Students from the School of Journalism at the University of Arizona are reporting stories and taking photos on environmental topics ranging from the fate of poison dart frogs to wastewater management in remote tourist locations. The trip is part of their study abroad program in Costa Rica.

Students are wrapping up a five-week program that started July 2, reporting from the jungles, beaches and forests of Costa Rica, which promotes itself as an ecologically progressive country. Their stories are posted on EcoChronicle.net.

The trip is led by Lisa Button, an adjunct faculty member and internship coordinator in the School of Journalism.

Students have traveled to Monteverde cloud forest, La Selva Biological Institute and Cahuita National Park. One student reporter, Lucy Valencia, spent a day in the field with UA scientist Jennifer Jandt, who is doing a project on bullet ants.

Trip highlights, said Button, include seeing many animals in the wild – toucans, spider monkeys, sloths, a caiman and many more – and getting to interview scientists and wildlife experts at field sites.

Students include Mariah Davidson, Brenna Goth, Marshall Joynt, Jeff Kessler, Matt Lechuga, Annie Mercer, Hope Miller, Keith Perfetti and Lucy Valencia.