In this update from Proctor en Monteverde, ST '27 and Fritz '27 share their experiences exploring the Children's Eternal Rainforest alongside renowned biologist Mark Wainwright. Their three days at the San Gerardo field station included both quiet moments of reflection and exciting night hikes where they encountered glass frogs, snakes, and bioluminescent leaves. Through hands-on activities like creating art from natural materials and observing wildlife in their natural habitat, these students gained not just ecological knowledge, but developed connections with each other and left with their perspectives altered on the natural world.
ST '27 - San Gerardo: Immersing Ourselves in the Forest
In Mark Wainwright's world, FBI stands for Fungi Bacteria Invertebrates. Spending three days with Mark in San Gerardo was an incredible experience; his enthusiasm influenced us to bond with the biodiversity and commune with the forest. Mark is an amazing biologist who has lived in Monteverde for 35 years and is very familiar with the natural world. He enlightened us by telling his stories and about his collaboration with the other biologists. As we hiked our way down the muddy and slippery path to the station, we spotted some appealing butterflies and plants. The most remarkable was the Morpho, which has pigment on its outside wings and an attractive blue pattern on the inside. At the station, we can imagine ourselves as sloths relaxing in hammocks, taking in the gorgeous view of the Arenal Volcano, and enjoying the sounds of nature. The first activity that Mark assigned was making art using natural materials. It was truly phenomenal to see everyone's artwork and creativity, and to hear the deeper meaning behind each piece. I collected various phases of several plants and lined them up, symbolizing different stages in life and the growth of living things.
Day two of our journey unfolded with the birds chirping peacefully. The chef amazed us with a delicious breakfast of toast and pancakes. We started with a hike at 8 am through the well-maintained paths. One of my most unique experiences was Mark's challenge to spend 45 minutes alone in the forest. Our assignment? Collect something meaningful with a backstory, make something creative that connects with nature, and hear the chorus of the wind, water, and wings. As we all sank into the natural world's rhythm, the forest felt calm and alive. While there were no other sounds around, every leaf whispered and every bird sang, surrounding us. Being far away from the city and noise, we finally noticed the often overlooked beauty. In contrast to the peaceful sounds of nature, the landscape of the waterfall was spectacular. We all took a plunge into the water. Standing beneath the waterfall with our eyes open was incomparable. The water pressure struck our backs like a massage gun, as if it were nature's gift.
The last day started with sore muscles, but six eager spirits - Kara and Mel surprised us with an Easter egg hunt, which quickly turned into a friendly competition. We headed home after a flavorful breakfast, which was filled with small talk and big laughs. Hiking through the muddy trail and looking at the footprints in the mud while trying to identify the species that has left this evidence behind. The footsteps in the mud will fade, but the memories I created throughout this trip will never be erased. The knowledge I've learned will be a big part of me and influence me to become a better version of myself. After spending three glorious days with Mark, our definition of the FBI is forever altered. I have no regrets about this program, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities Proctor offers.
Fritz '27 - Bonding in Nature
Nestled in thousands of acres of Costa Rican jungles is San Gerardo, an outpost where biologists from around the world gather to learn from the wonders of the cloud forest. While staying here, we went on a couple of night hikes to see the ecosystem in action. These hikes became the highlight of the trip for me. One night in particular stood out to me. We had just come from a very interesting talk about the mass disappearance of amphibians in the Monteverde area. The talk made me excited to go explore nature at night to find the animals we had just finished talking about. Once it was dark out, we set off on the hike with the hopes of seeing many interesting and diverse animals. One animal that Mark Wainwright, our guide who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the rainforest, told us about that we were especially interested in seeing was the glass frog. As we started our journey Mark quickly set off on a side path in hopes of finding a tarantula. Unfortunately, we didn't find any, but instead, we saw a rare bird, the tawny throated leaf tosser, which blends in with the dirt that they rest in.
With the first success of the evening we kept on walking until Mark stopped and asked us to point out the snake that he saw. This blew my mind because we had been walking down the trail at a good pace, and he was able to pick out a snake within all of the surrounding foliage. Eventually, one of us found it, and he grabbed it and explained that this snake was nonvenomous but looked similar to a dangerous viper. He explained that it was a survival tactic. He then passed it around, and most of us held the snake, which was an amazing experience to hold a wild animal like that. Once we had all seen it, we put it back and continued on our hike.
Later on, he led us to a river and said that he heard a glass frog. This led to everyone fanning out and looking for it. Eventually, Gus found it sitting on a leaf just over the river. Mark grabbed it and showed us its translucent body and explained how we could identify it by seeing what color its bones were. Seeing this elusive frog was a very exciting experience, as it is so rare and looked super unique.
After seeing this frog we ventured deeper into the forest in search of bioluminescence that can sometimes appear on dead leaves. When we found the right leaves, everyone turned off their lights, and we sat in the darkness looking for it; once someone found it, we all passed it around to get a closer look. I found this particular experience eye-opening -- to sit in darkness surrounded by nature and being able to be inspired by nature's wonder and beauty. I found that this hike helped the group come together and spend time together while appreciating the diversity and beauty of nature. I found this to be a cornerstone experience for this trip.
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