EUC Global Connection – Costa Rica
The Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change brings together geographers, physical scientists, social scientists, humanities researchers and artists whose innovative research seeks to advance sustainability and social justice. Using field-based science, policy analysis, critical social theory, planning skills, geomatics, and cultural and arts-based approaches, our researchers drive action to address the world’s environmental and urban challenges.
EUC researchers are engaged in collaborative relationships, projects and partnerships with colleagues and institutions around the world. Here are the works we have been doing in Costa Rica.
EUC Main Researchers in Costa Rica
EUC Main Partner Institutions in Costa Rica
EUC Research in Costa Rica
EUC has a special relationship with Costa Rica. The relationship began in 1998, when Dr. Woody Fisher donated the Las Nubes property in Costa Rica to York University, and the Faculty of Environmental Studies established a renowned biological reserve and research station. The Las Nubes Project safeguards the biological, cultural, and social values of the communities living in the Alexander Skutch Biological Corridor through faculty and student research, environmental education, and community engagement initiatives.
In 2012, Dr. Felipe Montoya was hired by York University as Las Nubes Director, the James and Joanne Love Chair in Neotropical Conservation, and Professor. Since then, he has secured and protected more pieces of land and created the ExpoCOBAS to bring the communities in the corridor and the Canadian students participating in field courses closer together. Dr. Montoya has expanded the program to what is now known as the Las Nubes Semester Abroad program, which offers field courses from several faculties at York in tropical ecology, sustainability, indigenous education, arts, health, and conservation.
York’s commitment to environmental conservation has propelled Las Nubes onto the global stage as a hub for cutting-edge research and community engagement. Las Nubes now serves as a dynamic center for interdisciplinary studies, attracting scholars, scientists, and conservationists from around the world to collaborate, address environmental challenges, and contribute to advancing ecological knowledge. The Las Nubes Project also collaborates with other educational institutions in Costa Rica including Universidad de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Universidad Técnica Nacional of Costa Rica, San Carlos Campus, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. Together, they are all helping to make significant achievements in research and conservation programs relating to biodiversity protection, rural sustainability, environmental education in local schools, and the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for environmental management.
