Today we woke up at 7 and began to
prepare for our first day of science with Dr. Pinto. We went to
breakfast at 8 and had a meal of beans, rice, eggs, papaya,
watermelon, white pineapple, toast with homemade marmalade and
butter . After breakfast some of us took a well deserved shower.
After our short break of showering, Pablo, one of our hosts, talked
to us about the importance of a sustainable farm starting with
showing us how to prepare heart of palm, we sampled it and then we
watched him make “ceviche” with fresh ingredients from the farm
that we later had with lunch. Then he introduced us to much of the
biodiversity on the ranch. One of the most important things we
learned today was what plants the leaf cutter ants will attack or shy
away from. Two of the plants the leaf cutter shy away from are the
plantain and the banana leaves. These contain a large amount of fiber
which may have to do with the fact that leaf cutter ants are not
attracted to them. Nobody knows the true reason why ants do not
attack these two trees but the amount of fiber within the leaves may
have to do with it. Finca la Anita is working to become a certified
organic ranch. Pablo cut a white pineapple open out in the field and
we all got to eat it, it was so juicy and delicious.
After another wonderful lunch we headed
into the local town named Colonia Libertad. We stopped and had Costa
Rican ice cream and Pablo climbed a tree and threw down “waterapples”
for us to taste. Then we stopped at the local store and got some
Coke and treats.
Late afternoon we met with Dr. Pinto
for the first time. We had an opportunity to introduce ourselves to
him. We learned about the scientific method. After that, we worked
in our research groups to conduct our first experiment. We worked to
try and find out if microbes were on all surfaces. This was our first
opportunity to use the scientific method. We used petri dishes to
try and grow the fungus. After dinner we ended the day watching a
movie that starred Dr. Pinto doing research on bullet ants.
Jake and Tyler
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