We are happy announce that after three years we were finally able to receive a student group of the University of Lincoln, UK, again in our reserve.
Around 25 students and six staff members have arrived at the lodge last Saturday and immediately made themselves a home at our lodge.
Student groups of the University of Lincoln have visited us since 2014, but could not come around in 2020 and 2021 because of ... guess-what ... *coughcough* ... a COVID pandemic.
During the first four days the students received an introduction into cloud forest ecology and some of its key components (plant families, vertebrates and invertebrates). The local guides, Noé Morales, Holger Beck and Ana Mariscal were important facilitators during that process.
Currently the students are shaping their ideas for projects which they will run for about the next three days in the reserve.
Of course we hope for a great variety of topics with interesting results. Based on the data collected the students have to give a small presentation on the intermediary findings on their last day in the reserve and then write up a full report on the project results.
For the next days we are planning a Forest School day were we take some kids of the surrounding communities up to the lodge, so that they can experience some of what the students are doing for their projects. We hope this will be an inspiration for the local kids which makes them explore the regional eco-systems in their free time and develop a long-term interest in nature, conservation and a sustainable way of living.
We thank the Linconl students and staff in advance for their willingness to support our forest school project.
A special thanks to Adrian Goodman, lecturer at the University of Lincoln and long-time friend of Santa Lucía, for organizing these visits from the visitor's point of view.
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