Maria Fernanda Obando Quesada is a Costa Rican student who recently completed her degree in biology at the Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre in Peru. She participated in the 2011 summer course "Applied Research Techniques & Strategies Toward Sustainability" at the SFS Center for Sustainable Development in Atenas, Costa Rica.
What makes you passionate about environmental work?
The feeling that it provokes in me. When I do something good for the environment it benefits myself and those around me. I also like to learn something new every day and teach others what I have learned.
What drew you to the SFS Sustainable Development Studies program in Costa Rica?
I really like the emphasis on learning about environmental problems that affect my country, as well as learning how to lessen those problems.
What is your favorite memory from the program?
My favorite memory was the outreach project we did working with the schoolchildren in the rural community of El Sur. We taught them that the rivers are not simply water but that there is life in the river, the aquatic insects, and all living things benefit from them. It was very gratifying to share my knowledge with the schoolchildren.
Tell me about your perspective as a Costa Rican citizen.
When a Costa Rican learns about his or her country’s environmental problems, it makes us more conscious about our daily actions and how we are affecting the environment without realizing it. This program made me more conscious of how I can decrease my impact on the environment and what techniques I can apply in my house with my family to help my country to maintain its biodiversity.
This program is also a good opportunity for Costa Ricans to share their knowledge with the American students in the program. Costa Ricans don’t have many opportunities to leave the country and share with people from other countries.
What are you learning in this program that will be helpful to you as an environmentalist, in your studies, or in your future career?
I learned a lot about living a more sustainable lifestyle, using sampling techniques with birds and plants, using statistics and design, and writing a scientific report. During the Directed Research project I learned a lot about birds and how human beings influence their behavior. All these experiences together have taught me to see more comprehensively how humans affect the environment and how to interpret our results on a conservation and management level, as well as how to find solutions to some anthropologic actions that affect our world’s biodiversity.
