Noticiero Movil

seven people pose in jungleNoticiero Móvil reporters Zoe Cruz, Mayra Gónzalez, Daisy Gómez, Genevy Machuca, Juliet Ojeda, instructor Claudia Cruz, and Oscar Mártinez.

Noticiero Móvil tackles biodiversity, climate change and cultural reporting in Costa Rica

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For the first time ever, a small group of University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) students from the Reynolds School of Journalism travel to Latin America to continue their journalism training and Spanish-language training.

PUERTO VIEJO DE SARAPIQUÍ, Heredia, Costa Rica — Amidst the howling monkeys, birdsongs, and the buzzing of critters in the lush jungle, 15 students from UNR’s renown journalism program trekked the paths, interviewed scientific researchers and absorbed the local culture at the Organization for Tropical Studies’s (OTS) La Selva Research Station during Spring Break 2025.

Six of them have also reported for Noticiero Móvil and will soon share their stories with readers in Reno and beyond. The goal of the trip has been to encourage visual-based, science journalism, in both English and Spanish, in order to help the general public understand the importance of protecting vulnerable flora and fauna, not just in Costa Rica and the world, but also in our backyards.

Two women take a picture of moths on a hanging white sheet.
Noticiero Móvil reporters Juliet Ojeda (foreground) and Daisy Gómez snap photos of moths attracted to a white sheet near the laboratories of La Selva Research Center in Costa Rica. Credit: Claudia Cruz

La Selva (which means “the jungle”), located in the Sarapiquí region of Costa Rica near the Braulio Carrillo National Park, sits on 3,953 acres of old and new damp, wet forest. Its complex biodiversity includes an astounding number of animal and plant species. According to their website, the center hosts 2,080 varieties of plants, 420 species of trees, 467 species of birds (representing more than 50% of the species in the country), and approximately 700 species of ants.

Noticiero Móvil student reporters Zoe Cruz, Mayra Gónzalez, Daisy Gómez, Genevy Machuca, Juliet Ojeda, and Oscar Mártinez will have spent a week in Central America learning from biologists, chemists and other nature-lovers who work to protect species biodiversity.

UNR Biology Prof. Lee Dyer explains to RSJ students reporting at La Selva Biological Research Center the importance of studying tropical flora and fauna ecosystems to advance scientific research of all types. Credit: Claudia Cruz

Noticiero Móvil reporters have taken to the paths to photograph, take video of and enjoy being in the tropics. Throughout the week, they’ve spoken with UNR researchers Lee Dyer and Christopher Jeffries, plus countless other scientists, students and visitors to La Selva.

Be on the lookout for their articles and media productions during the next few weeks. Also, catch the social media posts on Instagram produced by Gómez and Ojeda too.