Environmental Education in Play and Learning
Centro de Educación Cultural/Cloud Forest School & CIEE Study Center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Located on 106 acres of cloud forest land in Monteverde, Costa Rica, the not-for-profit Centro de Educación Cultural/Cloud Forest School was one of the first organizations to be a recipient of a Ping Matching Grant. The school provides preschool to grade 11 education for 200 local children, most of them from families with limited means (the average family income is $6,000 a year).
The school sought funding for two projects through the Ping Matching Grants. The first project was the construction of a computer lab that allows students to access environmental education materials online and via CD-ROM. The computers allow the school to link with other schools around the world, and to share the lessons learned elsewhere with the local community. The second project was the construction of a new playground made from sustainable materials such as plantation woods. The playground thus serves a double purpose: to provide a safe environment for children's recreation, and to provide a practical demonstration, for the community, that local products can be made in a renewable and sustainable way.
CIEE students participated in both projects, through helping to organize the computer labs and training staff and students in using the computers; and in the construction of the playground equipment. In the long run, CIEE students will continue their involvement with the school, enhancing their language and intercultural skills through organized activities designed to help students learn about sustainability and the environment.