Colorful Costa Rica
Berry professor experiences beauty and biodiversity on a trip to Central America
Sandra Meek loves to travel. She enjoys experiencing other cultures and seeing different landscapes but is especially interested in experiencing the biodiversity in other parts of the world.
The Berry College professor was enjoying the tropical climes of a Costa Rican rainforest just a few weeks ago while her fellow Rome residents were experiencing some very cold temperatures.
With her sister as a travel companion, Meek explored the ocean and the rainforest canopy in the Central American nation of Costa Rica and what she found there was a biological wonderland. She hopes that by sharing her photos and experiences there with her students and with Rome News-Tribune readers, she might bright to light the importance of appreciating the incredible biodiversity our world has to offer and the need to protect it.
“The main thing that drew me to Costa Rica for this trip was the sloths,” Meek said. “We stayed at a place that hosts the Sloth Institute and got to learn so much about those animals and their rehabilitation and release back into the wild.”
The Tulemar Sloth Institute is a non-profit organization based in Quepos/Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica. Their mission is to enhance the well-being and conservation of wild and captive sloths through research and education. They are also dedicated to collaborating with other sloth rehabilitation and release programs.
“I wanted to find out more about the rehabilitation of sloths and what I found was very interesting,” Meek said. “It turns out that the Three-toed sloth which we all know as this very cute and adorable animal is actually a super fragile animal. Being
able to rehab them back into the wild is a fairly new thing.”
Meek learned that sloths are, unfortunately, connected to the illegal pet trade.
“Someone will kidnap a sloth from the wild and a really common thing is they’ll then use it for pictures,” Meek said. “A lot of times people will go on cruises and stop at a port and someone might offer them the chance to take a picture with an exotic animal such as a sloth or a macaw. But what many don’t know is that sloths are so delicate that they can’t handle human bacteria. They shouldn’t be touched or handled as it can make them sick and can even kill them.”
One of the photos Meek took on her trip is a sloth with its baby. The mother was once taken from the wild and was being used to peddle photographs to tourists. Once the authorities were alerted, the sloth turned over to the rehabilitation facility and eventually released back into the wild.
“There’s nothing more incredible than being in the wild and being able to see animals free to come and go as they please,” Meek said. “And seeing the interaction between plant and animal life and the gorgeous landscape.”
She and her sister took a day snorkeling trip and had a certified guide dive down to pick up a live conch in its thick shell from the sea floor. After showing the snorkelers the unusual animal, the guide gently placed it back where he had found it.
Meek was also delighted to be surrounded by three different types of monkeys during her stay — Capuchins, Mantled Howlers and Squirrel monkeys.
“The squirrel monkeys would come on the deck and try to steal your food,” she said.
She saw resplendently colored Scarlet Macaws who were nesting in a palm tree on the property and got to see them each day as she made her way around.
She encouraged Rome residents to consider a trip to experience the rainforest.
“I definitely think a trip like this could help people appreciate the incredible biodiversity we
have around us,” she said. “It can open your eyes to the importance of preserving that beauty of nature and many of these species. It’s one thing to see it on television or in pictures but there’s something different about being
there. You really can feel the need to preserve the biodiversity.”
And she’s determined to help others understand and experience these wild and natural places In
multiple ways. As a Dana Professor of English, Rhetoric and Writing at Berry College, she has a unique way of helping others see a world they may never get
to experience on their own.
“I teach a class about ‘place’,” she said. “We talk about what it’s like to do field research and creative writing. Traveling and experiencing the world has also become a core part of my poetry. That’s the great thing creative writing can do. You have the opportunity to reach people who may not get to have this experience.”
Meek is planning a trip to Madagascar in the summer to learn about lemurs.
She said when she is experiencing nature she feels that it’s the most moving and important part of her life and would like to share those experiences with everyone.
“When I’m out there in the wild and getting to see and hear and smell and learn, it’s an incredible feeling,” she said. “If you’re able to take that trip or if you read about it, it can really open your eyes to things you’ve never thought about. A lot of times people think it’s nature versus people. But when you keep your eyes open you see that it’s all so interconnected.”