Dear friends,
We hope this message finds you all safe and well. Given the circumstances that have recently turned the world and our lives upside down, the Wildlife Conservation Association suspended all activities including research and in-person meetings until further notice as of the 13th of March. These are challenging times for all of us, but we believe the preventive measures taken by Costa Rica and other countries across the globe are important to ensuring the health and safety of everyone.
We are making the most of this time to continue developing our educational programming and initiatives and looking forward to hitting the ground running when the time comes. We are so grateful for the support of our donors and partners. Without you, our work could not continue under such circumstances. At a time like this, we are humbled at the opportunity to continue inspiring a generation of change makers for a planet in balance.
We are continuing our work through virtual platforms and embracing the opportunity to continue developing our educational programming and initiatives. We are offering distance learning opportunities, such as this 360° virtual tour where you can learn how we collect water samples and analyze them in our lab. We will also be sharing live educational webinars with Vanessa, including lessons on sea turtles and show and tell of an underwater drone.
We are also very happy to announce the launch of the Nosara Biodiversity Project. We have established a partnership with the Nosara Civic Association to monitor and study biodiversity in their parklands, where we will be installing camera traps. In parallel with this study, we are also encouraging citizen scientists to submit their observations of wildlife they see from home on the iNaturalist App. All observations within the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge and Nosara buffer zone will automatically contribute to our study and project page. Even if you are away from Nosara, you can upload pictures of wildlife you’ve seen in the past!
Stay home. Stay connected.
Best wishes,
The WCA Team