“A lifetime can be spent in a Magellanic voyage around the trunk of a single tree.”
― Edward O. Wilson, Conservation Biologist
Mission
Research the cloud forest ecosystems, flora, fauna, and the succession of reforestation by conducting, facilitating, and supporting studies from scientists around the globe.
How It’s Done
Founded by a university professor and a research librarian, learning more about the reserve and reforestation through research has always been viewed as an important and valuable part of Cloudbridge’s work. With the success of our reforestation project, less work on planting and maintaining trees is required and the reserve’s focus has been shifting more towards education and research. Originally starting with occasional independent researchers, the research program has expanded to include an internship program and several long-term monitoring and inventory studies. Moving forward, we intend to start publishing our research results in scientific journals to contribute to the wider scientific knowledge on cloudforests and reforestation.
Cloudbridge welcomes researchers and interns from all over the world from a wide variety of disciplines and backgrounds. Many of our internship participants are completing requirements for undergraduate university or college programs, while others are graduates looking to gain practical experience in conservation and field work. Researchers share and discuss their work with the Cloudbridge and local communities through a presentation near the end of their stay, allowing everyone to learn and discover from their work.
Researchers study a variety of topics including forestry, biology, geology, ecology, climatology, and sociology, to name just a few. Cloudbridge is located on the Pacific slope of the Talamanca mountain range, an understudied section of Costa Rica, meaning there is a lot to learn about this remarkable corner of the world, and potential new discoveries to make. With the diversity found at Cloudbridge, we know we have only scratched the surface when it comes to inventorying certain groups of species (in particular plants and invertebrates) and we are always looking for people to continue this work.
For information on the previous research conducted at Cloudbridge, including research reports and species lists, please visit our publications section.
Visit the Volunteer/Research page to learn more about our research program. For details on potential projects and the requirements to become a researcher, visit the Research Intern or Independent Researcher pages. To apply as a researcher, please fill out our application form. For any additional information or questions, email Tom Gode at tom.gode@cloudbridge.org.
Investigadores de Costa Rica / Costa Rican Researchers
Cloudbridge proporciona descuentos sobre el precio del alojamiento de investigadores y voluntarios costarricenses. Para más detalles, consulte la sección de Volunteer/Research.
Cloudbridge provides discounted accommodation for a limited number of Costa Rican researchers. For more details, please see the Volunteer/Research section.
Research Achievements (as of January 2017)
- Supported over 60 researchers, interns and volunteers in 2016
- Historical research organized into a more user friendly database
- 14 comprehensive species lists compiled from historical research
Find Out More
Questions? Email research@cloudbridge.org.
Please visit our blog site for monthly updates and photos on our volunteers and researchers, their projects, and other activities at Cloudbridge Nature Reserve.