Vamos para adelante We are moving forward, a recap on the Eco-Tourism Guide Workshop by Cristina Murillo Barrick

Ostional, Nicaragua

August 11^th- 14^th, 2016

After long months of planning and collaborating the UC Davis Blum PASS Grant funded Eco-tourism Guide Workshop has concluded to the tune of a biodiversity dance, laughter and graduation ceremony. The workshop included over 35 course participants, with ranging levels of experience in eco-tourism and leadership.

For many, it was their first time exploring a long-held interest in eco-tourism and for others a great opportunity to share important relevant knowledge and further their leadership skills.  Many community members in the Nicaraguan coastal towns of Ostional, Tortuga, Escamequita and El Coco are well aware of the charismatic sea turtle and its international renown. The beaches of La Flor Wildlife Refuge are one of only seven world-wide that host arribadas, or mass arrivals of Olive Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), which is a great tourist attraction.

The workshop, which took place over four jam-packed days, celebrated local biodiversity but centered around this main attraction, the sea turtle. The goal of increasing employment opportunities was tackled by focusing on strengthening leadership, local ecological knowledge and tourism skills in order to foster a culture of empowerment and sustainable resource use.

At its core a collaborative effort, the workshop included members from over 4 local communities, conservation professional from 3 countries (Costa Rica, Nicaragua, United States), and a variety of local representatives including small-scale businesses owners, fishery co-operative members, English-language students and community members with diverse levels of familiarity with eco-tourism.

What follows are a series of photographs and vignettes describing the Eco-Tourism Guide Workshop which took place from August 11^th to August 14^th, 2016 in Ostional, Nicaragua. Each day emphasized a theme central to achieving the workshop’s objectives. 

Day 1: Identifying and Forming Leaders

Locations: Ostional Community Center, Ostional Mangrove, Sea Turtle Hatchery

Workshop participants arrive on the first day and are given welcome packet (bird guides, notebooks and other introductory materials) and sit for a meal to prepare for long days of field work and learning. In the background a description of the Blum PASS Grant and banner of partnering conservation NGO Paso Pacífico.

On the first day all participants received name tags and bandanas which they wore every day as part of their uniform. The colors identify participants as members of a team, each team consists of with members from various communities, and varied leadership positions and areas of expertise to increase learning opportunities and encourage collaboration. Pictured above is the Zorillo (skunk) team, all teams chose an animal mascot to celebrate local biodiversity.

Participants introduce each other, their community and/or organization as well as their reason from coming to the workshop. Participants go on to identified key values- respect, loyalty, love of nature, creativity and purity- as key components to success in the workshop and hopefully, in the future formation of an eco-tourism guide co-operative.

Day 2: Learning Basic Field Tools

Locations: Indigenous Cemetery, Ostional, La Flor Wildlife Refuge

The day starts off with a hike to the local indigenous cemetery, where participants from different backgrounds share their knowledge of the area. Here Rosy and Gaby, educators in the Costa Rican National Parks, identify and explain key terms like “ecosystem” and connect these to local animals, which can be identified using field guides.

At the heart of the indigenous cemetery Paso Pacifíco park ranger Marvin, explains the history of the area. Other community members go on to share first-hand accounts of how community members use to extract jade and other artifacts from the area and sell them to foreigners. In more recent years the cemetery and all artifacts have been declared national patrimony, and extraction and sale has been banned. The site also contains an untapped oil well, as we hike back participants to think critically about resource use and keep long-term goals in mind when considering development.

Pablo, a Costa Rican National Park educator, walks us through the basics of the animal kingdom, explaining the evolution of organisms through time. The lesson leads into differentiating between vertebrates and then further delves into the four local sea turtle species.

In the evening participants attend a night hike at the famous La Flor Wildlife Refuge, before heading to the dark, solitary beach, groups orient themselves to and review regulations on how to safely and efficiently view nesting sea turtles.

Day 3: Putting Knowledge in Practice

Locations: Coastal islands, La Flor Wildlife Refuge marine area, Ostional

Paso Pacifíco employee Jahaira, and fishery co-op member Don Marcelo (both standing), point out important landmarks on the panga (boat) tour, explaining local names and uses of various areas. One of the main tenants of the workshop was to empower locals to put local knowledge into practice, by the third day participants were expected to intermittently present to peers which made for a rich learning environment and pulled on many different kinds of knowledge.

 A Paso Pacifíco ranger, explains the process of sea turtle data collection methods, and norms to observe when visiting picturesque beach of Brazilón. Other rangers go on to explain their stories of joining local conservation efforts after realizing the invaluable worth of sea turtles as a source of income and learning through research providing local jobs and future opportunities.

Day 4: Turtle Festival, Sharing Knowledge with others

Locations: Coastal Ostional

On the day of the Turtle Festival local school children open the event with traditional dances, while many guests watch in the background. Over a hundred children attended the free public event, including local Junior Rangers.  The Turtle Festival was the concluding event of the Eco-Tourism Guide Workshop where participants took on roles as guides and leaders, sharing their learnings from the last three days with family, friends and community members. This served the dual purpose of allowing participants a chance to practice skills while increasing outreach and impact.

Workshop participants delegate tasks by teams, planning games, tours, informational presentations, a play and logistics. This allowed them to share workshop learning with the community, practice public speaking and leadership. Here the Pargo Rojo (Red Snapper) team prepare to present sea turtle facts to community members with life-size cardboard models. It is through activities like these that workshop participants explain the benefits of protecting vulnerable sea turtle eggs and receiving incentives in order to encourage sustainable development in the area.

Workshop participants (directing children top right and left) present turtle facts to festival guests while playing games, which model ecological processes.  During the festival organizers (including Paso Pacífico staff, in blue shirt on the left) stand by as support in the background. This model of organization encourages designed obsolescence, where, after imparting key knowledge and supervising practice, participants take ownership and responsibility for actions, thus becoming key directors of their own learning and development.

 After a closing ceremony and receiving a course completion certificate (which two members of the left hold up proudly) participants hold up signs thanking the UC Davis Blum PASS Grant for their support of the Eco-Tourism Training Workshop. Many participants hope to continue building skills in guiding and eco-tourism and have begun collaborating on a micro-entrepreneurial land management plan that uses the local mangrove and focuses on bird identification. Plans for this second stage of the project are already in motion.

Acknowledgements:

The workshop was planned collaboratively with Paso Pacífico, Programa de Educación Biológica (known by its Spanish acronym PEB, Biology Education Program, Costa Rican National Parks). Main funding was provided by the UC Davis Blum PASS Grant, with additional contributions and matching from Paso Pacifíco, PEB, U.S. Forest Service, UC Davis Oreville Grant and UC Davis Humanities Grant.

 I extend my profound gratitude and attribute the overwhelming success of this project to the collaborative work of these organizations, as well as my co-organizers Julia Martinez, Gabriela Gutierrez Ruiz, Ana Carolina Somarrivas  and Karen Lacayo Santana. I would also like to thank workshop leaders Elena Jahaira Vargas, Marvin Chevez, Irvin Chevez, Mercedes Peñalba, Rosibel Elizondo Cruz, Alban Gimenez Vespedes, Pablo Vasquez Badilla, Roberto Vargas Sanabria and all other members of to the Ostional community that made this workshop possible.

¡Sigámos adelante! Let’s keep moving forward!