Playa Blanca Costa Rica, Costa Rica

This beach shares the coast with a mangrove forest – a rare environment that provides a habitat for rare species of birds and fish. Mangroves also help keep the environment hospitable for the sea turtles that visit to graze on the nearby sea grass.

Playa Blanca serves as a nesting site for sea turtles. Leatherback, hawksbill, and green sea turtles come to this beach to lay their eggs. These endangered animals, along with mangrove forests, have attracted scientists to the area. They help ensure that the sea turtle eggs can hatch in safety, and are working to restore damaged parts of the mangrove.