Projects and Places We Support

EcoTeach carefully selects a variety of locally-owned and operated projects focused on conservation and ecology. Each year, our travelers volunteer thousands of hours saving sea turtles, planting trees and improving the habitat of endangered green macaws. In addition, we work side by side with rural schools and communities in a variety of projects designed to aid in their economic vitality. EcoTeach is committed to maintaining strong relationships with programs that enhance biodiversity and improve communities by contributing both time and money.

Upon returning from an EcoTeach trip, our travelers often want to give back to the country and our projects in a tangible way. We invite students, teachers and other travelers to consider leaving a legacy in the form of a donation to one of our projects to purchase a necessary item (i.e. boat motor, solar panels) or infrastructure improvement (i.e. well for water or sewage treatment facilities).

Sea Turtle Projects: Estación Las Tortugas and Proyecto Pacuare

Perhaps you’ve seen endangered animals in zoos, but how often have you encountered one in the wild…and had a chance to save it? At Estación Las Tortugas and Proyecto Pacuare, you’ll work with a team of biologists and local experts on conservation efforts of Leatherback or Green sea turtles. This work could include conducting population studies, tagging turtles, transplanting eggs to protected areas, or releasing hatchlings into the ocean. You might also help build hatcheries or clear the beach of debris to make it easy for them to nest. At night, you will patrol the beaches looking for nesting females, and with any luck you will get to experience the magic of seeing a sea turtle lay her eggs. EcoTeach’s work on these projects has helped create a dramatic increase in the number of nesting females each year. For many of our travelers, working with the turtles is a life-changing experience!

The Osa “Turtles in Water” Project

This is a unique opportunity to get in the water and study turtles as part of a new “catch, study and release” conservation project located in Gulfo Dulce, the bay separating the Osa Peninsula from the mainland of Costa Rica. Participants will accompany project staff in research boats and assist in the safe and gentle capture of hawksbill and Pacific green sea turtles. Once the turtle is in the boat, you will help to measure, tag and collect data.  Once studies are complete, the turtle will be released back into the water. Circumstances permitting, you may be allowed to get back in the water with the turtle.

EcoTeach has partnered with WIDECAST, an international non-profit organization dedicated to sea turtle conservation in the Caribbean region.  Little is known about the sea turtle population in this region and EcoTeach volunteers will play a vital role in collecting data about population structure, genetic origin, in-water habitat use and health status of the turtle population.

Indigenous BriBri Community

The BriBri are one of the last remaining native populations of Costa Rica. The BriBri practice non-invasive agriculture within their protected mountainous rainforest in the southeast corner of the country – a place reached by way of a rugged mountain trail. EcoTeach travelers learn about the history, culture and way of life – how they find food, medicine, tools and building materials within the rainforest. The visit could include a simple lunch served on a banana leaf, a game of soccer with the BriBri school children or perhaps a cultural exchange with a song or performance.

The BriBri live in sustainable harmony with the splendor of their natural surroundings. EcoTeach is one of the few tour providers invited to visit the BriBri on their sacred land, and is always grateful for the experience.

Pital Farmstays & Reforestation Project

While Costa Rica claims to have protected more of its native forest than any other country in the world, deforestation still claims more than 200 square miles of pristine rain forest each year, and illegal logging takes place in many of its protected areas. The northern Caribbean plain of Costa Rica was once the biggest tract of lowland rainforest in the country; now less than 10% remains standing. The area was also once home to a healthy population of great green macaws; now there are only 25 to 35 breeding pairs left. At Pital, you’ll work with locals who are committed to protecting the remaining forests and participate in reforestation efforts.

You’ll also spend the night with a local farm family. The families welcome our travelers into their homes to experience a typical day in their lives. The visit might involve getting up before the sun to milk cows, participate in daily chores and then help prepare a traditional meal. Local children are always anxious to get a game of soccer going with their guests.

Local Schools

EcoTeach directly supports two Costa Rican elementary schools, Huetares and Las Brisas. Our groups are excited to see what a school looks like in another country, and the Costa Rican children appreciate meeting American students. When we visit these schools, our travelers often bring school supplies or other necessary materials. The school typically offers a Costa Rican lunch and the children perform traditional songs and dances. Upon returning, several groups have raised money to fix buildings or donate essential materials. These schools are quite poor and without the support of EcoTeach and our groups, they would not be able to take care of most of these necessary projects (like toilets, wells and school supplies).

Jardin Pierella Butterfly Farm

This remarkable piece of property is a Costa Rican success story. Once a heart of palm field, it has been transformed into a sustainable business, with a butterfly farm and animal rehabilitation facility. Costa Rica has around 1,250 species of butterflies – a tenth of the world’s total. However, as with so many other types of species, these beautiful insects are suffering as a result of habitat destruction and overexploitation. This facility offers a special chance to see a remarkable assortment of butterflies, frogs, caterpillars and also a thriving animal rehabilitation facility. Also on site are several enclosures where the staff care for injured and abandoned animals. Since its beginning in 1993, hundreds of birds, mammals and reptiles have stayed here; many have been re-released into the wild. The goal of Jardin Piarella is to educate visitors about natural biology and conservation.

Clean Burning Stove Project 

Volunteers travel into the highlands of Costa Rica and learn to build small, easy-to-assemble clean burning stoves for local farm families and migrant coffee workers. The stove, made mostly from found objects, is designed to cleanly burn organic widely available on farms—from coffee plant trimmings to corn cobs, animal waste to blackberry vines. While producing 60-75% fewer emissions than wood stoves, the stoves generate biochar, a fine-grained, porous charcoal that can be used as an effective fertilizer for the farming land while also absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These stoves save trees, prevent rampant respiratory disease, enhance farm productivity and, most importantly, save lives.

Watch how the clean burning stove project is making a difference!

Asis Wild Animal Rescue Center

Located in the small town of Javillos in Costa Rica, Instituto Asis is dedicated to wild animal rehabilitation and public education.   Due to human development, destruction of natural habitat and illegal hunting, there has been a steep decline in wildlife populations, causing many species to be in danger of extinction.  Volunteers have the opportunity to work with injured wild animals such as monkeys, peccarys, kinkajous and macaws.  Instituto Asis believes that by educating the public, they will help restore the balance between man and nature.  Instituto Asis is officially recognized by the Ministry of the Environment and Energy and the Monteverde Conservation League.