“One day in the field is worth months in the library,” Dr. Sonia Hernandez always says.
If that’s the case, Hernandez’s monthlong course in Costa Rica, held in partnership with the University of Costa Rica this past summer, should have earned her students a degree.
Hernandez PhD ’08 leads a group of students on an immersive study away experience focused on conservation medicine and biology.
“Conservation medicine is a discipline that’s rooted in understanding how human activities are impacting biodiversity and ecosystem functions,” she says. “It encourages researchers to be proactive rather than reactive. It’s about identifying these big problems and using research to come up with solutions.”
“One day in the field is worth months in the library.”
-Dr. Sonia Hernandez, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the College of Veterinary Medicine
“It feels like you’re in Jurassic Park. Every night, it’s a different jungle.”
-Melanie Holthaus, Graduate Student, Wildlife Sciences
Balancing Human, Environmental, and Animal Needs
As a young wildlife veterinarian in the 1990s, Hernandez began inviting students to work alongside her in the field in Costa Rica. She continued that practice as she pursued a doctorate from UGA’s Odum School of Ecology in the late 2000s.
This year’s trip marked the 10th time the course was offered at UGA.
“There’s value in actually doing the work and not just reading or hearing about problems. You internalize that knowledge better,” says Hernandez, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor who holds a joint appointment in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the College of Veterinary Medicine.
“We preach a lot about conservation from Western countries and developed nations. We prescribe a lot of management solutions, and, in reality, we have very little understanding of what people on the ground need and why things evolve the way that they do.”
Conservation is a people-driven process, Hernandez explains. And to successfully implement any conservation efforts or changes, it’s critical to understand that values and cultural norms differ from place to place.
That’s why the course isn’t just about saving the rainforest or preserving biodiversity. It’s about understanding the interconnections between the health of the environment, animals, and people. The concepts of One Health, a research approach that centers those connections, are omnipresent in the Costa Rican rainforest. And they’re just as palpable for the students as they hike through the jungle, secure biological samples from wild animals, and build rapport with local community members.
The University of Georgia is a national leader in One Health, heading a variety of interdisciplinary efforts as one of an elite group of universities with schools of human medicine, veterinary medicine, and agriculture all on one campus. Experts in these three disciplines work with top-notch researchers in public health, pharmacy, engineering, arts and sciences, ecology, law, agriculture, forestry and natural resources, and journalism and mass communication, positioning UGA at the forefront of this innovative research approach.
“This program has taught me a lot about what it means to do this type of work, what it means to be part of it, and the importance behind conservation and sustainability.”
-Natalie Camacho, Second Year, Wildlife Sciences, Pre-Veterinary Medicine
“There is almost nothing known about the diet and parasite transmission of lowland rainforest ocelots, so by doing this study we will be able to have a full comprehensive diet and understanding of their prey interactions. In doing so, we will be opening the door to another niche of research and be able to see what prey animals’ health should be prioritized to help ocelots.”
– Cole Serrapica, Second Year, Animal Biosciences
A Month in the Field, A Lifelong Passion
In the conservation medicine course, the jungle becomes a living laboratory.
The students spend a week honing their technical skills at a wildlife rehabilitation center. They handle, anesthetize, and collect biological samples from wildlife while also learning about the circumstances that brought the wildlife to the center.
Then, the class heads to a lowland rainforest site where students are taught methods of wildlife investigation and develop independent research projects, focusing on hypothesis-driven questions and how to design experiments to test their questions.
Students then spend a week working in the clouded forests and mountains of the Monteverde region, specifically in the town of San Luis, concentrating on the social and economic factors that influence environmental issues in the area.
The course ends in Bijagua, a small town that serves as the gateway to Volcán Tenorio National Park and the turquoise waters of the Rio Celeste.
There, UGA alumnus and native Costa Rican Jorge Rojas PhD ’24 collaborates with community leaders to conserve the largest land mammal in the Americas, the tapir, an endangered but iconic species.
“This program has taught me a lot about what it means to do this type of work, what it means to be part of it, and the importance behind conservation and sustainability,” says Natalie Camacho, a second-year wildlife sciences major on the trip.
Like many of the students on the trip, Camacho’s research doesn’t end when the proverbial final bell rings. As part of the ocelot working group, she will continue analyzing samples from the lesser cat species, determining how diet plays a role in parasite transmission within ocelot populations.
“I can’t wait to see what we find when we go through all of this back in Athens.”
Community Run
Conservation isn’t just about jungles and rainforests. It’s also about community.
That’s one reason why Hernandez encourages her students to support the Clásica San Luis toward the end of their trip.
The race began decades ago as a fundraiser for the community and has since grown into national event, with people coming from across Costa Rica to participate.
It also provides an opportunity for students to become invested in the region where they’re studying.
This year, the event’s 43rd, three students medaled in the race. Isabelle Morissette took first in the 5K for women, River Livingston came in third in the adult male age category in the 5K, and Cole Serrapica finished second in the male under 20 age category in the 10K.
