Universit� degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

The fourth edition of the “Field School - Costa Rica” kicks off

This year sees the fourth edition of the ‘Field School - Costa Rica’, an initiative involving 13 students from the Bachelor of Science programmes in Biological Sciences and Natural Sciences and the Master of Science programmes in Biosciences and Science Education and Communication.

The students, who left on Friday 17 January, will stay for a month in Costa Rica where they will discover some of the varied natural realities of one of the countries with the greatest biodiversity in the world. On their journey they will be guided by Unimore experts Matteo Dal Zotto, Luca Lombroso, Giulia Santunione, Stefano Francesconi and Dario Sonetti, and some members of the Modenese association ‘Foreste per Sempre ODV’.

The Field School will include interactive lectures on methods of investigation in various areas of the natural sciences, with a focus on fauna, flora and meteo-climatology, as well as field activities, some of which are part of ongoing research programmes.

The initiative will take place primarily in the Karen Mogensen Reserve, a protected tropical forest area managed by the local conservationist association Asepaleco, in which various scientific investigations have recently been conducted and are still in progress, especially in the areas of zoology, botany and meteorology.

The ‘Italia Costa Rica’ Research Station, located in the heart of the Reserve's forest, will be the operational base for the activities. This facility, which recently turned 10 years old, was created thanks to funds raised by Foreste per Sempre and sponsored by Unimore to enable the study of tropical biodiversity and the effects that environmental and climate changes can have on it.

The station's instrumentation allows weather and climate data to be recorded and shared with Unimore's Geophysical Observatory, so that weather and climate variations in the area can be studied.

Dr. Matteo Dal Zotto, of the Unimore Department of Life Sciences, co-organiser and promoter of the Field School, and Prof. Dario Sonetti, Scientific Director of the Research Station, state that ‘being immersed in a tropical forest represents a unique opportunity for students to learn about natural realities that are normally only studied in theory. This experience and, more generally, this educational approach should be a must for anyone studying natural science disciplines. Direct contact and perception of the beauty of nature are the basis of scientific research, as they stimulate one to ask questions and seek answers to them. As was already the case for other students who worked in the Reserve for their dissertations, the participants will be able to return to Italy with a cognitive and professional background that will undoubtedly be useful for their future work and life’.

‘The Field School,’ explains Luca Lombroso of the DIEF Unimore Geophysical Observatory, ’will be a unique opportunity to introduce students to tropical meteorology, with a focus on the Karen Mogensen Reserve and climate change in Costa Rica. During the field seminar, students will not only carry out direct observations, but will also take part in the maintenance of the weather station, which has been in operation for 7 years now. This year, however, the dry season has so far shown unusual, even intense rainfall, a phenomenon that needs to be analysed to understand how much climate change has affected it.’

During the Field School programme, students will also discover the habitats and biodiversity of other protected areas in Costa Rica: from the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve, an unspoilt strip of coastline and forest on the Pacific Ocean, to the Palo Verde National Park, with vast wetlands and the mouth of the country's main river, to the Volcán Tenorio National Park and the Miravalles National Park, characterised by its impressive misty forest, which reaches an altitude of almost 2,000 metres and where the Baird jaguar and tapir, among others, live, to the Caribbean coast with the National Parks of Tortuguero, a small Costa Rican Amazon, with rivers and canals that cross the forests and reach the sea, and Cahuita, which contains the country's main coral reef.

Participants will meet local staff from parks and protected areas, learning about nature conservation strategies and coming into contact with further research activities conducted in ecosystems that represent only a small part of the natural wealth of the country with the highest density of biodiversity in the world.

As in previous editions, the Field School will end with an official meeting at the Italian Embassy in Costa Rica.

According to Prof. Alessandro Capra, the Rector's Delegate for Internationalisation, ‘The Field School now in its fourth edition represents a very important educational and life experience for our students. Moreover, thanks to the commitment conducted for years in scientific and training activities in Costa Rica by our colleagues Dal Zotto and Lombroso, and even earlier by Sonetti, we have managed to establish relations with Costa Rican research bodies and universities, and, also with the support of the Italian ambassador to that country, we expect to soon enter into formal collaboration agreements between Unimore and local institutions.’

Prof. Lorena Rebecchi, Head of the Department of Life Sciences, emphasises that ‘in the current context of climate change, habitat loss, local and global extinction of species, it is essential to recognise the crucial role that biodiversity plays in maintaining the functioning of the Planet. Biodiversity represents an vital resource for humanity and for the health of ecosystems that underpin the regeneration of environmental resources. Italy is among the Mediterranean countries richest in biodiversity and endemic species. A period of study and research in Costa Rica, one of the states with the highest biological diversity in the world, represents an excellent opportunity for our students to acquire skills and knowledge in the field that can be used for the protection of our country's biodiversity, a priority in a context of sustainable development and opportunities for young people, in synergy with the National Biodiversity Future Centre's (NBFC-PNRR) objectives of monitoring, conserving, restoring and enhancing Italian biodiversity.’

Prof. Annalisa Ferretti of the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, President of the Interclass Council in Natural Sciences and in Didactics and Communication of Sciences, reiterates the importance of the initiative, which ‘reaps enormous enthusiasm from the participating students, who can thus operate first-hand on the ground within a protected area that has already provided valuable information to the international scientific community, also developing internship and thesis projects. Indeed, the study of nature represents a fundamental commitment to understanding our environment and preserving it for future generations. Dedicating ourselves actively to the knowledge of natural processes, biodiversity and ecological balances not only enriches the studies of our students, but also allows them to develop a critical and responsible awareness of environmental protection.’

The Field School in Costa Rica is recognised as part of the university internship, under an active agreement between the association Foreste per Sempre and Unimore.

You can follow the diary of the initiative at the social address https://www.instagram.com/s4edu/?hl=it

Further info on the website ‘Foreste per Sempre’ (https://www.forestepersempre.it/progetti/field-school/) and Research Station ‘Italia Costa Rica’ (https://www.biometeo.org/).

Categorie: International - english, Notizie_eng