This month we inaugurated our fabulous research lab with the first Cloud Forest Festival, with educational stands and amazing local talent. This first edition of the Cloud Forest Festival was a resounding success! We invite you to check out these beautiful songs in our lab by Lumina Om and Vyola Myst.
Other activities at the reserve this month included an
amazing fungi workshop with Biologist Nelson Chavez. Our researchers and volunteers were excited to learn more about this forgotten kingdom.
In addition to these exciting activities, this month we also received student groups from the local UNA university and from Canada´s York University. It is very rewarding for us here at Cloudbridge to share our knowledge and the beauty of the Cloud Forest with the professionals of tomorrow!
Researchers and Volunteers
Hi, I’m Beth. I’m a 19 year old biology student from the UK. I am here studying hummingbird behaviours and learning about the rainforest. My favourite animal is a llama and my favourite bird is the violet sabrewing hummingbird which u have been lucky to see and study while at cloud bridge.
Hey I’m Sandro and I’m a researcher studying Mixed Species Birds Flocks in Cloudbridge Nature Reserve. Cloudbridge has the advantage of being a medium elevation montane forest with a lot of bird species.
Hi I’m Maya! I’m a research intern here at Cloudbridge. I fell in love with Cloudbridge two years ago when I came here with my family to see the butterflies, birds, and moths. I am studying moths and caterpillars here for the summer, hoping to be able to document the partial life cycle of some of the moth species here at Cloudbridge.
I’m Ben or Benji. I’m a 19 year old keen birder from Yorkshire with a life list of 350+ bird species. I’ve taken a year out before I go to university to study Wildlife Conservation at Nottingham Trent. My favourite group of animals are birds but my favourite animal is a Snow Leopard. I’m volunteering at Cloudbridge and since arriving, I have seen well over 100 species of birds but my favourite sighting so far was of Ricky the juvenile Ornate Hawk-Eagle. I enjoy travelling and have had the opportunity to visit some very interesting places but Costa Rica has definitely been one of my favourites.
Hey! I’m Sofie:) I’ve been traveling in Central America for a few months and now I’m here in Cloudbridge. I’m helping as a volunteer with the surveys of researchers, maintaining trails, building stairs, tables and a lot of other things:) I’ve been enjoying the last two months here a lot, the nature is amazing, the people are super sweet and the food is pretty nice, too;) every Thursday is Potluck day, where everyone cooks a meal and shares it with the others, it’s always lots of fun! At some point in the future I want to study something concerning climate change, biodiversity and sustainability, but for my near future I want to see more of our world while traveling…
Hi! I’m Yorrick from the Netherlands and I’m currently an intern here in Cloudbridge for my BSc studies Tropical Forestry. I’m conducting research on forest regeneration, where I compare the tree species and amount of carbon storage between planted areas and naturally regenerated areas in Cloudbridge, to see if there is a significant difference between the two. Next to my own project I also spent a lot of time helping the other researchers on base and working on my photography.
Pics from around the reserve
Suggested reading
– Reed Ebbinghaus was at Cloudbridge during the end of 2021, beginning of 2022. His research into amphibians is quite fascinating, thank you Reed for your time with us!
– As we have witnessed, in the Northern hemisphere this year Summer had barely begun when heat waves began rolling over various parts of the world, in many places breaking records.
– As the clmate emergency has escalated, the world seems intent on paying this no mind. Unfortunately «business as usual» seems to be the prevalent mindset, leading some scientists to acts of civil disobedience.
– This fascinating article explores how other animals might perceive the impacts that humans have made on our shared environment.