12/13/2018-December OTS Costa Rica
Thursday
Today was an awesome day, we went into the field with the Indigenous Panamanian visitors that were brought to the Station to assist with their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region, especially from their cultural perspective, which is Ngabe. We all went down to the abandoned pasture land with the team from Panama and student Christine, Jonathon, and the OTS Director Scott. We looked at the project area and were introduced to many of the species here and how they are used medicinally, ceremonially, or used for crafts and other material culture.
It was evident that there is succession occurring, and that species that are commonly associated with this succession are present and reclaiming this parcel of land from previous use as a cattle pasture. It was very humid and warm, but it was not unbearable.
We are in the process of getting Landsat data for this project and we hope to use this for remote sensing and map generation so that we may be able to see how this land has changed over time. I took many pictures of this field outing and hope to put them into the presentation. We need to start working on the outline for the presentation and do some online research on some of the species we have encountered on the site.
Tonight a cultural exchange is planned, I look forward to this although I am not ready for anything to present since, like I stated before, I was told and offered this opportunity on late notice. I did however here some students from the Dine' nation state that they brought items, I can chime in when needed or asked to explain things about our culture if needed. Overall, today was excellent, we had a great time being in the field and we learned a lot from a person that does not have a PhD or any teaching credentials, a man rich in knowledge from being an integral part of the land his entire life.
Thursday
Today was an awesome day, we went into the field with the Indigenous Panamanian visitors that were brought to the Station to assist with their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region, especially from their cultural perspective, which is Ngabe. We all went down to the abandoned pasture land with the team from Panama and student Christine, Jonathon, and the OTS Director Scott. We looked at the project area and were introduced to many of the species here and how they are used medicinally, ceremonially, or used for crafts and other material culture.
It was evident that there is succession occurring, and that species that are commonly associated with this succession are present and reclaiming this parcel of land from previous use as a cattle pasture. It was very humid and warm, but it was not unbearable.
We are in the process of getting Landsat data for this project and we hope to use this for remote sensing and map generation so that we may be able to see how this land has changed over time. I took many pictures of this field outing and hope to put them into the presentation. We need to start working on the outline for the presentation and do some online research on some of the species we have encountered on the site.
Tonight a cultural exchange is planned, I look forward to this although I am not ready for anything to present since, like I stated before, I was told and offered this opportunity on late notice. I did however here some students from the Dine' nation state that they brought items, I can chime in when needed or asked to explain things about our culture if needed. Overall, today was excellent, we had a great time being in the field and we learned a lot from a person that does not have a PhD or any teaching credentials, a man rich in knowledge from being an integral part of the land his entire life.
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