My first experience with field research is something I will never forget. My conservation project will forever be in my memories… all seven revisions, actually. Working up-close with nature allows me to understand the limitations of fieldwork outside of a lab, yet there are wonders here that a lab can never contain. For anyone who wants to do research in ecology, experience in both the lab and field are essential to understanding both these worlds. I thought I had ample experience in the lab that will serve me well in the field, yet I was shocked by how many holes my projects had, but even more astounded by how much I learned from those mistakes.

I entered the forest fully energized with ideas in hand on how to carry them out. Two minutes later I was covered in sweat and felt the first inkling that this conservation project will be more difficult than I had imagined. My focus had always been to look at how anthropogenic effects in once-natural environments will affect wildlife and their behavior. My first project dealt with manmade lights and how it affected nocturnal moths, except I got nothing but tons of mosquitoes, and a cricket. My partner and I spent a day scouting for humming birds to test for effects of noise on feeding, finding none. We ended up spending the afternoon chasing damselflies. The point is, field conservation work is filled with unexpected events that you cannot control for, which is both a pain yet humbling realization. Here I am with nature, poised to use what I have learned in lab to present an experiment that both respects nature’s changing faces while applying the best controls I can devise.

After many insightful revisions, I am excited to carry out a conservation project looking into the effects of foot traffic on leaf-cutter ants. Although small at the individual scale, their collective efforts make them a dramatic component of the rainforest ecosystem. This warrants a look into how our usage of trails can affect their livelihood. My final days in Refugio Bartola will involve a frenzy of experiments from the break of morning to the start of dusk. As I hike up the many hills to my site knowing there is a long return journey later, I am filled with only excitement to know that those hours in between will use the methods we’ve spent so long refining. Looking back I realize how my previous set ups misinterpreted the questions I wanted to test. It took many field trials and a lot of feedback before our project tested the question at hand while staying true to our vision. Overall, every revision taught me far more than any success would have. Conservation field work has given me a greater appreciation for nature and research, combining wonders, challenges, and lessons with every passing day.