Cathy Pringle (U. Georgia), who has been studying the ecology of La Selva's streams since 1984 (e.g., Pringle et al. 1993), became concerned about water quality and quantity problems in local communities surrounding La Selva (Pringle 1997). Communities surrounding La Selva were not only consuming polluted water, but were also contributing to the pollution of these water sources. The pollution resulted from trash being dumped in the water, wastewater from houses being emptied into streams, and gravel extracted from rivers to create roads. These problems exacerbated those caused by non-point pollution sources such as soil erosion and nutrient runoff from cattle grazing and pesticide runoff from banana plantations. Cathy enlisted the help of Rodney Vargas (OTS Environmental Education and Development offices) who was then a graduate student with the University of Georgia, to help develop an environmental outreach program about water supply and quality issues and their significance for human health and the local environment (Vargas 1995). With Tina Laidlaw (graduate student at the University of Georgia) they designed a program and an Adopt-a-Stream manual that involved local schools in the monitoring of water quality and the reduction of pollution (Laidlaw 1996). The program also included production of a Watershed Protection Poster generated by the La Selva GIS system that depicts the origin of potable water for the Puerto Viejo community.

Today, through OTS fellowships and other support, Latin American and North American university students are working together to continue and strengthen the project. Adriana Figueroa (U. Nacional) is working under the guidance of Dr. Claudia Charpentier to evaluate the implementation of the Adopt-a-Stream program and Manual. Adriana works directly with Puerto Viejo students and teachers. Stacey Smith (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and recipient of NSF-REU award from C. Pringle) is surveying individuals who live along the Quebrada Grande to understand their attitudes about the lands immediately adjacent to streams (riparian areas), the management of which is a critical factor in water quality maintenance. Scott Pohlman (U. Georgia) is working on an instruction manual that will organize environmental education lesson plans for SERC, La Selva's environmental outreach program, directed by Orlando Vargas. Scott is also developing a poster featuring photos of the region, accompanied by Spanish text about the benefits of naturally vegetated riparian zones, life histories of selected stream inhabitants and impacts of land uses on water quality. An advisory committee, representative of all the groups that have contributed to the establishment of this program, directs the efforts of the students and their interaction with the community.

This program is a model for future collaborations that bring together the interests of local communities, OTS field stations, the OTS Environmental Education Program, and the OTS Education Program.

Pringle, C. M., G. L. Rowe, F. J. Triska, J. F. Fernandez, and J. West. 1993. Landscape linkages between geothermal activity, solute composition and ecological response in streams draining Costa Rica's Atlantic Slope. Limnology and Oceanography 38:753-774.

Vargas, R. J. 1995. History of municipal water resources in Puerto Viejo, Sarapiqui, Costa Rica: A socio-political perspective. Masters Thesis, Institute of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. (Masters thesis work conducted at La Selva).