Fieldwork in Costa Rica!

My name is James Blacklock and I am currently studying for an MRes in the Life and Environmental Sciences department at Bournemouth University. I decided to study at Bournemouth due to the great supervision and expertise available (thank you Amanda and Anita!!) - and because of the great support that they offer their students 😀 (the Turing Scheme at BU definitely saved me a few pennies!)

Like many aspiring biologists, I always dreamt of a fieldwork experience in a wonderful biodiverse country, but with the pandemic coming in the middle of my undergraduate I thought that opportunity had evaded me, but luckily I was wrong!

Over the last four months, I have been in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica collecting data for my MRes project, collaborating with a primate conservation Foundation called Fundación Saimiri, headed by Daniela Solano. And this blog is here to tell all about my experience!

Having lived abroad for 3 months last year in the tropics, I felt fairly prepared for Costa Rica, I knew what to expect with the climate, but fieldwork in the tropics was a brand new thing for me.

It was a fast turnaround from organising the project over teams meeting to flying out and starting work in Costa Rica, and it would not have been possible without the immense help and support from my supervisors Amanda and Anita, and Daniela of Fundación Saimiri - So I would like to say a massive thank you to them!

The first few weeks were rampant, lots of hours in the forest, visiting Fundación Saimiri's restoration sites (the focus of my project) and practising fieldwork skills with Amanda. It was full on, but great fun and a great start to the four months. I learned so much and developed skills that were critical to my project - and some of my most memorable field days were when myself, Alys, Amanda and our guide Edwin (aka Zurdo) were all out in the forest together.

The next three months I spent conducting my fieldwork at different restoration sites and forests. It was great to be able to experience such a variety of areas, and meet so many lovely people while doing so. All of the landowners of the sites I worked at were incredibly hospitable and friendly, and my interactions with them are amongst some of my most cherished memories of my time here in Costa Rica.

I managed to complete my fieldwork with no major issues - something I am very thankful for with a project relying to heavily on technology! (I used camera traps, passive acoustic monitoring and temperature/light intensity loggers to monitor the restoration sites). The biggest challenge for me however was one that I definitely underestimated, and that was working/living - doing everything essentially, in another language - Spanish! While it was a challenge, it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed and am grateful for, as I have improved my Spanish a lot since arriving here. I will definitely keep learning when I am back in the UK!

Costa Rica is magical country, the biological richness is truly incredible and it has been a privilege to live in this country. I'm going to miss seeing hummingbirds, monkeys, lizards and the like on my daily commutes that's for sure! But while the wildlife here is amazing, it's the people that made the experience for me, I wouldn't have had half as good a time if I wasn't surrounded by such a welcoming and helpful team!

It can definitely be a challenge to take on an opportunity like this, but I would recommend it to anyone. I have made so many great memories and met so many great people in such a short amount of time, and I know I'll remember my time in Costa Rica forever!