A last-minute decision to join a group of fellow New Mexico State University students on a trip to Costa Rica in spring 2022 has led to a research project that may eventually help farmers become more sustainable.
Kaitlin Marry, an environmental sciences major in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, found out about the Aggies Go Global trip to Costa Rica in March 2022, and decided to apply on the day applications were due.
“I applied at 5 p.m. the day it was due. I got very lucky,” Marry said. “I had never been abroad, and the trip cost $500, and I figured I would never be able to go abroad for that cheap.”
Marry grew up in central Illinois surrounded by cornfields. It wasn’t until she paid a visit to the NMSU campus before starting her freshman year that she realized how severe drought is in the southwestern United States. However, she also wasn’t prepared for how serene New Mexico felt to her.
“I had never seen the desert before I came here. I walked onto campus and it was so hot. I was not prepared for hot it was going to be,” Marry said. “But looking at it, I realized this place feels calm; this is a place where people who genuinely want to learn come. I decided this was for me.”
Marry said she was taking a class in environmental anthropology and became interested in learning about indigenous knowledge of the Amazonian Forest, and how important environmentalism is to indigenous people.
“Costa Rica is one of the most sustainable countries in the world,” Marry said. “They rely 100 percent on renewable energy sources. It’s a very unique country.”
During her trip, she met the owners of the Life Monteverde coffee farm, who described the microbial fertilizers used in their soil. But they had one question: what are the specific microbes that exist in the fertilizer?
“In a lot of ways, the world is dying, but they are very hopeful and involved in preservation and conservation of the land,” Marry said. “They serve their community, too, but when they explain things, it’s always about respecting the forest.”
Marry felt up to the challenge to find out what the fertilizer consists of.
“It is a bio-fertilizer that is trying to simulate the natural nutrients and microbes found in the forest”, Marry said. “The forest has cared for the indigenous people for centuries, so the farm is trying to simulate that relationship with their coffee fields.
“Knowing exactly what microbes are in it requires scientific technology,” Marry said. “It could actually be a solution to a lot of fertilizer issues in that fertilizer is expensive.”
With guidance and mentoring from College of ACES professors Ivette Guzmán, April Ulery and Nicole Pietrasiak, Marry said she hopes her research will benefit the farm, which practices sustainability. Marry’s research involves the application of next gen DNA-based techniques to unravel the secrets of the biofertilizer microbiome, which will help other growers in the country known for its main exports of bananas, pineapples, coffee, sugar, rice, corn, potatoes and palm oil. Nearly 10 percent of Costa Rica’s land is used for agriculture.
In May, Marry was awarded the 2022 Honors College International Scholarship, which included $2,500 to fund her research in Costa Rica.
“I know Kaitlin as a passionate, enthusiastic and sustainability minded young STEM scholar,” said Pietrasiak, associate professor of environmental soil microbiology in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. “She has worked on multiple small research projects with Dr. April Ulery and me in the past couple years, always eager to absorb any knowledge and skills related to saving the planet. However, it was the visit to the Life Monteverde coffee farm in Costa Rica and learning about how people utilize traditional ecological knowledge of nature to practice sustainable agriculture that really seems to have captured Kaitlin’s heart and soul.”
Pietrasiak said the data Marry collects would establish base line information for identifying the beneficial microbes that support the sustainable plant growth she observed, which could help growers in improving soil and plant health in Costa Rica.
“Kaitlin Marry’s enthusiasm to integrate environmental science and social justice is inspiring to all around her. Her willingness to take a chance on a study abroad opportunity last spring break has evolved into a clearer direction for her work as a scientist,” said Guzmán, assistant professor of horticulture in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences. “Kaitlin’s work with Life Monteverde has immediate and long-term impacts to the farm and the farmers in the region. In addition, this experience will be shared with NMSU students as an example of the impact one student’s actions have on a community. We are extremely proud of her and are excited that she is representing NMSU abroad.”