On Thursday, 18 October, the RELAS participants traveled to EARTH's rain forest preserve, a 400 hectare plot adjoining the campus. We all strolled the trails (no rain!) looking for beetles, frogs, and plants. We saw howler, spider, and white-faced monkeys, frogs, tarantulas, a fer-de-lance, many butterflies, and a few scarabs. The forest was well-developed secondary growth with a few big trees, and the terrain was dissected by some deep ravines with streams.

Participants also had the opportunity to visit EARTH's banana plantation to see cultivation practices and the banana processing plant for a fascinating look at how bananas are sorted, cleaned, and made ready for shipment to the international market.