Year 1 Blog
Monday, June 24, 2024 (Tailyn)
Today is when everyone flew into San Jose, Costa Rica! Dr. Romero-Daza, Dr. Himmelgreen, Dr. Orner, Payton, Nic, Tailyn (me) and Sarah arrived around midday, whereas Dr. Cornejo, Eddie, and Cristian arrived later in the evening. The former group met with Aníbal and staff from MVI who were there to greet us and help with getting our bags to the institute. Once our bags were taken to Monteverde (by bags!!), we went on to eat at a local restaurant for lunch on the way to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, we were checked in and had time to settle before it was dinner time. We had dinner at the hotel. The latter group who arrived later in the evening were picked up by Aníbal and taken to a restaurant to eat and then dropped off at the hotel. Also we are fairly certain there was an earthquake, but I (Tailyn) did not feel it… If a tree falls in the forest, and there is no Tailyn to hear it, does it make a sound?
Tuesday, June 25, 2024 (Sarah)
Today everyone woke up and enjoyed breakfast at Rosa de America after our long day yesterday of travel to San Jose Costa Rica. We then took a short van ride to ACEPESA, an organization that implements sustainable water solutions such as eco sanitation and biogardens. There, Maritza gave a presentation in Spanish on the importance of different wastewater technologies and gave us a tour of their facilities: rain collection, bio garden, and compost apparatus.
Next, the group traveled to Universidad de Costa Rica where they toured the civil engineering lab and attended three presentations. Mauricio Bustamante, a biosystems engineer, presented about their research on deriving biogas from the waste of Costa Rica’s main agricultural exports coffee and pineapples. Ronald Aguilar, a biosystems professor, presented on biogardens. Erick Centeno, a civil engineering professor presented on wastewater infrastructure, highlighted the social and technical challenges Costa Rica faces.
Wednesday, June 26, 2024 (Cristian)
Today we woke up in San Jose for the last time to enjoy breakfast at the Rosa America hotel. We then rode in the van for about 3.5 hours to Monteverde. Along the way we stopped frequently for roadside snacks which include fruits like mamon and mango and other snacks like banana chips and peanut butter sticks. On the way we saw the pacific side of the ocean in Puntarenas and all the towns surrounding Monteverde.
In the afternoon we had lunch at the institute and then heard a few lectures by Fern on the history of the area and Karen gave us our homestay information. Later on came the time to meet our families. We were all dropped off one by one to our respective families and started settling in.
Thursday, June 27, 2024 (Nic)
This morning, we went on a walking tour of Santa Elena and had a spontaneous encounter with a local restaurant owner who was redoing her wastewater system, specifically in regards to gray water. She discussed how this was her second time attempting to fix the problem as the first attempt ended up not being up to specifications and talked about how private property owners have heavy involvement when it comes to their wastewater management. Afterwards, we had a meeting at the institute with a representative from the Ministry of Health who discussed the general state of water and wastewater management in Monteverde.
In the afternoon, we visited three composting toilets and began taking samples. Two of the toilets were in private homes and one was in a K-12 school. This particular school is currently having to redo their entire electric system, an expensive project, or they cannot reopen for school in August, by order of the Ministry of Health. Overall, it was a very interesting, productive, and rainy day!
Friday, June 28, 2024 (Payton)
Today we met at the institute and learned the anthropological method of pile sorting - freely listing words associated with a theme and then categorizing or ranking them. Nancy and David led the activity and we were tasked with finding foods we associated with good feelings. We then were told to group them in whatever categories made sense to us. It was incredibly interesting to see which similarities emerged. We repeated the activity with coping mechanisms as a group and then discussed some research methods for how we would use this activity in the field.
We then saw the composting toilet at Bajo del Tigre and had a chance to ask questions - it was amazing how welcoming, clean, and desirable such a composting toilet can be!
Following our visit we made our way to the ASADA of Santa Elena where we learned about plans for a future waste treatment facility and an ongoing municipal composting operation - we even got to see the aeration portion of the operation in action.
Finally we made our way back to the Institute for an illuminating presentation of composting toilets (what worked, what didn’t, what was tried, and what’s to come) by Katy Van Dusen.
Once our day was over the students went back to their houses to drop off their bags and then reconvened for Pizza at Tramonti. All in all a very busy but very lovely day.
Saturday, June 29 and Sunday, June 30 (Eddie)
On Saturday, Nic, Payton, and Sarah went to look for mushrooms in the reserve close to the MVI. They found different kinds of mushrooms and saw a waterfall. Then they went for lunch. Tailyn, Eddie, Christian, and Sarah went for a late lunch. Next, the group (including Payton) went to the frog pond during the day and took the guided tour, where we saw different species of frogs that reside in Costa Rica. Today, Tailyn and Eddie went back to the frog pond in the evening to see the nocturnal frogs and make the most of our tickets, meanwhile faculty and students had dinner at another restaurant and watched the Mexico vs. Ecuador Copa America game.
Monday, July 1, 2024 (Tailyn)
Today we went to the Monteverde Reserve with Victorino! He guided us through a trail to a waterfall, telling us about the different wildlife on the way. We all had lunch on-site and got to see the beautiful hummingbirds come and go as they ate. Once we were done with lunch, we went on to sample the two septic tank systems at one of our testing sites. This is where we used tools such as the sludge judge and the biogas analyzer. We spoke with on-site staff and gathered a bit of qualitative and quantitative data. Upon completion, we headed back to the institute to debrief and discuss logistics for all things research.
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 (Sarah)
Today the weather started out beautiful and sunny. This was extremely refreshing considering last week was extremely cloudy and rainy. To start off the day the students broke into three pairs and pilot-tested the interview tool with volunteers from MVI. Through observations and feedback given by participants, the interview tool has been revised. The group then walked down to CASEM to have their last lunch with all professors present before the professors leave Monteverde. The group then conducted a debriefing session on engineering sampling methods for eco-toilets and septic tanks. Our day ended with an in-depth itinerary review. During this time the clouds rolled in and the rain started again.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024 (Cristian)
Today we met the infamous Gaby for the first time and took our first samples from Belmar. The process was rather smooth, quick, and luckily no one was hit with a spray of septic effluent. We gathered back at the institute to enjoy our packed lunches and afterwards did our first lab analysis on the samples that had been collected so far. We ran a turbidity test, conducted total solids tests, and prepped samples for UCR.
After the lab work, Payton, Sarah, Nic, and Cristian took some samples from the ice cream shop in the bat jungle building. We enjoyed our ice cream for a while and then headed home.
Thursday, July 4, 2024 (Nic)
Today, we had an independent work day. We started work on the interview and free-listing database as well as digitizing already collected data - both engineering and anthropological.
Friday, July 5, 2024 (Payton)
Today we met at the MVI at 9:00 am and broke into two teams. The first team went with Luisa to Composting Toilet 1 (CT1) where we bought some art (not in the toilet, in the gallery!) and then we went to the Friends School (CT2). Overall, it was a quick trip. The second group went to CT3 near the institute. Both groups gathered back at the institute for sample preparation and processing. We ran Total Solids on the septic sludge and calculated the needed amount for future analysis. Afterwards we retired to the lounge and discussed our methodology and then we split up for the day.
Saturday, July 6 and Sunday, July 7, 2024 (Eddie)
On Saturday, the group had pizza dinner at Tramonti. Afterwards, the group went to visit the brewery to have drinks and watch the Uruguay vs Brasil Copa America. On Sunday, Tailyn, Sarah, and Eddie went to visit the butterfly garden up the hill from Cerro Plano. We pet a forest roach and saw a large variety of butterflies that live in Costa Rica.
Monday, July 8, 2024 (Tailyn)
Today we met at the Monteverde Institute at 9am to work on both engineering and anthropology things. Four students went to all three septic tank sites and two students stayed back in the lab to input data into our database and work on anthropology things and scheduling interviews. Once all came back from the septic tank sites, we were off to lunch, we did turbidity testing and prepared samples for analysis the next day. We all finished a hard day’s work and went off to eat some ice-cream together and played a few rounds of UNO. Then we went off to our homestays for the night, where Tailyn, Sarah and Eddie made Salsa Verde at Tailyn’s homestay for Chilequiles the next day. Yum!
Tuesday, July 9, 2024 (Sarah)
Today the students met at the institute and prepared samples to send to UCR for biological and elemental analysis. Later Pablo gathered some of the group for an impromptu LCCA meeting. During this time Tailyn worked hard coordinating the upcoming interviews. Afterward, the group conducted dilutions to determine the necessary concentration of the sample to test for ammonia.
Wednesday, July 10, 2024 (Cristian)
Today we teamed up with the rest of the Chico state crew to help with Luisa’s adopt a stream project. At the first stream by the ficus root trail we used the multiprobe and turbidimeter to measure things like pH, conductivity, turbidity, and temperature. We then used a sieve to collect samples from the stream to try and collect macroinvertebrates that help us determine the quality of the water. We moved on to another stream near the treetopia park and did the same analyses. From what we collected the second stream was cleaner than the first.
After the adopt a stream work we had lunch at the institute and then separated for different lab work and anthropological work. Later on Nic and Sarah conducted an interview at the institute which wrapped up the day. For a late lunch/early dinner, Nic, Sarah, Payton, and Cristian went to Orchids in Santa Elena and were recognized by a few of the servers, as collectively it had been about the 10th time we'd gone back for their delicious food.
Thursday, July 11, 2024 (Nic)
Today, we split off into groups to conduct interviews both at the Monteverde Institute and in Santa Elena. They were all very fruitful and provided valuable data towards the goals of the project. We also used the day to make sure that the interview data was being uploaded into the database as well as digital copies onto the drive for later access. Simultaneously to the interviews, we ran some samples in the lab.
Friday, July 12, 2024 (Payton)
We started off gathering at MVI in the morning then broke into anthropology and engineering teams. The Anthro folks conducted some interviews while the engineering team sampled all three composting toilets and gathered data for the LCA/LCCA. Part of the engineering team broke off to conduct an interview while the rest of the group reconvened at MVI for a homestay check-in.
Following that we had a faculty update meeting and then we went to Valle Escondido.
Saturday, July 13 and Sunday, July 14, 2024 (Eddie)
On Saturday Eddie and Tailyn conducted 2 interviews. The first one was at the institute at 10. The second one was in Bajo del Tigre. The group had dinner at the Bel Mar Restaurant. It was expensive and the portions were very small. Eddie does not recommend the pork ribs because he is very confident they were the reason he threw up in the middle of the night.
Tuesday, July 16, 2024 (Sarah)
Today started with all of the students meeting at MVI at 9a. Once there the group started on lab work. Later the group headed over to Belmar to sample their septic tank. Sarah used the sludge judge for the first time, which went surprisingly well. Once back in the lab the group ran a turbidity test on the sample and ran more lab tests. Overall the group ran COD and Total Nitrogen successfully.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 (Cristian)
Today was an anthropology and engineering day. In the morning, some people worked to do lab analysis while others did interviews, and in the afternoon, people who did interviews did lab analysis. We had lunch together at MVI and ended the day around 5.
Thursday, July 18, 2024 (Nic)
Today, we had three groups of two - two groups conducting interviews and one group doing lab work. Nic and Sarah went to San Luis for their morning interview while Cristian and Tailyn went to Santa Elena. The databases were also updated. At the end of the day, the group hung out at Stella’s and partook in delicious treats.
Friday, July 19, 2024 (Payton)
Today we left by coach and traveled to Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste. We arrived in time for lunch at the resort - which was an all you could eat buffet. And then spent the rest of the evening around the private pool at our villa. It was a low stakes, no plan, and very relaxing day.
Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21, 2024 (Eddie)
The group had an amazing time at Playa Hermosa. We enjoyed the pool while it was raining outside. Tailyn made egg omelets for breakfast and some of us helped out. The actual beach was very nice and there were not that many people there.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 (Sarah)
Today the group met at MVI at 9am. Payton made a pipe mass calculator for the LCCA data. The group went to Fern’s house to collect more samples to send to UCR per their request. More LCCA analysis was conducted. Louisa took the group to a coffee farm tour. Everyone learned about sustainable farming practices and participated in a coffee tasting. We also saw a sloth sleeping in a tree.
Wednesday, July 24, 2024 (Cristian)
Today Eddie and Tailyn conducted interviews throughout the day while the rest of the group worked on LCA and LCCA tasks from Valle Escondido. We enjoyed some pizza and coffee for lunch. We relocated afterwards at Cafe Capuchino to continue our work.
Thursday, July 25, 2024 (Nic)
Today was a holiday in Costa Rica - the Annexation of Guanacaste Day, which occurred 200 years ago in 1824. Many people dressed in Costa Rican colors, specifically with many wearing red bandanas, and had the day off of work or school. The group, however, did continue to work, with half meeting up at the Cafe Monteverde to work on statistical analysis, LCA, and the presentations for next week’s symposium. The other half conducted more interviews.
Friday, July 26, 2024 (Payton)
Following the completion of our chemistry/HACH testing we broke into teams and went to each of the composting toilets to take a final set of LCA/LCCA measurements and to collect a sample of compost at each site for a determination of density. The density was used to calculate the fertilizer yield in volumetric and time-series terms. Afterwards we reconvened at Belmar to take LCA/LCCA measurements before returning to MVI for a homestay check-in with Karen. We prepared some of the sample which were in the oven for elemental analysis and continued working on our presentations.
Saturday, July 27 and Sunday, July 28, 2024 (Eddie)
Saturday, the group had lunch at Orchid Coffee & Restaurant. This location is a fan favorite amongst the group, some highlights include the tomato soup and sandwiches/paninis. Afterwards more statistical analysis of preliminary data was done by Tailyn and Payton while the rest continued to work on our final presentation. Later that night, the group had dinner at Noga Sushi in Santa Elena where we enjoyed good sushi and great music. On Sunday, the group elected to stay home and continue work on our presentation. In the afternoon Tailyn, Sarah, and Eddie went to the Santa Elena Aqueduct to watch the movie Ponyo. This movie was provided by an organization called Cine Entre Montañas, which is a group that hosts showings of various movies in multiple locations throughout Monteverde. There are no movie theaters in Monteverde and so this group seeks to provide access to cinema in rural areas. Payment is not mandatory to attend however donations are appreciated.
Tuesday, July 30, 2024 (Sarah)
Today The students meet at Cafe Monteverde in Santa Elena to work on the anthropology and engineering presentations. Some group members continued to work on the LCCA. Others continued working on cleaning up the data set, and analyzed the thematic codes.
Thursday, August 1, 2024 (Nic)
Today, the students presented their project to the community. We had a great turn-out with multiple participants, community members, and even some of our homestay family members in attendance. Our audience was very engaged and had great questions throughout the symposium. Afterwards, we had a farewell lunch with our homestay families.
Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4, 2024 (Eddie)
The group went to a small swap meet near downtown Santa Elena. The plan for the day was to pick up any last minute souvenirs anyone wanted. They had a variety of local food products and handmade items. Afterwards we had lunch at Orquídeas. Then we walked to el centro commercial to another souvenir shop which was unfortunately closed, however we found another shop closeby where we got many items to bring back to our families. We then parted ways to finish up packing for an early start the next morning. We departed from Monteverde early Sunday morning and arrived at the San Jose airport with time to spare. Tropical storm Debbie caused many complications and delays for some students, however in the end we all arrived at our destinations safely.