Nature solutions for Community development

Changing people’s attitude.

Sometimes the hardest thing to explain is when and how somebody changes their attitude towards any topic, especially when they are children. We have no doubt that raising awareness amongst the little ones is the best tool to protect nature and create the environmental leaders that will make Osa and their community a more sustainable place. Empowered children will be taking the lead in protecting and conserving their surroundings and will teach by example.

As an environmental educator, my quest is to find what actually changes their mind set.  When I see it and when I discover that the planted seed is actually emerging from those little minds, it is a great success.

Last week I found one of those hatching seeds. After a conversation with an old man from the community about conservation and the work that we are doing with kids, he said “ No wonder my grandchild didn’t want to go hunting with his dad last time” (hunting in Costa Rica is completely illegal and penalized by jail).   That was such a heartwarming experience for me!

On another occasion, during a horse back riding trip, I had a child come to me and whisper in my ear his concern about a pregnant mare who was suffering from walking under the sun the whole day.  He was reluctant to say it out loud, because culturally animals are considered closer to objects than living things in Osa. Something had shifted in the way he saw and related to animals. Hurray!

Finally, I feel great joy seeing how the environmental groups are now working together. When we first started working, the children would be disrespectful to each other and would constantly fight. Now they share their art supplies, congratulate each other on a great job done and enjoy their time together.

These are only a few examples about how the children are being benefitted by our environmental education program, few examples that fill me up with satisfaction and that I happy to share with you: our benefactors who make all this possible by your kind and generous donations.