Expedition Leaders
Wildlife Expedition in Costa Rica

David Jones - Country Director

Dave has over ten years of management experience and has been with GVI in various capacities since April 2007 when he volunteered with GVI in Costa Rica. After spending ten weeks on the expedition during the Leatherback turtle season Dave was offered an internship. This took him through the peak of the green turtle season allowing him to gain even more experience in field research techniques and project management. After a brief return to his native Wales (UK) Dave returned once taking on the role of Field Coordinator for two years. Dave has been actively involved developing and running the expedition projects and in producing several works for international conferences and publication. He has also had the opportunity to work with other organisations in Costa Rica, including the Costa Rican Environment Ministry, the CCC, ANAI and several conservation networks. As a result of his experiences, Dave feels very passionately about the quality of the work being produced by this expedition’s dedicated staff and volunteers. Dave is determined to maintain those standards and constantly looking to improve the expedition and GVI’s contribution to the Tortuguero area.

During his degree, Biology BSc (Hons.), Dave worked with the Atlantic Whale Foundation in Tenerife, (Canary Islands) studying population dynamics in resident and migratory populations as well as working with local tourist operators to increase awareness of best practices for Whale and Dolphin Watching. For his dissertation, published in Origin, Dave developed a procedure for non-invasive genetic identification and differentiation of native British newt species, which are protected in the UK. Dave enjoys working with people of different skills and experience essential to the programmes’ running. He is always happy to help and is confident that his experience as a former volunteer will help staff and volunteers get as much out of working here as possible.

Richard Bull - Field Staff

Richard has a strong background in mammal conservation, which has taken him to several continents for his research. He has recently joined GVI following a year working in Vietnam as Field Research Advisor on carnivore and pangolin research programs. This position entailed teaching students from around South East Asia how to conduct internationally standardized field techniques. Richard’s research in the peat swamplands of the Mekong Delta lead to the first confirmed record of the hairy-nosed otter in the wild in Vietnam since it was feared to be extinct in the late 1990’s.

Previous to his research in Vietnam, Richard completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Ecology followed by a Masters Degree in Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of East Anglia, England. For his Masters Research Project, Richard spent 10 weeks assessing forest connectivity by studying the presence/absence of 38 mammal species in the Western Ghats of India. He has also conducted extensive mammal surveys in the Peruvian Amazon using a variety of sampling techniques, and has assisted in a long-term research project on European wild rabbits, run by the University of East Anglia. Richard is a strong field ecologist and relishes the challenge of adapting his field skills to the study of turtles and canal birds with GVI Costa Rica.

Before Richard embarked on a career in conservation he worked for three years as a training officer for a large banking corporation. He has also been employed by the University of East Anglia to assist in undergraduate teaching. Richard therefore has considerable and diverse teaching experience in group, and one-to-one situations and loves sharing his skills with volunteers.

Wing Chi Tsui - Field Staff

Wing has had a fascination with nature ever since she can remember. Growing up in Hong Kong, it is easy to see why she has an affiliation with coastal environments. Wing has a Masters Degree in Applied Ecology and Conservation, from the University of East Anglia in the UK, which has further harnessed her enthusiasm. Her Masters project focused on using Geographical Information Systems to map and explain the occurrence of amphibian populations in UK ponds. This project fuelled her desire to learn about amphibian populations around the world.

In 2007, Wing had her first adventure in Costa Rica leading turtle expeditions on the South Caribbean coast. There she cut her teeth on the largest and most ancient of turtles, the leatherback. Upon her return to Hong Kong, Wing enthused students with her passion for Natural World as a teacher at a Field Studies Centre. However, Costa Rica’s charm, friendly people and abundance of marine turtles was too great an influence on her life. She has now returned to Costa Rica, with GVI to continue studying and teaching people about the amazing wildlife that occurs here.

Stephanny Arroyo Arce - Field Staff

Stephanny was born and raised in Heredia, Costa Rica. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Tropical Biology and a degree in Resource Management from the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. During her Biology degree, Stephanny worked with the fishing bat Noctilio leporinus and N. albiventris in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, studying their behaviour and predation at aquaculture facilities.

Since finishing her degree, Stephanny has worked in animal conservation, environmental education and community development projects. During 2007-2009 she was appointed to develop and run a turtle nesting beach program for a national NGO, where she had the opportunity to work closely with Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea).

In February 2009, she volunteered for GVI Costa Rica as part of our National Scholarship Programme, after which time she became part of the GVI Costa Rica team. As a Costa Rican, Stephanny is really proud to be part of the expedition staff and she is looking forward to sharing her wealth of knowledge of her country and its amazing biodiversity with all the volunteers.