Header photo from OFI’s original 2015 youth expedition report.

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June 15–24, 2015 · 17 students · Monteverde to Guanacaste

Ocean First Institute, Global Travel Alliance, and the St. Vrain Valley School District brought 17 middle and high school students to Costa Rica for the Source to Sea expedition. The route took them from the cloud forests around Monteverde to the Pacific coast of Guanacaste.

Monteverde and the watershed

The itinerary began in San Luis with birding, field journaling, and a visit to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. It also included amphibian ecology and called for water-quality observations during the transition to the coast. These activities connected what students could observe in the uplands with the rivers that flow toward the Pacific.

Guanacaste and the coast

The coastal program, planned with ConnectOcean, included a mangrove and estuary visit at Las Baulas National Marine Park, sea turtle conservation, and intertidal surveys at Las Catalinas. The schedule also included snorkeling and coral and fish identification, followed by a session on shark ecology and conservation with Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza and Misión Tiburón.

Learning in the field

The Source to Sea itinerary used field journals to connect observations across habitats. It also scheduled an open-ocean outing focused on sharks and manta ray research, and a workshop using recycled materials at Las Catalinas. The program ended with a group reflection before the students returned home.

Source: OFI’s original youth expedition report and the 2015 Source to Sea itinerary.

Photos from the expedition

Photos from OFI’s 2015 youth expedition report archive.