Help Bring Clean, Safe, and Sustainable Sanitation to Serapio López Elementary School

Serapio López Elementary School in Nosara, Costa Rica, is facing serious sanitation challenges. Outdated septic systems, failing infrastructure, and limited bathroom facilities create daily health risks for students and staff, disrupt learning, and threaten local soil and groundwater.

This is not just a facilities issue — it is a public health and environmental issue.

A Proven Local Solution

For the past two years, local organization Wildlife Conservation Association (WCA) has partnered with Ridge to Reefs (RTR) to implement Bioreactor Gardens (Biogardens) in Nosara — a low-cost, locally sourced wastewater treatment system that naturally filters wastewater while supporting biodiversity and creating green jobs.

To date, this partnership has:

Now, in collaboration with Dwela, we are ready to expand this model to the Serapia López Elementary School — and go bigger.

Phase 1: Fully Funded by the Ford Foundation

Through the Ford Environmental Grant and generous donations to this GoFundMe campaign, the following activities are funded:

This phase ensures that the school will receive a fully installed, functioning wastewater treatment system as committed under the Ford grant.

Why We Are Fundraising

While Phase 1 is secured, the school’s sanitation needs go far beyond a single system.

Multiple bathroom areas and septic systems require upgrades to safely serve all students and staff. Without additional infrastructure improvements, sanitation risks will persist.

Our goal through this campaign is to raise funds to expand the project beyond Phase 1 — increasing impact, improving additional facilities, and creating a comprehensive sanitation upgrade for the entire school.

Expansion Phases (Beyond the Ford Grant)

Phase 1.5: Made Possible by GoFundMe Donors

Thanks to the generosity of our GoFundMe donors, we have already been able to carry out a comprehensive site evaluation to guide the next stages of this project.

This critical step included assessing existing sanitation conditions, identifying infrastructure gaps, and gathering the technical information needed to design the school’s larger, long-term wastewater and sanitation improvements.

Phase 1.5 creates the bridge between the initial funded installation and the broader school-wide transformation ahead. It ensures that future phases are grounded in real site conditions, thoughtful planning, and the greatest possible impact for students, staff, and the surrounding environment.

Phase 2: Additional Biogarden Systems and Bathroom Upgrades

Expand treatment capacity and renovate additional bathroom facilities to safely serve all school areas.

Phase 3: Agroforestry Drain Field Integration

Transform wastewater treatment into a regenerative landscape system using trees and filtering plants that improve soil, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen long-term resilience.

Phase 4: Water & Sanitation Beautification

Improve handwashing stations, upgrade sinks with filtration, enhance special education facilities, and implement stormwater landscaping to prevent erosion and flooding.

Each completed phase strengthens sanitation, environmental protection, and long-term sustainability.

Why This Matters

Unsafe sanitation contributes to illness, missed school days, environmental contamination, and long-term health risks.

By investing in sustainable infrastructure now, we are:

How You Can Help

Your donation directly supports materials, labor, and community-led construction to expand this project beyond its initial funded phase.

No matter the size, your contribution helps build:

Together — WCA, Ridge to Reefs, Dwela, and our community — we can transform sanitation from a daily risk into a long-term solution.

Thank you for being part of this impact.

www.wcanosara.org

www.dwela.co

www.dwela.design

www.ridgetoreefs.org