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in which I learned an enormous
amount ranging from how nonprofit organizations run,
to maintaining an organic garden, to even giving environmental
education lessons to local schools. I felt like a sponge
soaking up an incredible amount of information from
every activity that I did.
My role was a volunteer environmental educator at the
Tropical Center, which is a place where international
and local groups of students come to stay for an environmental
education experience.
I was responsible for measuring the amount of rainfall,
and this data was sent monthly to the National Weather
Institute. I worked in the organic garden, pruning,
planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting the vegetables.
I helped create itineraries, make reservations, and
coordinate schedules for groups, which is more easily
said than done. Business works differently in Osa and
if you need to coordinate something like transportation,
it is not possible to send an e-mail and it is difficult
to reach someone by phone, therefore you have to actually
meet someone face to face to make plans.
Not only did I work from the business end, preparing
for groups with logistics, but also as an environmental
educator once groups arrived. For groups from the U.S.,
I helped plan bio-laboratories and supported the guides
of the groups on hikes by fielding questions of the
students. I started learning the ropes to becoming a
guide and took a group by myself to paint a local school
and help with a reforestation project. Environmental
education to the local people is another important component
to the foundation’s goals. I prepared a lesson
on climate change and taught in 5 of the local schools.
It was a rewarding experience to see even just one child
from each group light up with enthusiasm for the topic.
I cannot express how grateful I am to have had this
experience. I felt more than just a tourist wandering
around Costa Rica. I feel like I helped further the
goals of the Foundation and of myself through working
directly with students and local people. It was a rewarding
experience to help foster students reactions to seeing
the rainforest for the first time or to have the local
kids ask me what they could do about climate change.
I made deeper connections to a place I already loved.
Thank you so much for your gracious help.
Sincerely,
Gwen Kozlowski
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
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