Biology Club plans trip to help turtles in Costa Rica

The Olney High School Biology Club plans to travel to the Caribbean country of Costa Rica in May of 2025. The primary destination will be the Pacuare Reserve, which is owned by an educational nonprofit organization known as Ecology Project International (EPI).

“Much of the work we will do at Pacuare will involve the nesting and hatching season of the Giant Leatherback Sea Turtles,” said Will Stewart, OHS chemistry teacher and Biology Club sponsor. “Students will potentially be able to assist with the relocation of endangered nests, the release of nursery-hatched baby leatherback turtles, and data collection on the female turtles as they nest. Other activities will include rainforest research and education, primate and feline monitoring, stream ecology, and entomology work.”

The purpose of the trip is to provide students with a firsthand look at how efforts to conserve environments work and the varying levels of biodiversity in environments around the world.

The coursework and instructors will give students a list of issues surrounding the environment they will visit with the intent of sending them home with a new awareness and appreciation that can be applied to their local ecosystems and environment.

“I am very excited about the opportunity to get kids out of the country and into a completely new environment again,” Stewart said. “While I see the merit in all of the science-based competitions here at home, there is nothing like being in the field and working directly with the environment you are studying. I hope that the experience is as exciting and eye-opening for the participating students as my experiences were for me.”