening day it seems you’ve had! We can imagine the moment of silent confusion when Karla asked, “What is the purpose of mosquitoes?” followed by a collective gasp as she presented mosquitoes as unlikely heroes in maintaining the balance of our ecosystems. It’s such a wonderfully challenging perspective, isn’t it? To view ourselves as creatures needing population control is a humbling concept. It makes you think about our roles in this vast, interconnected web of life. Keep exploring these profound questions you’ve raised. We are sure they will guide you to meaningful actions that will serve our planet well.
Your postscript gave us a good chuckle. We’re picturing the valiant start to the mountain hike and then… a casual “poncho break” halfway up! We’ve always said it’s essential to appreciate the journey, not just the destination, right? In this case, it sounds like Daniel’s poncho provided the perfect excuse to take in the views and rest your legs. Remember, it’s not about how fast or slow you go, as long as you’re moving in the right direction. We’re thrilled to hear about your experiences and the fun you’re having while learning. Stay curious, keep questioning, and most importantly, keep finding joy and laughter in your daily adventures. Only a few more days left..
Jeremy Wade
Oh my God Averie you went on a hike in the morning? Does anyone know how high in elevation your group went up?
I want a description as to how you all think you are pests.
The mosquitoes exist because they do what every other species that is still going on manages to do. They procreate at greater numbers than they die. In addition they are not limited to a small isolated location. That is absolutely paramount in maintaining the species existence even if somehow all the mosquitoes in one location vanish.
This is the same line of reasoning we use to colonize other worlds or bodies in space. If anything happens to Earth and all humans die, the species can go on and continue to exist.
The most important role mosquitoes play in the ecosystem is they are insects. And insects are the bottom feeder of the animal world. Anything that eats other predators ate ate insects somewhere down the foodchain. Take insects away, and the ecosystem collapses in a day or two. Insects pollinate plants. They do all the gross things you find icky and disgusting. But without which, life can’t exist as it does today if they vanished.
I have a request for all global glimpse students. I want you to make a mental note of how loud the forest is. Insects, birds and wildlife can be very noisy if the area is densely packed with them. As rainforests are supposed to be.
But if the forest is quiet, that means those insects aren’t making noise because they are no longer present. They died off or migrated elsewhere.
So, ask your teachers, visitors, anybody and everybody with a pulse (heck ask those without one too) if the forest noise in the area has changed at all over the years. Was it much louder than it was 5, 10 or 20 years ago? Or is it quieter now? Or is it the same?
I know of studies that tell me one thing. I want to see if you can confirm the conclusions of those studies.
Love love Averie.
Vilayphonh Wade
Wow! It is great to see that my beloved daughter is one of the brave hikers enjoying the great outdoors. It really blows my mind how she is doing things that I could not convince her to do here back at home. She is super afraid of bugs ever since she got stung by a yellow jacket at her grandparent’s house when she was a toddler. After that incident, she has been hesitant about going outside in our backyard or eating out on a patio at a restaurant. I remember her running away from anything that flew by, even if it was just a fly. She would bolt back inside the house quick as lightning. Maybe after this trip, she will come out and help me in the garden.
I was a a bit worried when her packing list included a mosquito repellent, but I did not say a word. I wanted to see for myself how she would do in a place where insects are abundant. It is such a relief to know that she can adapt very well. I am so proud of her! I love the pictures of the girls sitting down with their arms around each other enjoying the view and taking a breather. It might just be one of my favorite photos of this trip so far. It looks like they are having a blast! Only a few more days to go everyone. Keep exploring and soaking it all in! Have a wonderful time! Can’t wait to see what you will be up to tomorrow.
Jennifer Barajas
Such a great post and LOVE reading the parents posts as well. Putting them all together makes my heart happy!
I must agree the picture of the girls with the background is perfect! I think that’s my son in the background, but hard to tell. Hoping the resolution can be fixed on these pictures to get a better look at them.
Enjoy the day Glimpsers!
Tyan
Hello! We have fixed the resolution for these photos. Hope this helps:)
Vilayphonh Wade
Yes, thank you. The pictures are very clear. By the way, is there a way that I can save these pictures on my computer? How do I do this?
Mathai family
Yay, going on hikes on your own! That’s one way to look at mosquitos. Our daughter absolutely hates bugs of all kinds so hope the bug repellent is working!