Costa Rica Immersion 2018
Donation protected
Welcome to our Costa Rica Immersion 2018 fundraising page!
This year we have the exciting opportunity to engage in several environmental stewardship opportunities in Costa Rica this July!
Our students will not only be organizing beach clean-ups in Tortuguero National Park and Golfo Dulce but we will also be working with local school age children and Earth Watch scientists to talk about the dangers of plastic pollution and how we can better protect these fragile ecosystems.
In doing so we are needing to raise funds that will go directly to scientific research and the protection of the endangered mangrove forests and the animal species in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. While Costa Rica attempts to maintain the country’s national beauty, several threats are present to the ecosystems in the Golfo Dulce. Often, garbage, specifically single use plastic, ends up in rivers where it eventually makes its way into the ocean. Consumption of harmful plastics by animals like sea turtles, and the leaching of chemicals from plastics into the water. Along with pollution, deforestation in non-protected areas has also become a factor. The rare and beautiful mangroves of this area are being systematically destroyed and are facing the threat of deforestation due to tourism! While this process is beneficial to the economy, many flora are destroyed and subsequently the fauna that live within the jungle are either killed in the process, or displaced.
Some of our students have already written to the Costa Rican Ambassador to the U.S. focusing in on the specific threat of deforestation of the mangroves in Golfo Dulce due to the proposed construction of a Hilton hotel and how this could have a devastating ripple effect on the area.
Our students will be traveling to this area to learn more about this fragile ecosystem through scientific research focused on bioluminescence and the communication patterns of the humpback whales who travel to this area to give birth!
We are also organizing an eco-friendly ice cream and popcorn social with local children to engage them in fun, educational activities that focus on the dangers of plastic pollution, environmental stewardship and what we can do to help protect the humpback whales! Our students have been working diligently all year researching and creating games that will be converted into Spanish and shared with the community. We will also be sharing the important work of The Last Plastic Straw and challenging those we meet to make a promise to say "No" to the straw!
In order to help the community in this specific region we are looking to raise $5,000 that will go directly to the dolphin adoption program, collecting funds to help support field research during the rainy season 2018. This non-profit organizations CEIC Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos de Costa Rica needs our help to continue doing their important work and educate the community and work towards the continued protection of this fragile habitat.
Click here to see the organization that our fund will directly go to: http://cetaceansgolfodulce.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for supporting our students as they deepen their connection and passion for our planet!
This year we have the exciting opportunity to engage in several environmental stewardship opportunities in Costa Rica this July!
Our students will not only be organizing beach clean-ups in Tortuguero National Park and Golfo Dulce but we will also be working with local school age children and Earth Watch scientists to talk about the dangers of plastic pollution and how we can better protect these fragile ecosystems.
In doing so we are needing to raise funds that will go directly to scientific research and the protection of the endangered mangrove forests and the animal species in Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica. While Costa Rica attempts to maintain the country’s national beauty, several threats are present to the ecosystems in the Golfo Dulce. Often, garbage, specifically single use plastic, ends up in rivers where it eventually makes its way into the ocean. Consumption of harmful plastics by animals like sea turtles, and the leaching of chemicals from plastics into the water. Along with pollution, deforestation in non-protected areas has also become a factor. The rare and beautiful mangroves of this area are being systematically destroyed and are facing the threat of deforestation due to tourism! While this process is beneficial to the economy, many flora are destroyed and subsequently the fauna that live within the jungle are either killed in the process, or displaced.
Some of our students have already written to the Costa Rican Ambassador to the U.S. focusing in on the specific threat of deforestation of the mangroves in Golfo Dulce due to the proposed construction of a Hilton hotel and how this could have a devastating ripple effect on the area.
Our students will be traveling to this area to learn more about this fragile ecosystem through scientific research focused on bioluminescence and the communication patterns of the humpback whales who travel to this area to give birth!
We are also organizing an eco-friendly ice cream and popcorn social with local children to engage them in fun, educational activities that focus on the dangers of plastic pollution, environmental stewardship and what we can do to help protect the humpback whales! Our students have been working diligently all year researching and creating games that will be converted into Spanish and shared with the community. We will also be sharing the important work of The Last Plastic Straw and challenging those we meet to make a promise to say "No" to the straw!
In order to help the community in this specific region we are looking to raise $5,000 that will go directly to the dolphin adoption program, collecting funds to help support field research during the rainy season 2018. This non-profit organizations CEIC Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos de Costa Rica needs our help to continue doing their important work and educate the community and work towards the continued protection of this fragile habitat.
Click here to see the organization that our fund will directly go to: http://cetaceansgolfodulce.blogspot.com/
Thank you so much for supporting our students as they deepen their connection and passion for our planet!
Organizer
Sara Sobkoviak
Organizer
Watsonville, CA
