ACE in Costa Rica 2024

For the second year, the ACE in Costa Rica team engaged in conservation-focused projects with local community members to promote wildlife and ecosystem conservation and sustainable resource use in the village of Gandoca.

“Witnessing the impact of anthropogenic threats like climate change, urbanization, and deforestation on both wildlife and the local community was unsettling. It’s one thing to learn about climate change in a classroom, but quite another to see the effects firsthand. The community recognises the importance of living in harmony with each other and the environment that provides for them. The relationship that Costa Ricans have with the land is a good template for the rest of the world to follow. My time in Gandoca has strengthened my interest in environmental stewardship whilst reinforcing the importance of community engagement in local initiatives.”

-Francesca Morland, Duke Rowing

The ACE team engaged in a variety of project work, including volunteering on local cacao farms where they learned about the agricultural practices and processes behind cacao production in Costa Rica, in addition to maintaining and harvesting the cacao. The team also assisted local conservationists in a number of beach patrols and beach cleans to help conserve the leatherback sea turtle population that nests on the beaches of Gandoca. In their time in Costa Rica, the team removed a total of 1257 items (66.4kg) of trash and removed debris to maximize conditions for nesting and hatchling turtles

In the second week of the program, the students ventured to Bribri indigenous territory in Sepecue, Costa Rica. There, they learned about indigenous Costa Rican culture and engaged with local community members through storytelling and cultural games. The team assisted in building a vegetable garden, planted crops such as yuca and plantains, and painted indigenous decorations for the community’s school administration center.

One of the most impactful cultural experiences the students engaged in was participating in the local Gandoca soccer tournament. Students and community members played together in an effort to raise funds for the local Gandoca high school.

“This experience, the thrill of the games, missing two penalty kicks in a row (nobody told me they would be kicking the ball at me so hard), brought me to an important realization: Everywhere you go, regardless of nationality, spoken language, race, sex, age, or any other criteria people are just people. Everyone on that pitch was full of love for the game, laughing and jeering at friends on the opposing team and joking and strategizing with teammates during breaks. Everyone was on one wavelength, speaking one language. When your team scores, it doesn’t especially matter what you say, because in the language of soccer, it all translates to “GOAL!”

-Kennedy Barron, Duke Softball

The program concluded with a reflection on the ACE in Costa Rica team’s impact on the community. Casa Tucán staff shared how the students’ presence in Costa Rica supported 25 households within the  Gandoca and Sepecue communities through tour guides, transport, GEL staff, boat transportation, and farm tours.