Mark Wainwright (Children’s Eternal Rainforest, Costa Rica) is visiting LMU from April 12-18th! Mark has lived and worked in Costa Rica since 1991, in the fields of environmental education and conservation. He works as a lead or guest instructor for dozens of academic programs each year, primarily tropical ecology and conservation-related courses for undergraduate or high school programs from the United States. Mark has been the Costa Rica guide for LMU’s summer study abroad upper division Biology course, “BIOL-982 Tropical Science & Culture in Costa Rica”, taught by CURes faculty and staff since 2013! He also leads educational trips for non-student adults from abroad, helps with educational activities for Costa Rican schools, and gives training courses to local guide associations throughout Costa Rica.
Mark will give a presentation on April 13th from 2-3pm in Pereira 140 titled “The Children’s 
Eternal Rainforest: Past, Present, and Future.” It will focus on his observations and work in the largest private reserve in Costa Rica, which was preserved through fundraising efforts by children around the world in 44 countries. The Children’s Eternal Rainforest is extremely biologically diverse and is home to 2% of the world’s orchids, 3% of the world’s butterflies, and 5% of the world’s bird species.
Mark will give a second presentation on April 17th from 7-8am in Pereira 140 titled “Amphibian Declines and Partial Recovery.” The Golden Toad was a conservation icon, found only within an area of a few square miles of Monteverde, Costa Rica. Its sudden disappearance in the late 1980s was one of what turned out to be numerous catastrophic events for amphibian populations around the world, and helped trigger an ongoing, thirty-year effort by the scientific community to understand why amphibians are in so much trouble.
All attendees have a chance to enter a free raffle to win a signed copy of “Mammals of Costa Rica,” a book written and 
illustrated by Mark. Several t-shirts from various conservation agencies around Costa Rica will also be raffled off. Come join us for a chance to learn, meet Mark, and maybe win something cool!
Make sure to check out all of CURes’ Earth Month events! We hope to see you there!