From Farms to the Cloud Forest

This weekend Women in STEM enjoyed a fun-filled and educational weekend. It was wonderful to watch the students gradually become more at home, not just here in Monteverde, but with each other as well. It was great to get to explore some of the beautiful ecosystems Monteverde has to offer. 

We began by working up at the farm, helping to till the soil for a fresh batch of crops. Using shovels and a little elbow grease, the students made substantial progress on the small plot of land. The farm staff was kind and helpful in explaining the different tools and techniques.

The students had a blast finding worms, larvae and all sorts of cool and new insects in the freshly tilled soil.

On Saturday, after some good hard work on the farm Friday, it was time to explore and have some fun! We began by hiking to a local waterfall that the students even had the opportunity to swim in. 

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to hike the Monteverde cloud forest, lead by a local guide who was also incredibly knowledgeable about the ecosystem. We were lucky enough to see all sorts of wildlife, from sloths to native hummingbirds. We also learned about primary and secondary growth in the forest and even got to see some old-growth trees. 

Our tour guide also found some fascinating seed pods for us to look at, and we talked about the different types of plants and seed dispersal in the forest.  

A hallmark of the cloud forest is its diversity of epiphytic plants. We observed a piece of a tree fallen to the understory and learned about some of the biodiversity that occurs among the tree branches. 

After we toured the cloud forest, we went to visit the orchid garden. Here we learned all about the different species of orchids in Monteverde. We even learned that some are only a few millimeters big! We needed magnifying glasses to observe some of the smaller orchids. 

After a long weekend filled with Adventure, the Women in STEM relaxed and recharged with some yoga, all while listening to the birds and local wildlife, the perfect way to end the weekend.