Teach Earth 2025 Team - Costa Rica

Bee Monitoring, Agroforestry, and Understanding Biodiversity in Costa Rica by Lea Buena Day two began with an optional early-morning walk to the Hummingbird Café, just a short distance from our lodging inside the Monteverde Biological Reserve. A few of us were hoping to grab coffee, but the café wasn’t open yet. We lingered near the feeders, watching the handful of hummingbirds that drifted in. With no food set out, they were sparse, but even so, the flashes of iridescent green and violet in the soft light still felt magical. We stood patiently—snapping plenty of photos before beginning our own routines. After breakfast, we packed up for our first full research day. With snake gaiters strapped on, we paused for a quick group photo. Alex drove us to the site, where we met Sergio, one of our local partners. Our team was divided into three smaller groups led by Franny, Evie, and Sergio. I joined Evie’s group with Susan, Joann, and Chris. We spent the morning visiting two bee-monitoring ...

"The Journey " to the Monteverde Cloud Forest by Errol Quest Our Costa Rican adventure began with a classic travel mix-up that would set the tone for our week of unexpected discoveries. After converging from airports across the country on Sunday, our team of 11 educators—mostly from Math for America in New York, plus colleagues from Maine and Vermont—gathered at what was supposed to be Lavazza Café on the second floor of San José's international airport. The café had been renamed "Brit," leading to a frantic search through the terminal as we showed pictures to airport workers and eventually tracked down our missing teammates with help from our team leader, Danilsa. The confusion was oddly fitting for a group about to embark on a scientific expedition where adaptation and problem-solving would be key skills. We were then introduced to our extremely knowledgeable and amazing science researcher, Evie, who welcomed us with such a beautiful smile and the warmth ...