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Sustainable Tropics: Costa Rica

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Costa Rica is one of the best examples of sustainable development in the world. On this educational workshop, students will study conservation and sustainable development as they visit tropical montane forests, cloud forests and tropical dry forests. Along the way, students will see some of Costa Rica’s amazing diversity, from parrots to howler monkeys and poison dart frogs to bats.

Students learn field science techniques, delve into cultural studies and work hand-in-hand with Costa Rican students on a service project. They study ecotourism and learn about sustainable and fair trade issues. Preparatory curriculum explores Costa Rican culture, biodiversity, fair trade and current issues in conservation.

Northern Colorado educators interested in World Aware, check out the special programs section of this page at top right!

Sample Itinerary

After traveling from the U.S. to San Jose, Costa Rica, we settle into a comfortable hotel.

Its an exciting first morning as we depart by van and continue by boat for our trip to the Caribbean beaches and canals of Tortuguero. We arrive at the Turtle Beach Lodge and spend our evening walking the beaches in search of nesting sea turtles.

Our next morning begins with a spectacular boat ride to search for wildlife. In the afternoon we participate in a service project alongside local community members. Depending upon community needs, we may engage in a beach cleanup, a project at the community school or other communal area. Regardless of the project, we have a great time getting to know local community members and working hard together to complete a project that is useful to the community. Tonight, we scour the beaches for nesting sea turtles once again.

We depart Tortuguero this morning and head to the Sarapiquí region. This day includes a visit to a pineapple plantation (with plenty of delicious samples), and a boat trip in search of monkeys on the Sarapiquí River. We conclude the day with an exciting bat observation activity and fall asleep to the sounds of the forest at the Tirimbina Lodge Field Station, our home for the next three nights.

Today includes a visit to La Selva, one of the most important sites in the world for scientific research on tropical forests. Established in 1968 as a biological reserve, it protects 3,900 acres of tropical and premontane forest and connects to the Brauillo National Park (100,000+ acres). At La Selva, we are likely to see some of the mammals of the tropical forest such as monkeys and coatimundi. While there, we conduct an exciting research activity. Later, we enjoy a night hike in search of frogs back at Tirimbina.

Our last day in Sarapiquí is spent working on a service project with the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center and a local community. Then, we get to play an awesome game of fútbol with the very students we just worked alongside.

Our next stop is the Monteverde region, a remarkably diverse area of cloudforest that offers opportunities for visitors to see many species of small mammals, birds and much more. We arrive at the UGA San Luis Research Station, where we stay for the next three nights, and search for wildlife on a night hike.

We begin this morning in a similar fashion, with an early morning search for resplendent quetzals – the stunning bird that is symbolic of Costa Rica. Later, we experience the forest as the birds do, zipping through the canopy and exploring a series of walkways. At a local handicraft cooperative, we can support local artists and find gifts for our families and friends. We also visit a local dairy to sample the cheese and ice cream that make Monteverde famous.

Today we visit Finca la Bella, a small, local, sustainable farm where coffee, sugarcane and other crops are grown. We discuss sustainability and participate in an ongoing conservation project that will contribute to offsetting some of the carbon our trip has produced.

We depart early this morning for San Jose to catch our flight back home.