12 / Dec / 2019

We are almost through 2019, a full of plans, challenges and achievements. The end of the year always means a closing cycle and a rebirth of projects and dreams. Personally, this has been a year full of ups and downs as every other year, but it is a year that I am grateful for.

I feel very grateful for the trust of those who support us: our donors and volunteers, our board of advisors, our consultants and our board of directors.  Particularly, I feel grateful for the wonderful team of our foundation that, despite all the difficulties, challenges and problems have been invincible. Their passion for the projects they lead has made them indomitable before the obstacles! Their love to the children, to the communities, to the ecosystems or to the national parks, or their commitment to excellence, I don’t know … I just know that my team members inspire me every day with their effort, their dedication and their creativity.   Despite my 19 years working in the foundation, they make working in our organization always a new and exciting experience. Thanks to them our foundation is renewed every day!

Here are our achievements for 2019:

• In the environmental education program, a contest was held in 7 schools, through which more than 1500 kg of recycling were collected.  The schools were visited 42 times between March and October, to weigh the recycling materials. In addition, 22 companies in Drake Bay are committed to eliminating the consumption of single use plastic and almost 60 people have been trained on recycling. These companies have been able to collect 2398.63 kilos of recycled materials. In total, between companies and schools, almost 4000 kilos (8,800 pounds) of recycling have been collected during this year.
• We have coordinated as part of the “Osa Libre de Plasticos” campaign with the Corcovado National Park and CATUOSA the cleaning of the beaches of the Corcovado National Park managing to collect, with the help of more than 100 volunteers, almost 2 tons (4,000 pounds) of solid waste in a single day.
• 6 social education workshops have been held at Drake High School, working on the topics of sexual education and commercial sexual exploitation with the National Children’s Board (PANI). 
• Together with the local association of Drake Bay, we formed a group of community leaders to bring travelling university programs and sports activities to the community. In addition, this group has focused on solving the lack of infrastructure for the Drake Bay high school.
• An organic garden was built in the community of Banegas with 12 students from the school and several parents, which has had a great impact, since it promotes the culture of planting what we consume and allows children to eat organic products planted with their own hands.
• More than 60 international volunteers have actively collaborated in the sea turtle program, in the construction of the nursery, patrols, censuses, beach cleaning, environmental education and nursery care.
• We managed $256,000 USD (150 million colones) in infrastructure improvements in Protected Wild Areas.  The funding was donated by Costa Rica Por Siempre and we lead the construction and remodeling projects in Rincon de la Vieja, Lomas Barbudal, Manzanillo, Alberto Manuel Brenes and Quetzales.
• At the sea turtle project in Rincon de San Josecito, 118 nest nests have been protected, making this season the highest in the history of Rincon. We have also released 4,528 turtles, and we still have lots of eggs to hatch. We have managed to create a very good relationship with the Rincon community thanks to environmental education and a system of local guides that take tourists to see the turtles while they nest or when hatching.
• In addition, 39 educational sessions in schools and colleges and 57 educational sessions with environmental groups have been held from February to November, for a total of 96 educational activities during the school year.
• We had our first Jungle Party!  Which was a great success! Everybody had a great time, and we also raised $ 12,000 USD that will go directly to educational and recreational activities for children of the Osa communities.
• In addition, we finished the General Management Plan for the International Park of La Amistad, which implied a great coordination between the Pacific and the Caribbean sector, together with indigenous communities.
• 110 people from 54 communities, in the buffer zone of 4 protected wild areas of Osa are being skilled as community park rangers. They will become the park ranger backup team for the conservation area. It is a unique model in the country, a study case that can be replicated in the other protected areas.
• This year we managed to materialize through audiovisual production, two stories that were worth capturing on video. The first related to the testimonies of students graduated from the Environmental Education program, who told us how the program impacted their lives for good (click here to watch the video) and the other of the heroic work of the park rangers in Corcovado National Park (click here to watch the video)

As we always say, our donors, volunteers and members are the driving force behind our environmental efforts. Thank you for trusting us, thank you for supporting us in one way or another. None of this would have been achieved without you. Please consider continuing to help us in 2020. You can make a tax-deductible donation, both in cash and in kind. Ask us how.

On behalf of all of us who from the Corcovado Foundation family, I extend my best wishes to you for a Christmas and holidays full of harmony and love with your loved ones and a new year full of prosperity, health and peace with our families, communities and the environment.

Wishing you the best,

Wishing you the best,

Alejandra Monge

Corcovado Foundation