ECO-ADVENTURE

Registration Form (English PDF file)
Registration Form (French PDF file)

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Themes
Sustainable living, co-operative community, ecology.

Overview
Costa Ricans have much to teach us about co-operative and sustainable living. They have developed a variety of vehicles for preserving the great forests and have created unique initiatives that encourage community members to work together to better their lives.

Students will explore the concept of sustainable living at an eco-village where people are learning to live in harmony with the planet.

In the process participants will experience the breathtaking beauty of Costa Rica’s Central Valley, mountain cloud forest and Pacific coast rainforest and beach.

Trip details
12 days
Departure Dates: To be announced
Medium fitness required

Custom trips for groups possible at other times

Eligibility
Open to high school students 16 years or older.

Supervision
Our staff are highly trained, experienced leaders and guides.

Benefits to participants
Participants on this journey will return home with a greater understanding of how life works on the planet and with a stronger sense of connection with the natural world.

They will have lived with people who are trying to make a difference and who have made a commitment to reducing their ecological footprint.

This journey is an opportunity for students to contribute to the well-being of the planet as well as experience the power of community action. There is much in Costa Rica that we can do to help but there is even more for us to learn.

Itinerary

Day one
Meet your guide at the airport and travel to a small and very comfortable hotel. This is an opportunity to both acclimatize to the country and learn more about the adventure that lies ahead.

Days two to nine
Following an exciting drive south culminating in an hour-long ride in four-wheel drive vehicles, we'll arrive at our main destination high in the mountains. This will be an immersion into the life and work of the dedicated people who live in a self-sustaining eco-community high in the cloud forest of the Talamanca Mountains.

The community grows organic vegetables, raises goats for cheese and yoghurt, and utilizes solar panels and a small hydro-generator for electricity. The community has created a foundation dedicated to acquiring and protecting a huge expanse of land that will become a wildlife corridor. Much of what our participants pay goes toward the purchase of this land.

Accommodations are in comfortable rustic cabins and wonderful organic meals are served in the community building.

 Activities
Work, play and explore this extraordinary setting with members of the community. Typically we work in the mornings and hike in the afternoons.

  • An opportunity to share work on a variety of projects, which could include the organic gardens, the tree nursery, goat shepherding, experimental organic coffee and banana plantations, or an ongoing forest growth study the community has initiated.
  • Go on afternoon hikes to a spectacular waterfall, a primary old growth forest, and an experimental micro-hydroelectric project.
  • One of the highlights of our stay is an overnight expedition to the Continental Divide into untouched, largely inaccessible Amistad National Park. The Divide is the high point of the mountain spine that goes right through Central America. On one side all water flows into the Atlantic and on the other it flows into the Pacific. On a clear day we can see both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. We’ll stay in a small cabin high in the mountains and experience five different types of rainforest before returning to the community.
  • Spend evenings with community members doing workshops, playing music, sharing stories, and celebrating our stay with a dance and dinner on our final night.

Days nine to eleven
Travel through a Mangrove swamp teeming with wildlife and then out onto the ocean enroute to an exquisite nature retreat perched on a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. This site has a strong environmental focus. It is situated on the edge of Ballena National Park, the only marine park in the country and the breeding ground for Humpback whales. The owner, who was largely responsible for the park designation, has created a stunning property. The buildings are handcrafted from materials on-site and solar panels provide electricity. Much of the food is grown organically on the property.

Activities

  • There is a crescent-shaped private beach surrounded by primary coastal rainforest where we can do some supervised surfing and boogie boarding. This beach is one of the safest in the area, due to both its shape and the protective coral reef offshore.
  • The forest here is a coastal rainforest and you'll see both white-faced and howler monkeys as well as many different species of birds, reptiles and amphibians.
  • Experience a night hike into the rainforest.
  • This retreat is a wonderful place to reflect on what you have experienced while in Costa Rica and share thoughts before heading home.

Days eleven
Travel back to the central valley for your final night and celebration meal before your flight the next day.

Days twelve
Transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Registration Form (English PDF file)
Registration Form (French PDF file)