Mr. Lafond in Puerto Rico

Back in Boston!

2007-06-03T18:45:00.000-04:00

...Just in time for the rubber match against the Yanks! Puerto Rico was a great place to visit, but it is great to be back. Unfortunately, my luggage failed to return with me... hopefully I will get it tomorrow! I tried to bring back some sunshine, but I guess it didn't quite work. The airplane circled Boston for 30 minutes due to the cloudy, rainy weather.

Below are some more pics of Old San Juan. This little city truly is beautiful. I literally walked around and took pictures of every building. I love the balconies that decorate the streets. By chance I wandered into this unique craft store where Jose, an incredible Puerto Rican artist, was making little masks called vejigantes (vay-he-gone-tays). The vejigantes are worn during an annual celebration called carnival. After exchanging stories for nearly an hour, I learned tons about Puerto Rican culture from Jose who is a retired high school art teacher. I brought some his creations back with me...

Can't wait to see everyone tomorrow!

View from the balcony at the guest house I stayed at on Saturday night.

Beautiful balconies in Old San Juan.

A new friend: artist and teacher, Jose.

One of Jose's mini vejigantes.

Cobble stone streets and sunshine in Old San Juan.

This little dog made this balcony come alive!

Old San Juan es muy bonito!

2007-06-02T13:15:00.000-04:00

After saying our goodbyes and wishing each other good luck in future adventures, we each headed into the Puerto Rican sun. I went into Old San Juan to visit this beautiful little city. It is located just north of San Juan, but has its own unique and historic character. There are two old forts on the coast that date back to the 1530s when the Spanish were trying to protect their colony. It is neat to go into the fort and pretend ships are coming to attack... check out this website for more info.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/saju/morro.html

This is the view from El Morro looking east.

... inside the fort. Can you find me?

The streets of Old San Juan...

Meet the Earthwatch team!

2007-06-01T17:13:00.001-04:00

Friday in the forest...

2007-06-01T16:59:00.000-04:00

Today, we ventured into the rainforest one last time as an Earthwatch team. We continued to measure trees. I was working with an Australian woman, and a college professor from Albany, NY. Our task was to once again use the clinometer to determine the height of the largest hardwood trees in the forest. While I stayed on task and managed to record measurements for almost 50 trees, we occasionally got distracted by forest creatures, like this stick bug below. There is something unique about the stick bugs here... I think they like me because I keep finding them on me. After we hiked back to the research station, some of us went for a swim in the river. One last night to exchange stories, then we are heading out tomorrow.

Friday and Saturday Plan

2007-05-31T22:47:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is our last day in the forest collecting data. We will then come back and debrief the information we collected and ask questions of the scientists. On Saturday, our time in the jungle comes to an end. I have really enjoyed being here and learning about this amazing place, but I am ready to return home (my pillow seems to make a better sponge!) Before I head home, though, I will be spending one night in Old San Juan to get the feel for city life here in Puerto Rico. Then, I will be on a flight back to Boston on Sunday.

I just figured out how to add some of my video clips to this blog...they are located on the right. They are linked from youtube.com, but there is no need to go the site. They will play directly in the blog. Don't worry if you can't play them, I will show them to you when I get back next week.

The first video is of a n anolis lizard hanging out on a palm tree. The lizard doesn't do much, but you can get an idea of how still they are. With luck, more to come, enjoy!

Webcast! (attempt)

2007-05-31T22:08:00.000-04:00

This morning we tried to do a webcast from the research station in the PR rainforest to the Kiwi Team at Curtis Middle School in Sudbury, MA. It is a pretty amazing idea... and it worked for the most part. There were some difficulties with knowing if/how/when the students could hear me, but overall, I think it went well.

Here I am doing the webcast from an outside table. It stopped raining long enough for us to do it, but we kept getting disconnected... this is life when relying on satellites.

Successful frog survey!

2007-05-29T23:46:00.000-04:00

We found hundreds, if not thousands, of frogs on our survey. We tried our best to count all the frogs in a 100 meter section of the rainforest. The total numbers have not been calculated yet... but it took us three hours to do the survey. Check out the pictures below. In addition to frogs, we found other creatures too.

Looking for little frogs...Watch your step!

One of the more dangerous creatures in the rainforest... a scorpion! It's only about two inches long, but I was sure to avoid it.

Another amazing stick bug. This one really wanted its picture taken!

Yes, the coqui do come in small sizes! This is a baby coqui that we found on the forest floor.

Adult male coqui frog (about 2 inches long)

Gabcast #2

2007-05-28T22:30:00.001-04:00

Gabcast! Mr. Lafond in Puerto Rico #2

And... here comes the rain!

2007-05-28T16:39:00.000-04:00

After a couple dry days, all the visitors here (including myself) were beginning to wonder why they call this a "rain" forest. Well, today I got a taste. I awoke to heavy rains at 4 a.m. and then it continued most of the day. Despite making the steep forested slopes extremely slippery, the rain didn't stop us from trekking into the forest to collect more data. Equipped with rain gear and waterproof notebooks, we surveyed an acre of forest. I worked with another teacher on the trip, Ms. Matheson, to determine of how wide the canopy of the largest trees are. This wasn't an easy job since every time we looked up we would get large rain drops in the face. As you could guess, we had fun getting wet and muddy.

Hiking in the forest... ready for the rain!

My muddy boots!

Some snails I encountered during today's trek.

An amazing stick bug that literally fell out of the tree on to my sleeve.

One of my favorite trees, the prickly ash.
Check out those crazy spikes on the bark!

Eco-friendly behavior here in the rainforest

2007-05-27T15:36:00.000-04:00

The folks that live here at the research station (las casa de la selva) are very conscious of their effect on the environment. After all, they are sharing this place with the local wildlife. From recycling to growing their own food, the residents here are committed to having a low impact on the environment. The waste water from the toilets even gets recycled into a waste water garden.

... sign posted in the kitchen.

Compost bucket in the kitchen. All food scraps make their way into the compost bucket.

This is the compost pile where the bucket is dumped daily.
(It is located beyond the dried palm frond in the picture.)

...herb garden near research station.

...tomatoes in the garden.

...papaya tree. Yummy! We have been having papaya for dessert.

... waste water garden.

Assignment for Kiwi Students!

2007-05-27T14:23:00.000-04:00

Howdy Kiwis,

For Tuesday's class with Ms. McCarthy please be prepared with the following:

1. Journal Response: If you were in the middle of the forest (any forest, even one near your house) and you wanted to collect data on that forest, what kind of things would you measure and how? Try to think of at least 3 features of the forest you would measure. When explaining your methods, remember that someone else should be able to repeat your methods.

You ideas should be written. If it helps, you can use diagrams to explain your ideas.

2. Journal Response: What is your favorite picture from the blog and why?

On Tuesday, I will post more about the techniques we are using to analyze the forest and what exact features of the forest we are focusing on.

I look forward to hearing about your ideas.

~ Mr. Lafond

Another cool frog... this is a white lip wood frog.

Into the Forest...

2007-05-27T07:24:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we set out early in the day to measure the trees in a particular acre of the forest. An acre is 208 feet wide x 208 feet long. It took us 6 hours to survey the trees in half an acre. I was working in a three-person team with two college professors, Alice and Jeff. We made an excellent team and managed to learn many of the tree names.

Can you guess what I might be doing in these pictures?

Once again, it was surprisingly dry. It hasn't rained in two days. The wildlife, especially the reptiles and amphibians, stay hidden when it is dry. I did, however, see a few anolis lizards. Here is one posing for me!

Sunny Friday!

2007-05-25T17:47:00.000-04:00

Today we got introduced to the methods the scientists use to study the rainforest and their objectives. Tomorrow, I'll be able to show us surveying the forest to see how fast (or how slow) the mahogany trees are growing.
The ultimate goal of this research project is to find a way to harvest trees from the forest while having the least impact on the local wildlife. Tons of data has to be collected in order for the scientists to be able to decide if their techniques are effective. The local frogs, coqui, are being monitored to gauge the impact of the logging methods. In a place where there are no large, natural predators, the 4 species of coqui present here in this forest are indicator species. The logic is: If the coqui are healthy, then so is the forest.

In the afternoon, we went out on a hike into the rainforest. Although we were ready for an afternoon thunderstorm, it never came. This is bittersweet because I'm told the frogs don't sing as much when it's not wet... my gear and tent will stay dry though. Tomorrow, we will get to collect data in the forest and I'll be able to better explain what the scientists and volunteers are doing in this unique environment. Check out the pictures below. They get bigger if you click on them.

This is a coqui I saw last night. They are so fun to watch, but they stop singing when the flashlight is on them.
This is an anolis lizard.
They are common around the research station... scurrying on the walls and ceilings.
This little guy is about 6 inches in length.
This is my tent. It is actually pretty comfy! I slept great last night amongst the coqui orchestra.

This is the outdoor patio/classroom where we hang out when meeting or when it is raining.

This is a picture of Sally Silverstone, the Principal Investigator (Head Scientist), giving us an introduction to the site.

This is a view of the forest from my tent!

Live from the rainforest!

2007-05-24T19:53:00.000-04:00

Howdy friends, family, and Kiwi students,

I made it! After leaving the house this morning at 4 a.m. I finally arrived at the research station around 5 p.m. There are 5 resident scientists that live here and 8 volunteers, two teachers, and a journalist. I met all the other volunteers in San Juan and a van drove us an hour south into the forest.

The research station is so cool. We are on top of a mountain ridge, so there are steep slopes in every direction. There are several little structures with retractable tarps for walls and a tin roof. My tent is in one of these structures. There is also a building (with real walls) that is the office, library, and kitchen. There is electricity in the office and a satellite dish outside to provide internet access.

The reality of being here in Puerto Rico sunk in when my plane landed in San Juan and I noticed large lizards scrambling in the grass next to the runway. I haven't learned yet what they were, but I hope to soon. There are also tons of lizards, snails, and frogs here in the rainforest. I hope to do a "gabcast" with them singing soon. The frog below is about the size of a nickel!

This is a view of San Juan from the airplane!

Thanks for all your comments and questions. More to come tomorrow when we go out in the forest and learn what/how the scientists are studying in this amazing place.

You guys are all in my thoughts.

Mr. L

Gabcast #1: Test

2007-05-20T16:10:00.001-04:00

Gabcast! Mr. Lafond getting ready for Puerto Rico Expedition #1

Getting Packed and Ready!

2007-05-20T10:07:00.000-04:00

Howdy,

This rainy weekend in New England has given me some extra indoor time to get ready for the upcoming expedition. I have still managed, however, to get distracted by signs of Spring. There is a bustle of activity near the wetlands beside my house.

Check out this picture of a oriole in my backyard. I've seen three nesting pairs!

Can you guess what kind of plant this is? I noticed it while taking a walk through some nearby woods.
Be sure to check back often for more updates.

~ Mr. Lafond

Welcome to Mr. Lafond's blog!

2007-05-19T10:55:00.000-04:00

On Thursday, May 24th, I am going to the rainforest in Puerto Rico with Earthwatch Institute to assist in a science research project. I will be in Puerto Rico for 11 days... returning on Sunday, June 3rd.

While in Puerto Rico, I will be working side-by-side with scientists who are researching environmentally friendly ways to harvest timber from the rainforest. In addition, we will be monitoring populations of local frogs. Cool, huh?

Check back here for more information.

~ Mr. Lafond