Service & Nature

This is where you can learn all about the plants and animal habitats that we created signs for the trails to inform the tourists and locals. You can also view some of the nature and biodiversity spotted in the protected forests and learn a little bit about them!

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Service On The Trail

Below you will find the signs that the honors college study abroad students created and put up themselves with the help of a local named Wayne. These signs allowed tourists and locals to understand the importance of the nature around them and why we can't cut it down at our leisure and convince.

Mangrove Tree

important for biodiversity. the ocean's nursery and important for fish, rays, and sharks. helps prevent erosion. Some of it's threats include: deforestation and contamination .

Cuanacaste

The national tree of Costa Rica.

It is distributed through Central America.

It is native to tropical regions.

Teca/ Teak

Can grow up to 30 meters tall.

Initially native to the East Indies.

Strangler Tree

This trees seeds are transported by wind or animals, and then are lodged into the bark. The seeds then germinate and send aerial roots that absorb nutrients and water from the air and the host tree.

Magnifier Indica

Commonly known as a mango tree. This species is native to the Indian subcontinent. It is resistant to fire and has antioxidant properties die to the high levels of vitamin C.

Guarumo Tree

representative tree of the American intertropical zone.
presents symbiosis with aggressive arboreal ants.

COCO

Species of palm that can be 30 meters tall
leaves can be 4-6cm large
can be used for carpentry, but coconuts are great for eating.

Leafcutter Ants

Use leaves to carry to cultivate fungi, that they feed on. These ants can carry leaves 50X their weight. They have mouth parts that can cut the leaves and bring them back to the sun hill. Cutting the leaves affects the tree, and will then produce toxins into leaves, so ants can no longer use them. The colony lives for about 12 years. The ants live in the wholes found in the picture above.

Nature Among The Protected

Below you will find information on many plants and animals commonly found in the rainforests of Costa Rica. Some talk about medicinal uses and others talk about the adaptations it has acquired in order to live.

Passion Fruit Vine

This is a passion fruit vine

Golden Orbe

The big ones are female and sometimes the guys will be eaten by her.

Croc Tree - "Black Alligator"

Many would use this tree for wood and the sap inside, which is important and can be used as milk for children. It was discovered 15 years ago in Panama.

Apapba Tree

Good oil producers to keep hair healthy and it can also be used to make shampoos.

Grass Hopper -- Esperanza

Esperanza means"hope" as it grows it eats small amounts of leaves, and it can be eat as a good source of protein.

Callitaia

This plant a long time ago was used to mummify the deseast. After a while the persons bones would then be collected from the rainforest and placed in a whole within the home.

Callitaia

At night this plant will stand like as seen above so that bats can't make it their home at night

Sloth

The sloth found in this video is a three fingered sloth.

Cocool-Mecha

Commonly used for anemia. Ir a common vine and the roots were cooked to have tea and give vitamins, minerals and is a square vine. Is the same family of the root beet but root beer is not square but round.

Palm Tree Wood

One of the hardest woods known used to make furniture wine, produced fruit, and used for many other things. There are more than 100 trees in Costa Rica. The coconuts are used for palm oil, sun tan oil, and cooking oil. The wood is commonly white and black.

Palm Tree Wood

Use the Pins with poison tree frog poison, to get animals off of itself. The pins can also be used as blow darts.

Garlic Tree

The wood is very heavy and hard to processes. This tree has been here for about 360 years and the cycle of life is very fast in Costa Rica. Australia has a tree that is about 4000 years old and the US has some about 2000 years old. The trees can communicate through their roots about nutrients and water intake.

Chilamte