Alpha 4 photo album

We've collected stacks of photos from the Alpha 4 Venturers and PMs - here are some of the best:

Alpha 4: Once upon a time in a jungle far away

Alpha 4's Jen Donkin gives us a poetic insight into life with the rangers in Golfito Wildlife Reserve:

Once upon a time in a jungle far away,

Alpha 4 set off to play,

Armed with enough DEET to wipe out mosquitos,

We jumped on a bus and headed for Golfito!

After we arrived the rangers showed us around,

they showed us the sleeping area they had found,

but after the lightening, the thunder and the rain,

Alpha 4 were sleeping in the rangers station again.

The rangers - they taught us about the birds and the trees,

and we found out which ones made Jessica weak at the knees,

they looked after us well and gave us dry shelter,

which was the perfect spot for lots of Alpha 4 banter.

The work - it varied day to day,

but we finished by lunch and had lots of time to play,

with waterfalls and pools nearby in abundance,

and Golfito down the road there was plenty to entertain us.

From digging ditches in the rain and rebuilding jungle camp over again, Alpha 4 worked hard and tried not to complain,

The days off we had were a highlight for all,

dolphin spotting from a boat or on a beach with a ball.

The wildlife around was something to behold,

One sneaky pisote was always out braving the rain and the cold, We saw snakes and sloths and monkeys and moths,

It was always a surprise to see what the rangers had in a box!

Our bedrooms - they weren’t something to desire,

The bashers were held down by lots of wire,

Every night bug watching from a mosquito net,

Sleeping in the jungle is definitely not something we’ll forget.

Our time out on phase passed with a blink,

And our clothes survived being washed in a sink,       

Never in nineteen days have there been so many laughs,

We are Alpha 4 and we don’t do things by halves.

In the wild with Alpha 4

Photographer James and your roving correspondent are back at Fieldbase after a whistlestop tour of our southern Costa Rican projects along with Amy - still on loan from Raleigh head office - and Team Zero's own Sarah and Abi.

We dropped in on Alpha 4 in the tranquil surrounds of Golfito Wildlife Reserve on the southern coast of Costa Rica where they've been working to develop visitor facilities ahead of National Parks Day, a big event which is scheduled to be celebrated in the reserve later this year.

The group have built a really good rapport with the rangers stationed in the park as they have worked together to clear 22 sites for information huts along a trail for wheelchair users, improve the paths around the ranger station and revitalise a nearby pond. And they've found time to take on their hosts in a couple of games of five-a-side football along the way.

Golfito is also a wildlife extravaganza. An armadillo was brought in and released into the wild by the rangers during our visit and a family of monkeys came to visit while we were packing up to leave. Alpha 4 have also seen a sloth released by the rangers, as well as a boa constrictor, a small turtle, frogs, toucans and lots of butterflies.

And of course we've got some photos from beautiful Golfito: