For several years I went down to Costa Rica during the month of February to assist with the graduate Ecology semester course run by the Organization for Tropical Studies.  I taught rain forest canopy reaseach and technical climbing at three OTS field stations: Palo Verde, Cuerici, and La Selva.

Using a wrist-rocket, we sent a weighted fishing line up over sturdy looking tree branches in the rain forest. I have terrible aim, so I usually relied on one or two students who had a dubious knack for sling-shots. Following the fishing line, I sent up a parachute cord, and then finally a climbing rope. My job was to accend the rope and set an anchor at the top: securing several pieces of webbing to several "sturdy" branches if possible. Being the first one up a tree can be scary, lots of biting, poisonous things live in tropical trees, and sometimes I had to make several rapid decents before I found a sepent or bullet-ant-free branch to accend. Once a secure line was set up, the students could freely accend and perch for as long as they needed to.We conducted many inventories this way (bryophytes, spiders, lichens . . .) and some pattern-based studies as well. Tree climbing in the tropics is a great way to see the forest in a whole new way! By the way, I did not take all the great photos below, some were sent to me by students - and I no longer have a record of who sent me what - so I'm sorry I can't give specific credit for this excellent photography!