Emma Avery Studies Conflict in Costa Rica

2017 Jun 13

A group of honors students from Eastern Connecticut State University spent 10 days in Costa Rica this May for a field course that examined the country's rich biodiversity and developing agricultural industry. Among the travelers from Eastern was Emma Avery '18 of Bristol, who majors in Environmental Earth Science and Political Science.

"This course required students to examine the conflict between preservation of the tropical rainforest and Costa Rica's economic shift to export-focused agriculture," said Patricia Szczys, biology professor and trip supervisor.

"We learned about the biodiversity in Costa Rica as well as the intersections between agricultural and economic development with the preservation of the rainforest," said Avery. "As an environmental earth science major, I often learn about the 'dead' parts of the earth, such as tectonic activity and geological features. In this biology-based honors course, I was able to learn about the 'alive' features of the planet, which was fascinating."

The trip to Costa Rica was the field component of a course taken on the Eastern campus during the academic year. The students toured the tropical rainforest as well as plantations that grow pineapples, bananas, peppercorn and coffee. They even participated in a community service project where they planted 100 trees at a peppercorn farm as part of a reforestation effort.

"For me," said Avery, "the most eye-opening parts of Costa Rica were the humidity, the poverty that didn't seem so bad because everyone was just happy to be alive and together, the Hispanic culture, the rice and beans at every meal, and the vast biodiversity."