"I was born and raised in Delhi, India and immigrated to Canada 14 years ago. I recently completed my undergrad degree in Environmental Studies: Politics, Justice and the Arts with a certificate in Sustainable Energy. What attracted me to the program was my passion for biodiversity and the opportunity to do Experiential Education in the Costa Rican rainforest at York University’s Eco-Campus. I went to Costa Rica from June 20, 2018 to July 3, 2018.

The first day at the Eco Campus, we spent the day in the outdoors, overlooking the dense rainforest, which we later hiked down to the river. Along the way we are greeted by many different species of animals, such as bees (we even set up an orchid bee scent trap that attracted many bees for a future study), hummingbirds, bats, turkey vultures, falcons, owls, sloths, frogs, snakes, herons, dogs to name a few.

Some experiences that stood out include exploring beautiful beaches and intense hikes in protected parks such as Hacienda Baru, where we saw many kinds of birds, my favorite tree species and learned about the policies that affect the management of areas that overlap between public and private land.

Two other parks that stood out were Cloudbidge, which was a regenerated forest from what used to be only cattle pastures and Las Quebradas because of how they finance watershed protection and regeneration (with tree donations), while also supporting women entrepreneurs.

I am also proud to have finally seen a shade grown coffee farm because I volunteered with the Las Nubes student association and sold that type of coffee, as it is more sustainable. To see locals growing it was fulfilling since we often hear about things being “more sustainable” but cannot decipher what it really means, so it’s reassuring that these practices are verbatim. As well, the money that we raised as a student group from the coffee sales went to build a bridge near the campus.

The whole experience exceeded my expectations, being someone that's grown up in big cities, I have always been drawn to other possibilities the world has to offer. I am beyond thankful to have experienced the stark different kinds of lifestyles. They all are equally as exciting and vital."

Sanya Tandon
Bachelor in Environmental Studies
Faculty of Environmental Studies