A Wild Idea for Science

Exploring the tropics in the name of science provides oneof-a- kind access to some of the world’s most biologically rich places. But trying to gather scientific data without proper equipment is a logistical nightmare. (For starters, try catching songbirds without a mist net.) That’s why Idea Wild, a nonprofit organization based in Fort Collins, Colorado, is so fond of supporting young, resourceful biologists in the field. With some basic provisions, these researchers produce remarkably high levels of biodiversity science. As a wildlife biology student in the Rocky Mountains, Idea Wild president and founder Wally Van Sickle learned that to get the most out of his field research, he needed the right gear. In the United States, access to gadgets, instruments, and outdoor essentials posed no great obstacle. "Unfortunately, in the tropics, where biological diversity ranks the highest, people lack basic equipment," Van Sickle says.

In 1991, he started Idea Wild to "rninimize the loss of biodiversity by empowering people who work on the front lines of conservation." Today, the organization supplies scientific instruments and camping gear to biologists around the world, many of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. The catch: When applying for a grant, the applicant must include the name and US shipping address of someone who will handcarry the item from the United States to the recipient.

Idea Wild funds an average of 33 projects per month and expects to reach 60 per month by 2011. At the close of 2007, more than 1,700 people in 70 countries used provisions donated by Idea Wild. Binoculars, spotting scopes, mist nets, walkie-talkies, lumbar packs, global positioning systems, cameras, all-purpose dry bags, altimeters, thermometers, sleeping bags, climbing gear, laptops, and other small-ticket items make the difference between applied science and no science. On average, the gear cycles through at least two other projects and thus continues to contribute to biodiversity conservation.

Recipients of Idea Wild equipment use data from their projects to help create management plans, design parks and protected areas, complete university-level theses, and contribute to scientific publications. The gear empowers students and practitioners to get things done. "It gives them the confidence to achieve their goals," says Van Sickle, "and to go on to bigger and better projects."

In 2004, for example, Michael Garcia Rojas, a graduate student at the National University of Heredia, Costa Rica, wanted to study the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) in the west-central region of the country. Idea Wild fulfilled his request for binoculars, a GPS unit, and aluminum plant tags-a total cost of US$372. Even before Garcia Rojas finished his thesis, the Costa Rican government hired him as a wildlife biologist to help the Institute of Electricity and Telecommunications ensure that wildlife conservation plays a leading role in the future development of the country’s watersheds. In July 2005, based to a large extent on his thesis research, Costa Rica declared Los Quetzales a national park. Encompassing more than 12,000 acres along both sides of the Rio Savegre, which spills into the central Pacific near Manuel Antonio National Park, Los Quetzales includes three types of tropical rainforests, fourteen ecosystems, and vibrant populations of resplendent quetzales.

"We love the big conservation organizations, but we still believe in grassroots solutions," says Van Sickle. Unlike other foundations, Idea Wild’s small, in-kind grants-equipment requests must run less than $1,500-strive to empower "the little guy." The secret, Van Sickle says: "We fill a niche."

-Wayne E. Mayer

Larry Cullen, above, kneeling left, studies jaguars in Brazil to create corridors for them between stretches of forest Below, as a graduate student in Costa Rica, Michael Garcia Rojas conducted research that led to the creation of Los Quetzales National Park Both have benefited from equipment donated by Idea Wild