Sustainability and the Environment: "Rachel's Internship Report"

Ocotea monteverdensis Educational Films: Working with Dev Joslin a local scientist to gather information about the Ocotea Monteverdensis, a critically endangered avocado tree endemic to the Monteverde zone.

There are only 770 of them left anywhere and they are all found in a very small mostly unprotected area of Monteverde. The Ocotea monteverdensis is a crucial food source for the area’s most iconic birds including the quetzal, black guan and the three-wattled bellbird. My goal was to create two 15 minute long films, one in English and one in Spanish for local nature guides. These films are meant to educate guides on the Ocotea monteverdensis and its importance to the areas birds and with that the tour industry. In creating the film I interviewed local guides and scientists about the importance of this fruiting tree to the ecosystem. I also gathered information about reforestation projects and other efforts to assist this species in the area. I hiked around the zone they are found and took pictures and gathered identification notes. After I became familiar with the area where they grow I sat down with Dev Joslin and gathered all the information I could possibly need to create an educational film. I collected graphs, footage and drafted a script. I mapped out the information I wanted to relay to guides and then started conducting interviews in English and Spanish. Then sifted through the footage to gather informative pieces and compiled them into a film. Then I took some photos and gathered others from various sources to complete the puzzle. Midway through I had guides come in and critique my film to make sure the information wasn’t repetitive. I added and subtracted until finally the English version was done. Then I had a translator help me to construct the Spanish version. I have learned a huge amount about the differences in forests in the surrounding area and there importance for fruit eating birds during different times of the year.

I spent many hours sitting at a desk editing, but video production is an art I had never explored before and I have appreciated everything about the creative process that goes into it. By making this film for guides my hope is that they will be able to educate people on their tours about this tree and that the level of concern and awareness will rise to the point that more will be done to help conserve this species and help it come back in the future. Most people don’t want to spend time reading a long scientific paper so by creating a film and relaying the information in a much more friendly entertaining matter people are more inclined to listen and learn. My hope is that this film can also go beyond the areas guides and will be more applicable to the general public and can be used as a tool to spread concern about this species beyond the Monteverede area.