Blog #9

 Day #10

Today was the first day we did work that did not involve getting our hands dirty. Before leaving, Randy gave us two large assignments. One was to laminate an immense stack of flashcards that would be used to teach children in Monteverde about some of the endemic tree species of their home and the important role these plants play in upholding a balance in the ecosystem. Duffy and I, along with Wyatt and Alida, spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon working on this project and were all able to get it finished by mid-morning. This left us with one more task that was a little more daunting. Over the past year, data from hundreds and hundreds of saplings had been taken down for research but was all recorded on paper. Our job was to transfer all of this data to an online spreadsheet that will allow it to be easily analyzed. This proved to be very laborious work that took way more concentration than I was expecting. Through many cups of coffee and a variety of music and podcasts, Duffy and I were able to finish up the day with all the data of nearly two thousand trees entered. we have around fifteen hundred left to do which I am expecting will take up a considerable chunk of the day tomorrow. Though monotonous, I enjoy this work as I know it will provide some interesting findings. Having data on a computer allows you to run it through various analyses that begin to show patterns and tell you more about plant behavior. I think it is super cool to be a part of work that will lead to new discoveries!




Daily hours: 8 hours

Total time: 63 hours


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