at the Institute (that’s 10:30 a.m. your time) until 4:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. your time) with a 45-minute lunch break around 12:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. your time). For my first two weeks here, I helped Randy (a reforestation supervisor) with reforestation projects. The Institute has tree nurseries located on and off-site where they grow and cultivate native trees to be planted in areas that were cleared for agriculture and are now being converted back to forests. They do this by providing the community (mostly farmers and nature reserves) with these young trees to be planted to help recover lost pieces of forests. I helped work in the nursery at first, preparing bags of nutrient-rich soil for seeds to be planted to grow trees. I also went out into the field and helped collect over 300 acorns from the imperiled Costa Rican oak tree (Quercus costaricensis). These trees were once prevalent here in Costa Rica until English settlers came and cut them down to make barrels for alcohol. So, collecting these acorns and planting them in the nursery is very important, as reforesting many areas with these oaks will prove beneficial for the ecosystem. I also helped to create tree species distribution maps from data that was collected in 2012 of tree species of special concern. This helps the Institute keep track of what species of trees are growing, where they are growing and if there are any trends in their distribution (i.e., do they only grow in the mountains, on the Pacific or Caribbean side of the country, etc.). I also measured tree DBH (Diameter at Breast Height), which helps tell how much a tree has grown from the last time it was measured.
