In the ACE in Costa Rica program, 12 student-athletes from Duke and Stanford are engaging in conservation and sustainability work in the Gandoca-Manzanillo National Refuge located in southeastern Costa Rica. Their efforts will assist local members of the community in maintaining local organic cacao farms, planting seeds to promote mangrove reforestation, and assisting in conservation work to protect the sea turtle species that nest on the beaches of the refuge.
In addition to their project work, they will be participating in a number of cultural immersion activities such as Spanish lessons, learning how to produce chocolate from cacao, hiking through the wildlife refuge and learning more about the local wildlife and ecosystem, and participating in cooking classes with the local staff. In the second week of the program, the team will travel as a group for several days to Sepecue to learn more about indigenous communities in Costa Rica and their sustainability and conservation practices.